TEHRAN— Over 13,000 foreign travelers paid visits to Astan-e Qods Razavi Museum and Library, which is located in Mashhad, northeast Iran.

“Astan-e Qods Razavi Museum and Library was toured by 13,195 foreign nationals during the first half of the year,” ISNA quoted a local official as saying on Sunday.

Astan-e Qods Razavi Museum and Library, which is adjacent to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), houses over 78,000 copies of rare Islamic manuscripts. It showcases rare artworks and historical and ancient objects as well.

Founded in 1937, the museum owes its origins to the remarkable collection of artifacts and manuscripts which have been acquired and preserved intact in the treasury of the shrine through the centuries.

Moreover, it contains a noticeable collection of articles that were once in use in the shrine and handicrafts, works of art, and antiquities that have been donated by the devotees of Imam Reza (AS). The records stored in the archives of the museum, which are relative to such collections, indicate how systematically they have been cataloged by the treasurers in the course of their service.

Mashhad is Iran’s holiest and second-largest city. Its raison d’être and main sight is the striking massive shrine complex of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam. Mashhad attracts millions of pilgrims each year.

AM