TEHRAN – Khorramshahr is planning to host a national conference on dark tourism.

A prime destination for war tourism, the port city suffered great damage when captured by Iraqi forces in 1980 and recaptured by Iranian troops in 1982.

Khorramshahr will host a national conference on war tourism to honor the bravery and courage of the men and women who sacrificed their lives to protect our beloved country, CHTN quoted Khorramshahr’s tourism chief as saying on Tuesday.

Filled with bitter and treasured memories, the Iraqi-imposed war was a turning point in the contemporary history of Iran and the Islamic Revolution, Sajjad Pakgohar official explained.

Since the end of the war, those former battlefields have been visited by thousands of domestic and international travelers each year, he said.

Though many border cities are directly involved in the war, Khorramshahr is highly honored as a symbol of resistance. It is high on the ‘will go’ index of adventure travelers interested in such niche tourism.

The third of Khordad (May 24) marks the anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr from Saddam Hussein’s invading army back in May 1982, when Iranians laid another foundation for sacrifice, resistance, and final victory with their blood. Iranian forces recaptured the southwestern strategic port city in a landmark operation code named Beit ol-Moqaddas.

According to Goharpak, 25 spots have so far been identified in the port city, which makes it a noteworthy destination when it comes to war tourism. “Khorramshahr is so great that right now we are facing a museum city because countless incidents took place in every neighborhood of the city.”

For those interested in visiting an epitome of frontline elsewhere from the former battlefields, Tehran embraces several destinations; the Sacred Defense Museum, Tehran Peace Museum, and Behesht-e Zahra—a graveyard where many of the martyrs are buried. The epic-scale Sacred Defense Museum does bargain something different in modern Iranian history where you can delve into wreckages of rockets, tanks, rifles, vessels, mortars, radars, air defense systems, grounded jets, military supplies, and artillery pieces amongst others.

The museum is equipped with a state-of-the-art visual system, including projections and video walls, while audio recordings relevant to each period contribute to its charm. The recreation of the liberation of the city of Khorramshahr by the means of virtual exhibits and video projections is amongst the main features of the museum, where stands a replica of the Khorramshahr mosque adorned with creamy and turquoise patterned tiles.

Iran-Iraq War was the second-longest war of the 20th-century after the Vietnam War.

AFM