Iran’s Tabriz celebrates recognition as tourism capital of Muslim world

Iran has inaugurated the biggest tourism event of Muslim states in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz to mark the recognition of the city as the tourism capital of the Islamic World in 2018.

On Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the Tabriz tourism gala, where dozens of representatives from several Muslim countries, including ministers and diplomats, participated.

A key location on the Silk Road and a gateway to Europe and East Asia, the Azeri-speaking city was named as the 2018 tourism capital of Islamic countries by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) during its meeting in Niger’s capital city of Niamey.

In its candidacy for the title, Tabriz received 90 percent of the votes cast by the 57-member Muslim body to win the title. 

The OIC first recognized al-Quds as the tourism capital of the Muslim world in 2015. The Turkish city of Konya and the Holy city of Medina were recognized as the next tourism capitals in 2016 and 2017, respectively.  

Once a center of culture and Islamic civilization and the seat of many diplomatic, political and international missions, Tabriz seeks to restore its historic glory as the new tourism capital.

Numerous cultural and artistic events as well as street festivals are underway across Tabriz in celebration of the occasion. The city has also offered special discounts on hotels, museums, historic sites and handicrafts for visitors. 

Tabriz is fabled to have been the historical site of the Garden of Eden. It is one of the most ancient and largest cities in Iran, with a history of some 4,000 years.

According to the 13th century travelogue of Venetian merchant and adventurer Marco Polo, Tabriz attracted merchandise from India and Iraq, the Persian Gulf and many other places. At the time, it was the capital of the Persian Empire which stretched from Egypt to Central Asia and from the Indian Ocean to Armenia. 

SS