Iran's North-South railway up for global registration: Minister

Qazvin, Dec 28, IRNA – Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Ali Asghar Mounesan said on Monday that the 1,400-kilometer North-South railway is on the waiting list for world registration. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the meeting wits cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts activists late on Monday, he added that with the global registration of this long railway, the length of the route and the cities located on it will have a very good position to attract tourists. It was very difficult to gather documents related to this heritage project, as it is the largest file submitted to UNESCO, he said. Uramanat Cultural Landscape located in the provinces of Kurdestan and Kermanshah will soon be registered globally, Mounesan said. Asked about transfer of Zanjan's saltmen to an exhibition in Germany, he said, "The exchange of historical objects between countries on loan for holding exhibitions is an opportunity to introduce the culture and history of countries, and in recent years we have taken action to hold joint exhibitions, as different countries, especially European countries, are interested in Iran's history and culture." Noting that giving historical objects on loan is contingent upon the approval of the Cabinet, he added that in case of approval, there is necessary preparation for packing and transporting saltmen to Germany and reciprocally transferring part of German historical objects to Iran for display.