Nearly 250 foreign tourists visit Ghor, Jawzjan in 11 months

FEROZKOH/SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): About 200 foreign tourists visited western Ghor province and 45 others visited northern Jawzjan province during the past 11 months, officials said on Wednesday.

Ghor’s Information and Culture Director Maulvi Abdul Hai Za’em told Pajhwok Afghan News more than 3,200 foreign and domestic tourists visited ancient and historical sites of the province in 1403 solar year.

He said the visitors included 200 foreigners and 3,000 domestic tourists who visited ancient and scenic sites, especially the iconic Jam Minaret.

Nationwide security and facilities for tourists attracted a largest number of tourists visiting the province, Za’em added.

According to him, there are about 1,000 historical and archaeological sites in Ghor and at least 525 more sites were identified and registered in different areas in the past three years.

On the other hand, Head of Jawzjan Information and Culture Department Maulvi Saifuddin Motasem explained 47 foreign tourists visited ancient sites in 1403 solar year.

Most tourists from Greece, China, England, America, the United Arab Emirates (UEA), Qatar, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, France, and several other countries visited some of the historical monuments of the province, he added.

Motasem explained there were 143 registered ancient sites in Jawzjan.

Some foreign tourists expressed their satisfaction with visiting Afghanistan, especially Jawzjan province.

According to Philippe, a female tourist from France, Afghanistan has natural beauty and its people are very hospitable.

“We have often heard about Afghanistan that it is an insecure country and deprived of everything. We are surprised that we have come to such a country that is judged incorrectly outside of it. I am very happy that I visited the historical places of the province”.

Cornyn, a tourist from England, said he was interested in traveling to Afghanistan and now he was confident that security was guaranteed and he could travel to any region.

“I have visited many countries, I had been planning to travel to Afghanistan for several years and I was finally able to see this country”.

hz/ma