TEHRAN – More than 1,100 travelers visited Shahr-e on package tours of the ancient city during the two-week Noruz holidays officially started on March 21.

“Over 1,100 people visited the historical and ancient monuments of Ray on special tours during the Noruz holidays,” a local official said on Tuesday.

The historical sites of Cheshmeh-Ali, Ibn Babawayh, and Toghrol Tower were among the top destinations visited during Noruz, the official said.

Shahr-e Ray or simply Ray, is a county seat in Tehran province. Formerly a distinct city, it has now been absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran as the 20th district of municipal Tehran.

Rey was one of the capital cities of the Parthian empire (3rd century BC–3rd century CE) and it was captured by the Muslim Arabs in 641 CE. During the reign of the Muslim caliph al-Mahdi in the 8th century, the city grew in importance until it was rivaled in western Asia only by Damascus and Baghdad.

According to Britannica, Islamic writers described it as a city of extraordinary beauty, built largely of fired brick and brilliantly ornamented with blue faience (glazed earthenware). It continued to be an important city and was briefly a capital under the rule of the Seljuks, but in the 12th century, it was weakened by the fierce quarrels of rival religious sects. In 1220, the city was almost destroyed by the invading Mongols. Most of the survivors of the massacre moved to nearby Tehran, and the deserted remnants of Rey soon fell into complete ruin.

AFM