Araz Gholami

The Organization of Islamic Conference, known today as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), launched a project in 2015 called the Islamic Countries’ Tourism Capital. In this project, each year a city from the Islamic world is introduced as the “Tourism Capital of the Islamic World.”

In 2015 it was Jerusalem; in 2016, Konya in Turkey; in 2017, Medina in Saudi Arabia; and finally, during the Senior Officials Meeting of the 9th Islamic Conference of Tourism Ministers held in Niamey, Niger, the historic city of Tabriz was selected as the Tourism Capital of the Islamic World for 2018.

The choice was based on factors such as history, culture, religion, centuries of being a capital city, and also being the most modern, healthiest, most beautiful, and most developed city in Iran today. Thanks to these strengths, Tabriz earned the title by surpassing rivals such as Taling (Malaysia), Palga and Sild (Bangladesh), Mardin (Turkey), Medina (Saudi Arabia), and Yazd (Iran).

What struck me at the time was that there was no comprehensive resource introducing Tabriz’s historical, recreational, and overall tourism sites. Whatever services existed, they only showed a drop from this endless sea.

In the absence of officials who seemed unconcerned, I decided to design and implement a free, open-access encyclopedia for Tabriz tourism, with information, photos, and even virtual tours of its attractions. Eventually, after some work, the TabrizTrip project was launched in early March. It now publishes information and images of more than 170 tourist sites, with over 40 more in preparation.

The second section of the site also includes travel guides covering tips and recommendations, local foods and souvenirs, language, customs and traditions, biographies of notable figures from Tabriz, travelogues, Azerbaijani music and dance, as well as practical information on hotels, maps, and transport. Altogether, it offers complete resources for any traveler.

Many friends helped me with this project, and every part of the website reflects the generous contributions of those who devoted their valuable time purely out of love for this city, with no expectations in return. I owe each of them my sincere thanks.

Here it is: TabrizTrip, the Encyclopedia of Tabriz Tourism