Tehran
Tehran (;
Persian: تهران, also transliterated as
Teheran or
Tehrān),
population 7,160,094 (
metropolitan: 14,000,000), and a
land area of 658
square kilometers, is the
capital city of
Iran and the center of
Tehran Province. Tehran is located at .
More than half of the country's
industry is based there. Industries include the manufacturing of
cars,
electronics and
electrical equipment, military
weaponry,
textiles,
sugar,
cement, and
chemical products. It is also a leading center for the sale of
carpets and
furniture. There is an
oil refinery nearby.
Tehran is a sprawling
city at the foot of the
Alborz mountain range with an immense network of
highways unparalleled in
western Asia. It is also the hub of the country's
railway network. The city has numerous large
museums,
art centers,
palace complexes and
cultural centers.
In addition to
Persians, there is a population of
Azeris in Tehran, as well as other ethnicities including
Armenian,
Assyrian,
Kurdish and
Jewish communities. 98.3% of Tehran's residents speak
Persian. The city is dotted with
mosques, and there are a number of
churches and
synagogues.
There are various theories pertaining to the origin of the name
Tehran. The most plausible theory is that the word 'Tehran' is derived from
Tiran/Tirgan, "The Abode of Tir" (Tir being the
Zoroastrian deity equivalent to the
Greek deity
Mercury). The ancient
Parthian town of Tiran was a neighbor to the town of
Mehran ("The Abode of Mehr/Mithra, the Zoroastrian sun god). Both of these were mere villages in the suburbs of the great city of
Ray/Rhages.
Mehran is still extant and forms a residential district inside the
Greater Tehran, as is also
Ray--which forms the southern suburbs of Tehran.
Another theory is that Tehran means "a warm place", as opposed to "a cool place" (e.g.
Shemiran) - a cooler district in northern Tehran. Some current texts in this regard claim that the word Tehran in Persian means "warm mountain slope" (دامنه گرم).
|
Toopkhaneh Square, Tehran, the early to mid-1900s. |
Excavations place the existence of settlements in Tehran as far back as 6000 BC. Tehran was well known as a village in the
9th century, but was less well-known than the city of
Rhages which was flourishing nearby in the pre-
Mongol era. In the
13th century, following the destruction of Ray by
Mongols, many of its inhabitants fled to Tehran. In some sources of the Mongol era the city is mentioned as "Rhages's Tehran" (طهرانِ ری). The city is later mentioned in
Hamdollah Mostowfi's
Nuz'hat al-Qulub (written in
1340) as a famous village.
Don
Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, a
Castilian ambassador, was probably the first European to visit Tehran, stopping in July
1404, while on a journey to
Samarkand (now in
Uzbekistan) and the Mongol capital at the time. At this time, the city of Tehran was unwalled.
Tehran became a residence of the
Safavid rulers in the
17th century.
Tahmasp I built a
bazaar and a wall around the city, but it somewhat fell out of favour after
Abbas I turned sick when he was passing the city to go to a war with the
Uzbeks.
In the early
18th century,
Karim Khan Zand ordered a
palace, a
harem, and a government office to be built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital, but later moved his government to
Shiraz. Tehran finally became the capital of
Persia in
1795, when the
Qajar king
Agha Mohammad Khan was crowned in the city. It remains the capital to this day.
During
World War II,
British and
Soviet troops entered the city. Tehran was the site of the
Teheran Conference in
1943, attended by
US President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and
Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin.
Following the war, the city's older landmarks suffered under the rule of
Mohammad Reza Shah. The shah believed that ancient buildings such as large parts of the
Golestan Palace,
Takieh-ye Dowlat, The
Toopkhooneh Square (pictured to the right), and others should not be part of a modern city. They were systematically destroyed and modern 1950s and 1960s buildings were built in their place. The decision to carry this out is presently largely seen as a foolish mistake that hurt the visual fabric of the city beyond repair.
On
September 8 1978, demonstrations against the shah led to riots. The army reportedly opened fire on the demonstrating mob. Martial law was installed in the wake of the ensuing revolution, from 1978-80.
During the 1980-88
Iran-Iraq War, Tehran was the scene of repeated Scud missile attacks and air strikes against random residential and industrial targets within the city, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties.
|
Borj-e Sefid (The White Tower) in Pasdaran Ave. district. |
The
Azadi Tower is the first landmark visitors come across when arriving from the Mehrabad International Airport. The tower has become an icon for Tehran and a national symbol of Iran.
Tehran suffers from extremely serious traffic congestion and pollution problems. Respiratory ailments such as
asthma are very common. Tehran has become so congested over the past decade that the government has considered moving the nation's capital to another city to alleviate these problems and help de-centralize the economy and population. But because Iran's economy and politics are so centralized, millions have little choice but to live and work in Tehran.
The
Peacock Throne of the Persian
Shahs can be found in Tehran's
Golestan Palace. Some of the important museums are
National Museum of Iran,
Sa'dabad Palaces Complex,
Glassware and Ceramics Museum of Iran,
The Carpet Museum of Iran,
Tehran's Underglass painting Museum, and
Niavaran Palace Complex. The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is also appealing to many because it features the works of great artists such as
Van Gogh,
Pablo Picasso and
Andy Warhol.
The huge
Tehran International Fair organises many expositions. Its book expositions are especially popular. Tehran is also the seat of
Iran's Parliament (the
Majles). And Tehran is also home to the world's fourth tallest free standing structure, the
Milad Tower.
Neighborhoods and Districts of Tehran
The city of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative centers. Within these 22 districts, Tehran contains the following major neighborhoods :
Abbas Abad,
Afsariyeh,
Amir Abad,
Bagh Feiz,
Baharestan,
Darakeh,
Darband,
Dardasht,
Dar Abad,
Darrous,
Dehkadeh Olampik,
Ekhtiyariyeh,
Elahiyeh,
Evin,
Farmanieh,
Gheitariye,
Gholhak,
Gisha,
Gomrok,
Hasan Abad,
Jamaran,
Jannat Abad,
Javadiyeh,
Jomhuri,
Jordan,
Narmak,
Navvab,
Nazi Abad,
Niavaran,
Park-e Shahr,
Pasdaran,
Punak,
Ray,
Sa'adat Abad,
Sadeghiyeh,
Shahrara,
Shahr-e ziba,
Shahrak-e Gharb,
Shemiran,
Tajrish,
Tehranpars,
Vanak,
Velenjak,
Yaft Abad,
Yusef Abad,
Zafaraniyeh, etc.
For the full list, see
List of the localities around Tehran.
The older neighborhoods of Tehran
Tehran's old city fabric changed dramatically during the first
Pahlavi era. Some of the older remaining districts of Tehran are:
Udlajan,
Sangelaj,
Bazaar,
Chaleh Meydan, Dowlat. Chaleh Meydan is the oldest neighborhood of the aforementioned.
Images of Tehran
Image:BorjeSefidTehran.jpg|Borj-e Sefid (The White Tower) in Pasdaran Ave. district.Image:Tehran-arjantin.jpg|Argentina district.Image:Elahieh_view.jpg|Elahieh district view from Sadr highwayImage:Meydoon sadeghiyeh.jpg|Sadeghiyeh is a busy commercial district.Image:Tehran01-006.jpg|Aerial view of Tehran and Milad Tower in background.Image:Shariati hospital tehran.jpg|Shariati Hospital in Amir Abad district.Image:Keshavarz.jpg|Keshavarz Blvd (formerly Elizabeth Blvd), Laleh Park district.Image:Eskan_Tehran.jpg|Eskan BuildingsImage:Elahiyeh.jpg|A view of Elahiyeh district.Image:90re.jpg|A typical residential building in Tehran.Image:200nw.jpg|Northwestern TehranImage:274ar.jpg|Argentina SquareImage:Tehran03.jpg|Another viewImage:Tehran-Alborz-March_2006.jpg|Tehran in MarchImage:Shemiran.jpg|Shemiran districtImage:Gisha.jpg|The 430 m Milad Tower |
Milad Tower, the world's fourth tallest free standing structure |
Image:Bagh-melli.jpg|Bagh-e Melli (National Garden)Image:Tehrancarpetmuseummani.jpg|Iran's National Rug GalleryImage:Azadi1.jpg|Azadi Tower, Azadi Square.Image:97t.jpg|The largest flower clock in the world, Modarres Expwy.Image:Khalvat Karimkhani Golestan2.jpg|Khalvat-e Karimkhani, Golestan Palace.Image:Borj-toghrul.jpg|Toghrol Tower, 12th century.Image:SaabgheraniehPalace.jpg|"Khushk-i Ahmad Shah", Niavaran Palace ComplexImage:Shamsol Emareh Golestan.jpg|"Shamsol emareh", Golestan PalaceImage:View_of_the_saadabad_palace.JPG|Zafaraniyeh and Sa'd abad district have a wealth of cultural attractions: Sa'd Abad PalaceImage:Tehran Hasanabad.jpg|Hasanabad near the Bazaar of Tehran.Image:Museh Melli3.jpg|A bowl from the 4th Millennium BCE in the National Museum of Iran.Image:Melli Library.jpg|National Library of Iran, Niavaran branch.Image:Saleh2.jpg|Imamzadeh SalehImage:UTehran college social sciences.jpg|Tehran UniversityImage:SBU.jpg|Shahid Beheshti UniversityImage:Rahi moayeri tomb2.jpg|Tomb of Rahi MoayeriImage:Picasso kolbeh.jpg|Pol-e Rumi district has a wealth of restaurants and fast food outlets, both western and traditional.Image:Tehran03.jpg|Tehran's autumn.Image:Tehran Metro.jpg|Tehran MetroImage:Tehran_snow_new.jpg|Tehran's winterImage:Snow in Tehran 2.jpg|Tehran receives fairly large amounts of snowfall every year.Image:536.jpg|Tehran from Modarres highwayImage:Park niavaran.jpg|Niavaran ParkImage:Laleh park jonub.jpg|Laleh ParkImage:Meydan ferdowsi 042005.jpg|Ferdowsi squareAbout 30% of Iran's public-sector workforce and 45% of large industrial firms are located in Tehran and almost half of these workers work for the government. Most of the remainder of workers are factory workers, shopkeepers, labourers, and
transport workers. Few foreign companies operate in Tehran because of the
Islamic government and its poor relations with the west. But before the
Islamic revolution many western companies were active in this region. Today many modern industries of this city include the manufacturing of
cars,
electronics and
electrical equipment,
weaponry,
textiles,
sugar,
cement, and
chemical products. It is also a leading center for the sale of
carpets and
furniture. There is an
oil refinery nearby. The city has two airports, including Mehrabad International Airport,and Imam Khomeini International Airport. Tehran relies heavily on private cars,
buses,
motorcycles, and
taxis, and is one of the most car-dependent cities in the world.
Air pollution from vehicle emissions is a very big problem, and since
1979 the government of Iran has restricted private cars from entering the city center during peak traffic hours. It has also encouraged taxis and buses to convert from petrol engines to engines that use compressed
natural gas. The
Tehran Stock Exchange which is a full member of the
FIBV and a founding member of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, was one of the world's best performing stock exchanges in recent years.[
1].
In
2001 a
metro system that had been in planning since the
1970s opened the first two of seven envisaged lines -- even though the city is prone to earthquakes. Work has been slow and coverage remains very limited. Development of the
Tehran metro system had been interrupted by the
Islamic Revolution and the
Iran-Iraq War. Problems arising from the late completion of the metro led to buses taking on the role of the metro lines, serving mainly long distance routes.
Taxis filled the void for local journeys. The taxis only drive on main roads, and only within the local area, so it can be necessary to take several taxis to get to one's final destination. This has all led to extreme
congestion and
air pollution within the city.
|
Tehran currently has five Metro lines |
Tehran is served by
Mehrabad International Airport, the old airport which doubles as a military base located in the western part of the city, and
Imam Khomeini International Airport, 50 kilometers south, which handles flights from the
Persian Gulf but which will eventually handle all international flights. The new airport is more than overdue, but is efficient, although security concerns have made the governments of Britain and Australia warn their foreign nationals in Iran.
Tehran also has a central train station with connecting services round the clock to various cities in the country. There are four bus terminals that also provide connections at low fares. These are the
South,
East,
West, and
Bei-haghi Park-Drive Terminals.
While the center of the city houses the government ministries and headquarters, the commercial centers are more located toward
Valiasr Street, Taleghani Ave, and Beheshti Ave. further north. Although administratively separate,
Rey,
Shemiran, and
Karaj are often considered part of the larger Tehran metropolitan area.
See also:
List of Tehran metro stations,
Tehran MonorailEver since the establishment of
Darolfonoon in the mid 1800s, Tehran has amassed an abundance of institutions of higher education. Some of these institutions have played crucial roles in the unfolding of Iranian political events.
Tehran University is the earliest state university and the largest university of Iran.
Samuel M. Jordan, whom "Jordan Avenue" in Tehran is named after, was also one of the founding pioneers of the
American College of Tehran. Today There are nearly 50 major colleges and universities in total in
Greater Tehran, listed below:
Tehran also contains Iran's largest military academy, and several religious schools and seminaries. See
List of colleges and universities in Tehran for a more comprehensive listing.
Tehran was the first city in the Middle East to host the
Asian Games. The 7th Asian Summer Games in
1974, was held with the participation of 2,363 athletes and officials from 25 countries.
Tehran is also the site of Iran's national football stadium on
Azadi Sport Complex with 100,000
seating capacity. Many of the top matches of Iran's Premier League are held here. In 2005,
FIFA ordered Iran to limit spectators allowed into Azadi stadium because of a fatal crush and inadequate safety procedures. Other stadiums in Tehran are
Shahid Dastgerdi Stadium, Takhti Stadium, and Shahid Shirudi Stadium, among others.
|
The French (Poma) built gondolas that carry tourists and skiers to Tochal mountain. |
Within 10 minutes of driving distance from Tehran lies a ski resort.
Tochal is the world's fifth highest ski resort at over 3730m at its highest
7th station. The resort was completed in 1976 shortly before the overthrow of the Shah.
Here, one must first ride the eight km (five mile) long gondola lift which covers a huge vertical. The 7th station has three slopes. The resort's longest slope is the south side U shaped slope which goes from the 7th station to 5th station. The other two slopes are located on the north side of the 7th station. Here, there are two parallel chair ski lifts that go up to 3900m near Tochal's peak (at 4000m), rising higher than the gondola 7th station. This altitude is higher than any of the European resorts.
From the Tochal peak, one has a spectacular view of the Alborz range, including the 5671 metre (18606 ft) high Mt. Damavand, a dormant volcano.
At the bottom of the lifts in a valley behind the Tochal peak is Tochal hotel, located at 3500m altitude. From there a T lift takes skiers up the 3800 metres of Shahneshin peak, where the third slope of Tochal is.
Tochal 7th station has skiing eight months of the year. But there are also some glaciers and year-round snow fields near Tehran where skiing began in 1938, thanks to the efforts of two German railway engineers. Today, 12 ski resorts operate in Iran, but the most famous are
Tochal,
Dizin, and
Shemshak, all within one to three hours of Tehran.
See also: Sports in IranFootball
In
football (soccer), Tehran is host to seven football clubs in
Iran's Premier Football League, namely:
These clubs have on numerous occasions won Asian titles, and some of their players are known internationally. The prominent matches are usually held at
Azadi stadium.
*
Tochal Ski resort*
Darband hiking trail
*
Chitgar Park*
Mellat Park*
Laleh Park*
Jamshidieh Park*
Niavaran Park*
Sa'ei Park*
Daneshju Park*
Shahr-e Bazi amusement park.
*
Shatranj Park*
Darabad hiking trail
*
Darakeh hiking trail
*Jahan-e Kudak Park
*
Azadi Sports complex*
Enghelab Sports Complex and Golf course
*Several caves, springs, and waterfalls outisde Tehran.
*
Latyan Lake
*
Lavizan Forest Park
*
Vardavard Forest Park
*Khajeer National Park
*
Kavir National Park*Tar Lake
*
Amir Kabir Lake*
Lar Protected Natural Habitat
*Varjeen Protected Natural Habitat
*
Pardisan*
Tangeh Savashi*
Shahr-e BaziTehran, as Iran's showcase and historical capital city, has a wealth of cultural attractions, some of which are listed below.
Religious centers
*
Hosseiniye Ershad*Soltani Mosque, built by
Fath Ali Shah*Atiq Mosque, built in 1663.
*Mo'ezz o-dowleh mosque, built by
Fath Ali Shah*Haj Seyd Azizollah mosque, built by
Fath Ali Shah*Al-javad mosque, Iran's first modernist design mosque.
*The Old Sepahsalar mosque, another prominent
Qajar era mosque.
*The new Sepahsalar mosque (Madreseh e Motahari)
*Filsuf o-dowleh Mosque, Qajar era
*Moshir ol-Saltaneh Mosque, Qajar era
*Mo'ayyer ol-Mamalik Mosque, Qajar era
*
Shahr Banu Mausopleum
Javan-mard Qassab Mausoleum, a pre-Islamic semi-mythical hero
*Dozens of Imam-zadeh shrines, hundreds of years old, including that of
Imam Zadeh Saleh.
*Dozens of
Saqa Khanehs: traditional places of prayer
*Several
Tekyehs: traditional places for mourning Muharram ceremonies for
Husayn ibn Ali.
Ibn Babviyeh cemetery, where many Iranian giants such as
Takhti and
Ali Akbar Dehkhoda are buried.
Zahir o-dowleh cemetery, where many Iranian giants of art and culture such as
Iraj Mirza,
Mohammad Taghi Bahar,
Forough Farrokhzad,
Abolhasan Saba,
Ruhollah Khaleghi, and
Darvish-khan are buried.
*Kordan Tomb,
Seljuqi era,
Karaj.
*Maydanak Tomb, 13th century, Karaj
*The Polish cemetery 1-north of Tehran in British Gholhak garden, where numerous
World War II western allied soldiers are buried. 2- Polish cemetery (Catholic cemetery)Dulab south of Tehran
*orthodox Cemetery.Dulab/The Russian unknown soldier's Tomb(Cenotaph) is located there with red star over it
*Tower of silence. Located on Moshiryh Road behind 7th unit of Tehran cement factory. Dakhme gabrha is its name in Persian. It is round shape.
* Naghare khane tower. Located over a mountain with same name (nagharekhane) in haftdastagh district, beside Amin abad road. Its oldness is not clear but related to seljuk era. This tower is the tomb of a seljuk king. Under this tower you can see other historical ruins (Einanj dome). This place is a royal cemetery and in early years of islamic era in persia.
Churches
*Surep Georg Church, 1790
*
Thaddeus Bartoqimus Church, 1808
*Tatavus Church, from the Qajar era
*Enjili Church, 1867
*Assyrian Church
See main article: Mohammad Bagher GhalibafSee also: List of mayors of TehranSee also: City Council of Tehran*
Los Angeles,
USA (linked before 1979)
*
Havana,
Cuba (2001)
[2]*
Pretoria,
South Africa (planned 2002)
[3]*
Caracas,
Venezuela (2005)
[4]*
Beijing,
China (planned 2006)
[5]*
Istanbul,
Turkey*
Arash Labaf*
DJ Aligator*
Soleiman Haim*
Hassan Ali Mansur*
Ahmad Matin-Daftari*
Abol-Ghasem Kashani*
Behrouz Vossoughi*
Said Nafisi*
Abbas Marufi*
Simin Behbahani*
Ahmad Allahyari*
Rahi Mo'ayeri*
Niki Karimi*
Abdolkarim Soroush*
Kamran Shirdel*
Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel*
Bita Farrahi*
Firouzeh*
Ali Akbar Dehkhoda*
Mostafa Chamran*
Amir Ansari*
Bozorg Alavi*
Nasrollah Jahangard*
Forough Farrokhzad*
Simin Behbahani*
Maryam Rajavi*
Mírzá Husayn-'Alí*
Arfa Atrai*
Mohsen Makhmalbaf*
Jalal Al-e-Ahmad*
Ardeshir Zahedi*
Hosein Ala'*
Ali Amini*
Azar Nafisi*
Ali Karimi*
Deep Dish*
Abbas Kiarostami*
Shirin Ebadi*
Mehdi Mahdavikia*
Panam Zarfam2005 plane crash
On
December 6th 2005 a military plane crashed into a ten story building killing 128 people and injuring 90. Many others are left homeless.
*
Tehran International Fairgrounds*
Pictures of Tehran*
Tehran Stock Exchange[
6]
*
Architecture of Tehran*
List of colleges and universities in Tehran*
City Council of TehranOfficial
*
Tehran Municipality website*
Tehran Geographic Information Center*
Tehran's Islamic City Council (in Persian)
*
Tehran Traffic Control CenterInformation gateways
*
Photos of Tehran (click on where it says "latest photos")
*
Tehran Yellow Pages (excellent source of info, but in Persian)
*
Real Audio clip of the documentary: "Ancient Tehran: 8,000 years"*
Persia : collection of photos from Tehran (slow internet speed)
*
Tehran entry in the
Encyclopædia IranicaTehran Art links
*
Tehran as seen by photographer Alireza Aghakhany*
Art Hotspots From Tehran (English)*
Tehran based Art Resistance Media - in English and Persian
*
Tehran Avenue (magazine in English)
*
A1one | The The first Iranian Graffiti Artist after 30 years(English Blog)*
The homepage of Iranian Graffiti movement ,where all things begin in Tehran
