TEHRAN—Foreign travelers conducted over 63,000 visits to tourist attractions across Fars province in southern Iran during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year, which shows 72 percent growth compared to the same period last year.

“During the first five months of 1403, 63,440 foreigners visited the historical and cultural places of Fars, which shows a 72% increase compared to the same period last year,” IRNA quoted the provincial tourism chief as saying on Monday.

For example, 8,247 foreign nationals visited the historical and cultural places of Fars in the month of Mordad (July 23-August 22), and the number of foreign tourists visiting these places increased by 16% compared to the same period last year, Seyyed Moayed Mohsen-Nejad said.

Throughout the five months, some 3,264,000  Iranians and foreign nationals visited the historical and touristic places of Fars, which shows a 6 percent increase compared to a year earlier, the official said.

Talking about the tourism circuit of Fars province, the official said Hafeziyeh, Sa’di mausoleum, Persepolis, Arg-e Karim Khan, Pasargadae, Vakil bathhouse, and Naqsh-e Rostam draw the highest number of visitors, respectively.

The ancient region of Fars also spelled Pars, or Persis, was the heart of the Achaemenian Empire (550–330 BC), which was founded by Cyrus the Great and had its capital in Pasargadae. Darius I the Great moved the capital to nearby Persepolis in the late 6th or early 5th century BC.

Celebrated as the heartland of Persian culture for over 2000 years, the capital city of Shiraz has become synonymous with education, nightingales, poetry, and crafts skills passed down from generation to generation. It was one of the most important cities in the medieval Islamic world and was the Iranian capital during the Zand dynasty from 1751 to 1794. Moreover, Shiraz is home to some of the country’s most magnificent buildings and sights. Increasingly, it draws more and more foreign and domestic sightseers flocking to this provincial capital.

Afif-Abad Garden, Tomb of Hafez, Tomb of Sa’di, Jameh Mosque of Atigh, and Persepolis are among the historical, cultural, and ancient sites of Shiraz that are of interest to domestic and foreign tourists. The ancient city is also home to some magnificent historical gardens such as Bagh-e Narenjestan and Eram Garden, which are top tourist destinations both for domestic and international sightseers.

AFM