TEHRAN – Hundreds of joyful locals and travelers to Isfahan visited the Zayanderud river on Tuesday after water flowed into it following months of drought.

Once wide and mighty, Zayanderud, which literary means life-giving river, is one of Iran's main tourist attractions.

The river, which passes through Isfahan, has been coping with drought for more than a decade, causing problems for nearby farmers.

Some say, there are few better ways to spend an afternoon than strolling along Zayanderud, crossing back and forth on the river's 11 bridges – or even meandering along the often empty riverbed itself.

Such a stroll is especially pleasant at sunset and in the early evening when most of the bridges, five of which date back to the Safavid era, are brilliantly lit.

According to Lonely Planet, all but one of the historic Safavid-era crossings lie to the east of Chahar Bagh Abbasi St – the exception is the shorter Pol-e Marnan (Marnan Bridge) – but most people satisfy themselves with the walk from Pol-e Si-o-Seh (Si-o-Seh Bridge) to Pol-e Khaju (Khaju Bridge), and back. Traditionally, visitors to the riverbanks pause their perambulations to drink tea and enjoy sceneries at one of the atmospheric teahouses on the Khaju, Chubi, and Si-o-Seh bridges.

Isfahan has long been nicknamed as Nesf-e-Jahan, which is translated into “half the world”; meaning seeing it is relevant to see half the world.

AFM