Old cypress trees of Iran are highly appreciable for tourism goals due to their symbolic, historic, cultural, religious and environmental values. Tourism is a leading and dynamic industry, hence valuable from economic, social and cultural perspectives at international and local level. Heritage trees have a significant role in tourism industry. Iran is one of the main centers of origins of common cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.) in the world. This evergreen and sacred tree is a prominent part of history, culture, literature, traditions, arts, religious beliefs, romance, folklore and economy of the countries in the Mediterranean basin, Southwest Asia, Asia Minor and North Africa. Moreover, cypress tree is the symbol of eternity and immortality, hence planted in cemeteries in Iran and some other countries from immemorial. The occurrence of some rare ancient cypress trees and many old ones in different parts of the country, indicates the adaptability of this tree species to climatic conditions of Iran. The millennial and centennial cypress trees of Iran are invaluable for ecotourism and their unique distribution across the country, paves the ground for benefiting from all other tourism appeals along with "Iran cypress trees tour". Monumental cypress trees in Iran are found in historic gardens, botanic gardens, public gardens, private gardens, fire temples, tombs, mosques and other religious and historic sites, highlighting their tourism value. Iran cypress trees tour as a tourism event is addressed in this article and could be scheduled as provincial, regional or national. Cypress museum is also another suggestion of the authors and Shiraz University Natural History and Technology Museum, is a good candidate for this purpose. Considering the significance of ancient and old cypress trees of Iran for tourism, the protection of these heritage trees is vital and requires governmental support and effective contribution of people and NGOs. In this review article, the value of old cypress trees of Iran as a precious tourism appeal, is addressed and the necessity for their protection and propagation is briefly presented. |
