Khorasan province has been always a center of art, science and also the source of some important events in history, one of which is the presence and funeral of the eighth Imam of the Shia and formation of Razavi holy shrine in this land.
The local importance of Mashhad owes to the presence of Imam Reza holy shrine in this city that attracts annually about 20 million tourists around the country and other nations of the world.
Ali-Ibn-Mosa-Ibn-Jafar who’s famous with the name of Imam Reza is one of the grandchildren of The Prophet, considered as the eighth Imam of the Shia who was martyred during Abbasid dynasty (750-1258 ad) in Iran. Nowadays, his holy shrine attracts millions of pilgrims annually.
Mashhad was chosen as the “capital of Islamic culture” at 2018 by the Islamic, Educational, scientific and cultural organization of ISSCO which made it more attractive for the whole world especially Muslims of other countries.
Mashhad is a target for those who want to spend their New Year day of Nowrooz in a religious place, that’s why many people try to go to the holy shrine of Imam Reza at first moments of the New Year and pray there for having a good and exuberant year.
At first hours of the New Year’s celebration day, all spaces of the holy shrine are filled with eager pilgrims containing courtyards and porticos.
Nowrooz is the first day of the new Iranian year at March, 20 or 21 which is considered as one of the oldest celebrations of the New Year worldwide.
Nowrooz is celebrated in Iran and Afghanistan plus it is a holiday in some other countries such as Tajikistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Syria, Kurdistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Albania, China, Turkey, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan in which people celebrate Nowrooz as a holiday.
Holy shrine of Imam Reza is the main religious and tourist attraction of Khorasan Razavi province and Mashhad. The glorious Islamic architecture is observed in this place which contains a historical art collection of aprons, porches, porticos, rich museums and a central library.
This unique library which is one of the biggest collections of the Middle East contains millions of books in different languages.
The holy shrine of Imam Reza provides pilgrimage opportunities for tourists plus a unique library and also happy places for children, and also numerous attractions for internal and international tourists.
Astan Quds Museum of carpet which is one of the biggest ones in the Middle East is also an exclusive treasury with more than 650 hand-woven Iranian carpets from Safavid era to the present time. This museum is located next to the Imam Reza holy shrine.
Khorasan Razavi province and especially Mashhad has other tourist attractions in addition to the holy shrine of Imam Reza, one of which is Ferdowsi’s tomb, the epic poet of Persia (Iran) whose 30-year fruit of efforts is Shahname book of poems which is considered to be equivalent to Iliad and Odyssey of Greek poet Homer.
Ghasbe borough is the oldest one with a history of 2500 years, Khayyam and Attar tombs, Harooniye monument; Torghabe and Shandiz tourist regions, Nader Shah’s tomb and Naderi museum, plus numerous commercial and tourist locations are among the tourist attractions of Khorasan Razavi province and Mashhad.
This province is also a scientific center of Iran which contains Ferdowsi University and Mashhad medical university. Ferdowsi University is ranked as the second important universities of Iran in which many Iranian and foreign students study.
Traditional music of Khorasan has a long history with some particular features that had a prominent effect on Iranian music evolution throughout the history. As a result, most music elites believe that Khorasan has been a traditional music center since a long time ago.
Mashhad also has some subspecialty hospitals with significant medical facilities which have made Mashhad as a medical tourist region for many neighboring countries.
Mashhad economy is mostly dependent on Imam Reza holy shrine plus many commercial centers and medical facilities for health tourism.
Khorasan Razavi province and especially Mashhad is firstly dependent on pilgrimage tourists who travel to this city for the sake of Imam Reza holy shrine, diverse tourist attractions, scientific and medical centers, etc. although it doesn’t mean that some agriculture, livestock and industrial capacities of this province are ignored.
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