Khorasan Razavi

Khorasan or “khoorasan” province is in far east of Iran. “khoor” in old Persian language means sun and  because the sun rises from the east and this province is located in north east of Iran , the first place which sun covers the country is Khorasan. Khorasan means the place that sun rises first and we can call it the land of rising sun.

History of province

the history of Khorasan goes to prehistorian time when the first men started to settle in caves and started the very first civilizations in the world, the history of Khorasan had been changed between different dynasties trough history and it had fluctuations form climatic point of view and got dryer and dryer. The mother of nature was more kind to this part of the world in old times and you could find a very fruitful farming system at that time. Even today Khorasan has one of the best irrigation farming systems in country and it is the hub of saffron production farms in the country. Even today the best souvenir of khorasanrazavi or mashhad is saffron for local and international tourists visiting mashhad ,the capital of Khorasan Iran.
Mashhad means the place of witness. Mashhad is the holy city of central khorasanrazavi province and it is the place of burial of 8th Imam and leader of Shia Muslims which was poisoned and assassinated by his enemy and after his burial the followers and disciples of him made a huge and vast shrine to keep his position and leadership in minds for thousand years.
Mashhad is the tourism hub of Shiism in Islam and each year millions of pilgrims visit the holy shrine and tomb to bless themselves and stay there for recreation too. The climate of mashhad is not very delicate and in winter the temperature drops down below zero. But this freezing weather never prevents the pilgrims from visiting their beloved leader shrine and in summer the hot weather can stop pilgrims from staying in Khorasan razavi and touching the stones of shrine as a piece of gold and asking him to bless them.
The shrine itself is like a city alone and it is like a very large jami mosque that contains libraries, museums, schools, kitchen and dining facilities, accommodation and hotels, clinics, ablution facilities, bath and hygienic centers and other religious services.
In very old times most of the people of this province accept and followed Zoroastrianism in Sassanid era, after Arab conquest people of Khorasan accepted Islam until today even they confronted Arab invasion and at last the Partians or same people of Khorasan pushed Arab invaders to the borders of Iran. But they kept Islam religion and now mashhad has one of the most conservative shia people in the world. Mashhad is a real religious city and they follow the Islam rules in a very fundamental way and they are very proud of that issue. After the Mongols invasion they confronted them and pushed them out after centuries. Even during wars, they are one of the bravest armies which defended their mother land .

Tourism in province 

Khorasan Razavi province and its capital holy city ,mashhad, as spiritual heart of shiism and orthodox Muslim society is a tourism hub of Khorasan Iran. Each year millions of people and pilgrims visit this city not just for religious reasons but also for business or recreation. There are many industrial and economical centers where people are working . some people and  their families are living or visiting Mashhad as a business center for a short stay. There are many universities and conventional centers which many students are visiting and studying in those universities and cultural centers. They stay in Razavi Khorasan conventional centers for a while and after that they return to their own cities to transfer this science to other students and other scientists. Mashhad is a tourism hub for other neighboring provinces too. Each year millions of dollars are flowing to Mashhad by local and international tourists and this wealth and prosperity changed the face of mashhad in a way that you cannot find in other cities. There are hundreds of hotels and guest houses which serve the pilgrims in special events and there are hundred flights which serve the normal and religious tourists and pilgrims via mashhad international airport. There is a very good railway system which goes to Mashhad to support the pilgrims and there are hundred buses which transfer pilgrims from mashhad to the far corners of the country. There are many good restaurants and food stores, traditional and modern, which serve meals to pilgrims and local tourists during their stay. Because of competition between service providers the margins of benefits are small and because of this it is very cheap to stay in Razavi Khorasan.

Culture and customs of province

Mashhad is a religious and cultural city. It is important to follow the religious rules in this city, they are very conservative and keen Islamic rules and its people expect you to follow the religious rules too. They are kind and helpful and like to help you on any occasion. It does not mean they are looking at your personal life, but it is more supportive for foreigners. In mashhad everything is related to the shrine of the 8th imam of shia Muslims. From each corner you can find people finding their way in crowds to reach the shrine for prayers in morning, noon and evening. The people of mashhad are mostly educated, there are many universities active there. They are very fond of literature, poetry, handicrafts, and culture. In this city you can find many mosques, religious schools, universities , normal schools and other cultural centers as conventional and special events which attract millions of tourists each year. So tourism, especially religious tourism is very important and brings millions of dollars to this city each year. Tourism in mashhad is at high level in all seasons of the year and depending on religious events millions of pilgrim’s rush to this holy city to fulfill their religious needs and desires.

How to arrange your itinerary?

Mashhad has the best touristic infrastructure in country , reaching Mashhad is not so hard , you can find bus , train and even flight to reach mashhad , there are many hotels, guest house, hotel apartments and even religious facilities like mosques and schools you can stay but finding a proper accommodation sometimes is hard to find in special religious events because thousands of local tourists are occupying hotels or reserve hotels month ago so finding the best service time and flights is hard to predict and needs a professional guide to arrange your travel. Besides the religious events are so different, it is hard to understand them for non-muslim people and sometimes it is not possible at all, so on this occasion it is better to ask a travel agent to consult and advise you on what to do and when and where to go. In this matter you can consult “sanapersian tour and travel service providing group” the whole time even in holidays. All professional guides and service provider members are online 24 hours and you can trust them to support you and find the best time and best place and best transportation system to give you the best travel experience in your life. These people have more than 25 years experience and they can advise you in the best manner. And treat you as a member of their families. In our culture a guest is like a member of a family and everybody treats you like a member of family so please join the big family of “sanapersian” agency and enjoy your precious time traveling Iran and stay in Razavi Khorasan province, the spiritual heart of religious cities in Iran.

Best time to travel to province

Khorasan Razavi is located in a very hot and dry desert and it is very cold in winter and very hot in summer. But beside the location and climate of that territory , there is another issue you should consider when you try to visit mashhad , the religion and religious events are so important for visitors which cover the climatic restrictions. No matter if there is snow or rain, cold and hot weather, the local people or Muslims from other countries, especially neighbors rush to this city during the year. So there is no best time to visit mashhad. Finding a hotel sometimes is a nightmare for tourists and finding a flight or train ticket is harder to find. In some special events more than 2 million pilgrims rush to the city for two or more days. On these occasions you should ask an expert to arrange your time and facilities and services you need. Because of the shortage of hotels and flights, somebody should help you to arrange your flight and book your hotel. In this case I recommend you to ask from “sanapersian.travel ” to give you the best advice and arrange your time.

Pros and cons

Khorasan razavi is a good tourism hub and has very good infrastructure, it is cheap to travel and the reasonable prices is another benefit for pilgrims and other normal tourists, you can taste good local foods and visit hundred old beautiful mosques which talk to you about old history of this territory occupied thousands years ago.
There is no peak and low season so finding the best date is not so hard but in special religious events finding a hotel and flight is hard and sometimes not possible. On this occasion choosing a good professional consultant is absolutely a must. Never forget to consult a guide before arranging your visit and travel to Khorasan Razavi.

Conclusion

If you are religious or you want to experience a very religious city, visit the holy city of mashhad, spiritual heart and tourism hub of khorasanrazavi. It is a unique experience you cannot find in any country. It is very different from Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, Kerman and other tourism hub you can find in textbooks and other information books about Iran. but never forget to consult a travel agent before arranging your visit of khorasanrazavi . 
We are looking forward to seeing you in Khorasan Iran soon. 

 
  (Sana Persian tour and travel service provider group)