Posted on 04/12/2007 8:38:19 AM PDT by blam
Tehran's standoff with west sees tourists snub Persian treasures
Industry faces collapse as tension grows over nuclear issue and sailors' detention
Robert Tait in Tehran, The Guardian Thursday April 12 2007
Siosepol Bridge in the ancient city of Isfahan. Iran's tourist trade has been badly damaged by recent events. Photograph: Alamy
With its enduring relics of a glorious imperial past, spectacular glittering mosques and breathtaking landscapes, Iran lays claim to some of the finest cultural jewels in the Middle East.
But a potentially catastrophic collapse in the country's tourist trade is threatening to leave this dazzling array of attractions largely unseen by foreign eyes, as international tensions with the west deter a growing number of overseas visitors. The problem has been exacerbated by the recent detention of 15 British marines and sailors, which prompted mass cancellations of foreign tours to a land described this week by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as a cradle of civilisation.
Fears of military conflict over Iran's nuclear programme and disquiet over Mr Ahmadinejad's infamous remarks on the Holocaust had already caused a sharp decline in the number of affluent western visitors, a vital source of foreign currency in a struggling economy.
(Excerpt) Read more at travel.guardian.co.uk ...
FYI.
I hope to go to Iran someday to see the world’s largest field of glass.
Too bad Iran also has one of the most repressive, backward and dangeorus terrorist regime in the Middle East. I guess lacking tourists is the least thing Iran should worry about. They better look out they still have their national treasures in a few years. When things work out without someone launching a nuke there will be plenty of time for sightseeing.
Yes, it’d be a shame to destroy what realy is a repository of cultural heritage.
Simple solution is to whack the mullahs with targeted assassinations, and let the student uprisings against the remnant of the theocratic regime do the rest.
Actually all built before 1979.
They ain’t done squat since!
Thanks. Until “spectacular glittering mosques” is “spectacularly burning mosques” I won’t be interested in seeing Iran. :’) This could be a GGG topic, eh? I’ll have another look.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
They should date things in Iran as B.J.C. and A.J.C.
Before Jimmy Carter and After Jimmy Carter.
Any news on the former FBI agent “tourist” that went missing in Iran ?
I think he was there on business. I suppose he’s in a torture cell somewhere.
Proof that Iranians have significant loss of brain cells.
Threaten your tourists with nuke power and whine when they don't visit you and give you money.
I have crossed that “33 Arch Bridge” many times.
Sh!t. If you can’t eat it, drink it or screw it, blow it up. All up.
One of the rings I wear is of Persian turquoise.
I can’t help but be constantly reminded what a sad loss Iran is to the rest of the world.
I was there during the Genesis of the revolution and left 2 months prior to the hostage situation.
What was that like? Right now it’s looking like you might have gotten out in a timely fashion.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.