Iran at the height of travel season

By Afshin Majlesi

TEHRAN – Perhaps it is tough to define a best time for visiting Iran, which is known as a four-season country, I mean spring, summer, fall and winter; each having its own charms and travel lovers.

However, from a wider point of view, like any other international destination, there is usually a low-season and a high-season for typical globetrotters in particular when it comes to weather conditions or saving time and money. Wicked weather for the majority of travelers could mean snowy slopes for outdoor enthusiasts.

Some experts say there is a lot to love in Iran during the fall (September, October, and November) when many places emerge from their winter blanket as pomegranates take the center stage in every corner. Others add the spring (March, April, and May) when you can also find fair weather almost everywhere; not too hot and not too cold.

Undertaking fam tours [for international travel agents, travel marketers, tour operators, and media personnel], offering [bargaining] travel packages, influencers' portrayals of Iran in the social media, and digital marketing, are among elements, which have fueled the boom this year, Deputy Tourism Minister Vali Teymouri has said.

However, any time of year you pick to vacation, usually affects prices you’ll pay and your travel experience, as you know busy seasons attract lots of tourists to popular destinations.  Some folks would rather book a getaway during a peak season to have ideal weather or because it works best for family holidays.

To find good rates, if you don’t mind hot weather, you may tour Iran between June and September or even during wintertime when it’s slightly colder.

I, personally, am in favor of roaming in low or shoulder season when things are cheaper and quieter!

Don’t forget to mind public holidays and religious events that are of high importance as well, for instance; Norouz (Iranian New year), which usually spans from March 21 to April 6 each year); Ramadan (dates vary), when eating and drinking is forbidden just in public; and the first ten-day of the lunar month of Muharram (dates vary) when mourning ceremonies for Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam, are observed in every corner of the country.

Official views

On Saturday (Nov. 23), Deputy Tourism Minister Vali Teymouri talked on the matter, calling “the second half of autumn” as the peak of foreign tourists’ visits to Iran.

“Following several follow-up assemblies between the Tourism Ministry, stakeholders in tourism and hospitality industries and the private investors, the country has been in preparation for [meeting] requirements of the high-season of foreign tourists,” Teymouri said, IRNA reported.

“For the time being, a significant number of foreign tourists are visiting the country, creating a boom in the inbound tours,” the official said, without mentioning a figure.

Undertaking fam tours [for international travel agents, travel marketers, tour operators, and media personnel], offering [bargaining] travel packages, influencers' portrayals of Iran in the social media, and digital marketing are among elements, which have fueled the boom this year, the official explained.

He also referred to the concept of “Iranophobia”, saying travelers to the country will well-differentiate between what they have personally perceived and the image some Western countries and media try to portray from Iran and its people.

Cutting traveling bureaucracies

As of August, all Iranian border crossings are letting foreign nationals in without passport stamps according to a presidential decree that orders for the waiver of physical stamping on travelers’ passports upon entering or leaving the country.

The decision is expected to facilitate travels to the country without fear of possible U.S. penalties, as last year, Washington announced travelers to some certain countries including Iran would face restrictions to enter the U.S.

The Islamic Republic is also undertaking a pilot project in a select of its airports, issuing electronic visas -- without any entry or exit stamps.

The Iranian government has waived visa requirements for passport holders from China and Hong Kong to attract more foreign tourists from the Far East; however, it is a unilateral measure i.e. Iranian tourists visiting China or Hong Kong still need visas.

Iran embraces hundreds of historical sites such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 22 being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Machgharah: The town of Resistance and Martyrs commemorates Imam Hussein’s Martyrdom

By Sondos Al-Asaad

BEIRUT - Thousands of mourners have gathered from various West Bekaa villages to mark the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the third Shiite Imam and the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), in the Lebanese town of Machgharah, to pledge allegiance to Imam Hussein and to resonate their firm stance to all the conspirators that no war shall weaken their determination and faith in the approach of resistance.

The black-clad were crouched on the floor with tears streaming down their faces, as they listen to Husseini eulogies.  Besides, Imam al-Mahdi Scout, male and female members, partook in the parade, holding black flags and pictures of Hezbollah martyrs; slapping their chests and chanting, "Never to Humiliation.''

At the end of the parade, Hezbollah MP Hussein El-Haj-Hassan delivered a speech, in which he asserted that the US and the Zionists, along their allies, are hardly working to besiege the Islamic Republic and the resistance movements in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
"We vow the supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on this day, as Imam Hussein's companions and as Sayyed Hassan Nasrullah said yesterday, 'Oh master and leader, if we are to be killed, all of us, we shall never leave you, Oh son of Hussein. '''

El-Haj-Hassan added that if the Islamic Republic is in distress, then all the resistance movements would stand in solidarity with it, merely because of the dignity Iran has brought us.

"The people of West Bekaa stand with Iran and the resistance.  This is our religious, political, national and ideological obligation,'' the deputy avowed.

If bounteousness and hospitality could indeed be measured, then the Machgharis are Lebanon's most generous servants to the lovers of Imam Hussein.

During the 10 days of A'ashuraa's religious rituals, they provide copious supplies of free food and beverages, in honour of Imam Hussein's martyrdom.

Weeks ahead, preparations get underway; they set up their houses to accommodate the mourners, in every possible way, as they perceive Imam Hussein as the beacon of honour and salvation. 

On the day of A'sahuraa, they prepare meals; the main drive for this is their devotion to the holy Ahlulbiet. This annual ritual is considered holy for anyone who cooks or eats it.

The Machgharis are well known for their high humility, enthusiasm and solid commitment to the resistance, in the defence of their homeland and sacred cause.

They are part and parcel of the resistance, have fought for years within its ranks and have sacrificed a large number of martyrs, mostly during direct confrontations; among others: Hajj Abu Hassan Muhammad Bejaihji, Leader Hussein Meri and Hajj Ibrahim al-Hajj, known as Hajj Salman, who martyred championing the oppressed Iraqi people in the face of the savage aggression by ISIS.

The Machgharis believe that A'ashura symbolises the eternal and unwavering stance of truth against falsehood, injustice, tyranny and oppression, the cause for which Imam Hussein was martyred.

Machgharah is inhabited by both Catholic and Orthodox Christians and Shiite Muslims, which makes it a mosaic of cultural and social diversity.

It is also a fertile ground for intellectuals like al-?urr al-A'amili al-Mashghari, a prominent theologian and hadith scholar, who wrote numerous books, notably: Wasa’el ash-Shiite, which is a vast but concise compilation and classification of Hadith that took him 18 years to compose.

The stunning town of Machgharah sits on the eastern slope of Mount Lebanon, along the Yammouneh fault and is known for its orchards, narrow streets and ubiquitous stairs.

According to some chroniclers, its name derives from Mash'arta, with the root, Sha'ar, meaning 'gush' in the Phoenician language, as the town has multiple springs, cascades and streams.

Iranians and Iraqis are inseparable

By M.A. Saki

The two nations of Iran and Iraq are bonded together by geography and more importantly religion, especially in the form of Shia Islam.

The religious bonds that have linked the Iranian and Iraqi people are quite clear in rituals marking Arbaeen during which millions of Iranians pour into Iraq to visit the shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) in Karbala. The great march of Iranians toward Karbala during the Arbaeen pilgrimage is now famous in the world. 

Add to these millions of Iraqi pilgrims who visit the shrines of Imam Reza (AS) and Hazrat Masumeh (SA) inside Iran and hundreds of thousands of Iranians who frequently visit the shrine cities of Karbala, Najaf, and Samarra, Kadhimiya in northern Baghdad.

The love for Shia imams has been so strong that even repeated terrorist attacks on pilgrims when Iraq was not in a good shape in terms of security could not deter Iranians from visiting the shrines in Iraq.

Also, Iranian and Iraqi Kurds are linked together in terms of ethnicity and language. Even Lors in western Iran, who see themselves linguistically and ethnically close to the Kurds, have strengthened this sense of solidarity between Iranians and Iraqis. Similarly, ethnic Arabs in the southwestern province of Khuzestan also cherish Iraq.

No official in Washington, no matter how much mad he might be, can deny this strong feeling between Iranians and Iraqis.

It is for this reason that in his talks with President Hassan Rouhani in Baghdad on Monday, President Barham Salih, an ethnic Kurd, said, “I consider the Iranian nation as our family and consider Iran as our second homeland.”

Iran was home to some former and current Iraqi leaders, both Kurds and Shias, who led struggles against Saddam Hussein during his ruthless reign of Iraq. Even some religious leaders like Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who is considered a very wise figure and played a key role in defusing sectarian violence in Iraq, is originally Iranian.

Let’s cite a memory. An Iranian photojournalist, who had travelled to Iraq to make a documentary, said he went to a small shop to buy cigarettes. He said when he started to speak in English with the salesclerk he was immediately told to speak in Farsi. The photojournalist said he asked the salesclerk “how did you learn Farsi?” to which he responded: “I learnt Farsi when I was a prisoner of war in Iran”. The photojournalist said the Iraqi salesclerk was even hanging a photo of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on the wall of his shop.

This instance by itself shows that even Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran in the 1980s, which left hundreds of thousands of deaths on both sides, failed to break the strong friendship between the Iranian and Iraqi people. 

There are many reasons to cite why Iran and Iraq have good memories of each other despite the wounds left from Saddam’s invasion of Iran. 

In view of these facts, those who are against the good relationship between Iraq and Iran are better to consult a psychologist and talk to a sociologists to find about this sense of amity, although hatred of Iran in some people like John Bolton, Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are so excessive that they do not care about such facts. 

Iran was the first country that recognized the post-Saddam governing system in Iraq in 2003. Iran’s timely military support for Iraq when Daesh (ISIS) launched a sudden and rapid attack on Iraq from Syria in June 2014 is clear to the Arab world and the West and the Iraqis, both Arabs and Kurds, are thankful of this.

Saudi Arabia, which considers itself an ally of Washington, made great efforts to undermine the post-Saddam Iraq. Also, intelligence evidences showed that Saudi nationals formed the second largest number of terrorists in Iraq when Daesh was committing indescribable crimes in the country. Riyadh was also so angry of the ruling Iraqi system that it refused to establish diplomatic ties with Baghdad until December 2015. 

However, the U.S., instead of being thankful to Iran for its approach toward the post-Saddam Iraq, has intensified its hostility against Iran by quitting the international 2015 nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions on the country. 

Now, ignorant or oblivious of all these facts, the Trump administration is pressing Iraq to join the anti-Iran sanctions without knowing that even eight years of war failed to separate Iranians and Iraqis. 

From an objective anthropological and sociological point of view, these two nations see themselves close together.

Yemeni Muslims Stage Massive Rally to Mark Ashura (+Photos)

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Yemeni people from every walk of life, poured into streets in the capital, Sana’a, to commemorate the day of Ashura, which marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shiite Imam, and his companions.

Tens of thousands of Yemeni people gathered to participate in the rally, which opened with a speech of Leader of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah Movement Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi in Sana’a on Thursday.

During the demonstration, the Yemenis chanted slogans against all oppressors and arrogant powers in the world.

Ashura, the 10th day of the lunar month of Muharram, marks the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and his 72 faithful companions in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.

The rally came as Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by a coalition led by the Saudi regime for more than three years but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights announced in a statement on March 25 that the war had left 600,000 civilians dead and injured until then. The war and the accompanying blockade have also caused famine across Yemen.