TEHRAN – Gilan, a lush green touristic province in northern Iran, has recorded more than seven million visits to its attractions in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21).

Statistics show more than 7 million tourists visited Gilan’s historical, natural, cultural, and recreational destinations in the first 5 months of the year, CHTN quoted the provincial tourism chief as saying on Sunday.

Gilan Rural Heritage Museum attracted the highest number of visitors compared to any other site during the period, Vali Jahani said.

Covering an area of 45 hectares within the Saravan Forest Park, 18km south of Rasht (2km off the Qazvin highway), the open-air museum features the traditional lifestyle of Gilak people, their traditions, authentic local clothing, food, handicraft souvenirs, and musical instruments.

Sophisticated Rasht, capital of Gilan province, has long been a weekend escape for residents of Tehran who are looking to sample the famous local cuisine and hoping for some pluvial action – it's the largest, and wettest town in the northern region. Gilan is divided into a coastal plain, including the large delta of Sefid Rud and adjacent parts of the Alborz mountain range.

The historical Gilan region was within the sphere of influence of the successive Achaemenian, Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian empires that ruled Iran until the 7th century CE. The subsequent Arab conquest of Iran led to the rise of many local dynasties, and Gilan acquired an independent status that continued until 1567.

AFM