Following five years of efforts made by George H. Bissell and Col. Drake for the discovery of oil, on 27 Aug. 1859, oil was found in the first well dug by human hand in America. The value of oil was recognized quickly and efforts in this regard were initiated in other parts of the world too. These efforts in Iran came to fruition through the oil discovery in Masjed-i-Soleiman in 1908. The history of this development is very interesting and memorable since then oil industry developed quickly in Iran and the modern city of Masjed-i-Soleiman was established as a center of oil activities in Iran. Many industrial establishments were created to serve oil industry. Through passage of time and discovery of oil in other parts of Iran as well as reduction of oil reserves in Masjed-i-Soleiman, this legendary city gradually lost its momentum during 1970s. It is now a poor city lacking required facilities and has left a great history behind it. The abandoned establishments left from the period of oil activities constitute a major part of this history. In this research project the oil history and the industrial establishments left in Masjed-i-Soleiman are put forward as potentials to attract tourists and a project has been designed to take advantage of its tourism attractions. This project has been prepared within the framework of tourism development in the southwest regions of Iran, in which the provinces in the southwest of Iran are divided on the basis of existing tourism attractions. Each region has a tourism center and several tourism attractions. Oil park- museum of Masjed-i-Soleiman also acts as a center of tourism activities in the realm of Masjed-i-Soleiman tourism.
)