Museums Closed for Only 6 Days

With only six days off, Iranian museums and cultural heritage sites are among those worldwide with the least number of days closed, according to the director of Museums and Historical Moveable Properties Office at Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.

Last week, Shahab Naderi, vice chairman of the tourism group in the Parliament, criticized the ICHHTO for closing all historical sites and museums it manages on public holidays, and said the move was illegal.

However, Mohammad Reza Kargar denied those assertions.

"Up until last year (ended March 20), all ICHHTO-managed sites and museums used to close for a total of 15 days every year, but we've reduced them to only six days now," he was quoted by ISNA as saying

He said until May 2015, museums were even closed on Mondays; however, all sites managed by the organization are now only closed for a total of six days; five of which are religious holidays and one a national holiday, and all of which are days of mourning.

"On those days, such as Ashura (the day of Imam Hussein's (PBUH) martyrdom) large events are organized nationwide on the streets and in mosques, so people are unlikely to visit museums," Kargar said.

To help encourage more people to visit museums and cultural sites, the organization announced last week that it would not increase entry fees this year (ends March 20, 2018).