“Pilgrimage to the shrine complex of Imam Reza (AS) has been inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage under the number 2015 upon a proposal offered by the tourism department of Khorasan Razavi province,” provincial tourism chief Abolfazl Mokaramifar said on Monday.

“Pilgrimage is a universal concept that is common among different religions, which has been defined as the presence in holy places with the intention of honoring….,” the official explained.

Mashhad, the provincial capital, is Iran’s holiest and second-largest city. Its raison d’être and main sight is the striking massive shrine complex of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam

Dozens of five-star hotels and hostels are dotted across Mashhad. The city has also the highest concentration of water parks in the country, and it also embraces a variety of cultural and historical sites that are generally crowded. The metropolis is also a good place to buy top handwoven rugs and carpets, and it’s a staging post for travel to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and little-touristic Khorasan regions.

According to official statistics, some 37 million Iranian pilgrims and travelers visited the shrine city of Mashhad during the first ten months of the past Iranian calendar year 1398 (started on March 21, 2019). Of whom, some eight million came by road, six million by rail, 3.8 million by air, and 18 million by private cars.

AFM/MG