Tehran
2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of the Middle East
| Tehran تهران |
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| Nickname(s): The city of 72 nations. | |||
  Tehran
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country |  Iran |
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| Province | Tehran | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 686 km² (265 sq mi) | ||
| - Metro | 18,814 km² (7,264 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 1,200 m (3,900 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Density | 11,360.9/km² (29,424.6/sq mi) | ||
| - Urban | 7,705,036 | ||
| - Metro | 13,413,348 | ||
| Population Data from 2006 Census and Tehran Municipality. Metro area figure refers to Tehran Province. | |||
| Time zone | IRST ( UTC+3:30) | ||
| - Summer ( DST) | IRST ( UTC+4:30) | ||
| Website: http://www.tehran.ir | |||
Tehran (or Teheran) ( tʰehˈɾɒn ; Persian: تهران Tehrān) is the capital and largest city of Iran, and the administrative centre of Tehran Province.
Most Iranian industries are headquartered in Tehran. The industries include the manufacturing of automobiles, electronics and electrical equipment, military weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products. It is also a leading centre for the sale of carpets and furniture. There is also an oil refinery located in south of the city.
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. Although a relatively new city that does not evoke the history of other Iranian cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz, or Tabriz, Tehran has numerous large museums, art centers, palace complexes and cultural centers.
In the 20th century, Tehran faced a large migration of people from all around Iran. Today, the city contains a mix of various ethnic and religious minorities, and is filled with many historic mosques, churches, synagogues and Zoroastrian fire temples.
Geography
History
Excavations place the existence of settlements in Tehran as far back as 6000 BCE. Tehran was well known as a village in the 9th century, but was less well-known than the city of Rhages (Ray) which was flourishing nearby in the early era. In the 13th century, following the destruction of Ray by Mongols, many of its inhabitants escaped to Tehran. In some sources of the early era, the city is mentioned as "Rhages's Tehran" . 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 of 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 Tehran Conference in 1943, attended by U.S. 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 Toopkhaneh Square (pictured to the right), the magnificent city fortifications and the old citadel among others should not be part of a modern city. They were systematically destroyed and modern 1950s and 1960s buildings were built in their place. Tehran bazar was divided in half and many historic buildings were destroyed in order to build wide straight avenues in the capital. Many excellent examples of Persian Gardens also became targets to new construction projects. The decision to carry these out is presently largely seen as a foolish mistake that hurt the visual fabric and the cultural identity of the city beyond repair. Apartment blocks are introduced in this period.
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 1978–79.
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. Material damage was repaired soon after each strike. Tehran attracted war refugees by the millions.
After the war, cheap Soviet-style apartments multiplied throughout the city without any plan. At present, little is left of Tehran's old quarters. Instead, modern high-rise buildings dominate the city's skyline and new modern apartments have and are replacing the few remaining old houses at a rapid pace. Tehran-style home architecture has almost vanished completely. This is often referred to as "Tehran Identity Disaster".
Tehran is also home to many grand mansions in the north of the city and the Shahrak-e Gharb District.
Climate
| Climate chart for Mehrabad, Tehran | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
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34
8
-1
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32
10
1
|
40
15
5
|
31
22
11
|
15
28
16
|
3
34
21
|
2
37
24
|
2
36
23
|
1
32
19
|
11
24
13
|
26
16
7
|
34
10
2
|
| temperatures in °C precipitation totals in mm source: Iran Meteorological Organization |
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Imperial conversion
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Tehran's climate is largely defined by its geographic location, with the towering Alborz Mountains to its North and the central desert to the South. It can be generally described as mild in the spring, hot and dry in the summer, cool and rainy in autumn and cold in the winter. As a large city with a significant differences in elevation among various districts, the weather is often cooler in the hilly north as compared to the flat southern part of Tehran. Summer is usually hot and dry with very little rain. The majority of precipitation occurs from mid-autumn to mid-spring. The hottest month is July (mean minimum temperature 23°C, mean maximum temperature 36°C) and the coldest is January (mean minimum temperature -1°C, mean maximum temperature 8°C)
Although compared to other parts of the country, Tehran enjoys a moderate climate, weather conditions can sometimes be unpredictably harsh. The record high temperature is 48°C and the record low is -20°C. On January 5 & 6, 2008, after years of relatively little snow, a wave of heavy snow and low temperatures shocked the city covering it in a thick layer of snow and ice, forcing the Council of Ministers to officially declare an state of emergency and calling the following two days (January 6th and 7th) off for the capital.
| District | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mehrabad (Southwest) | -0.4 7.9 |
1.2 10.4 |
5.4 15.4 |
11.2 22.1 |
16.1 27.9 |
20.9 33.9 |
23.9 36.6 |
23.3 35.6 |
19.3 31.6 |
13.3 24.4 |
6.7 16.2 |
1.7 10 |
11.9 22.7 |
| Gisha (Centre) | 0.8 6.9 |
2.1 9.2 |
5.7 13.4 |
11.6 20.3 |
15.9 15.9 |
21.8 21.8 |
25.0 34.5 |
24.6 34.1 |
20.5 29.8 |
14.4 22.9 |
7.5 14.6 |
2.9 8.9 |
12.7 21 |
| Tajrish (North) | -1.5 6.1 |
-0.2 8.1 |
4.0 12.9 |
9.8 19.8 |
14.0 25.0 |
19.6 31.2 |
22.6 33.9 |
21.9 33.5 |
17.5 29.3 |
11.6 22.4 |
5.4 14.3 |
1.0 8.6 |
10.5 20.4 |
| Temperatures listed using the Celsius scale | |||||||||||||
| Source: Iran Meteoroligical Organization Website, | |||||||||||||
Demographics
The city of Tehran had a population of about 11 million people at the time of the last official census in 2006 .
With its cosmopolitan air, Tehran houses diverse ethnic and linguistics groups from all over the country and represents the ethnic/linguistic composition of Iran (though with a different percentage). More than 60 percent of Tehranis were born outside Tehran.
Today the majority of Tehran residents are known as Persians who speak many different dialects of Persian corresponding to their hometown, including Esfahani, Shirazi, Yazdi, Khuzestani, Dari, Judeo-Persian, etc. The second largest linguistic group is that of the Azeri-speakers.
Other minority linguistic groups include Kurds, Baluch, Qashqa'i, Turkmen, Armenian, Bakhtiari, Assyrian, Talysh etc. There are also a number of a few long established linguistic minorities such as Punjabi-speaking traders from Punjab (Pakistan) & Domari-speaking Romas as well as a small amount ethnic Georgians who have resided in Northern Iran for centuries. A number of Levantine Arabic speakers of Lebanese origin also live in Tehran.
Tehran saw a drastic change in its ethno-social composition in early 1980s. Following the political, social and economic consequences of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 and onwards, many wealthier Tehranis left for abroad (mostly to Europe and the United States) in search of a safer haven.
With the start of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) following an Iraqi invasion, a second wave of inhabitants fled the city especially under Iraqi air offensive on the capital. With most major powers backing Iraq at that time, economic isolation caused even more reasons for the inhabitants to leave the city (and the country). Having left all they had and having struggled to adopt to a new country and build a life, most of them never came back when the war was over. During the war, Tehran also received a great number of migrants from the west and the southwest of the country bordering Iraq.
The unstable situation and the war in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq prompted a rush of refugees into the country who came in millions, with Tehran being a magnet for modest workers who helped the city to recover from war wounds, charging far less than local construction workers. Many of these refugees are being repatriated with the assistance of UNHCR but there are still sizeable Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Tehran who are reluctant to leave, being pessimistic about the situation in their country. Afghan refugees are mostly Persian-speaking Hazara or Tajiks, speaking a dialect of Persian, and Iraqi refugees, who are mainly Shiite Mesopotamian Arabic-speakers of Iranian origin.
The majority of Tehranis are the followers of Twelver Shia Islam which is also the state religion. Religious minorities include followers of various sects of Sunni Islam, Zoroastrianism, Bahá'í Faith, Judaism, and Christianity (including the adherents of the Assyrian Church of the East, Armenian Apostolic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Chaldean Catholic Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Iranian Protestant churches, Kelisa-ye Khanegi-ye Iraniyan, Armenian Evangelical Church, Jama'at-e Rabbani (Assemblies of God), Armenian Brotherhood Church, Russian Orthodox Church, and the Presbyterian Church). There are also small groups of Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists, Mandeans, Spiritualists, Atheists, Azalis, Yazidis, Yarsan, Ismaili, Secular Muslims and the followers of Mystic Islam.
Despite being the seat of a theological government and the fact that most important religious unions and academies of the country are based in Tehran, the city remains the most secular and liberal in the nation, a fact that attracts many youngsters from elsewhere to study in the capital.
Architecture and landmarks
Tehran is a relatively old city; as such, it has an architectural tradition unique to itself. Archaeological investigations and excavations in Tehran demonstrate that this area was home to civilizations as far back as 6,000 years BC. Tehran served only as a village to a relatively small population for most of its history, but began to take a more considerable role in Iran after it was made the capital in the 19th century. Despite the occurrence of earthquakes during the Qajar period and before, some buildings still remain from Tehran's era of antiquity. Today Tehran is Iran's primate city, and has the most modernized infastructure in the country; however, the gentrification of old neighborhoods and the demolition of buildings of cultural significance has caused concerns.
The Azadi Tower has been the longstanding symbol of Tehran. It was constructured to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian empire, and was originally named "Shahyad Tower"; after the Iranian revolution, its name changed to "Azadi Tower," meaning "Freedom Tower." The recently constructed Milad Tower may eventually replace the Azadi Tower as Tehran's new symbol. The Milad complex contains the world's fourth tallest tower, several restaurants, a five star hotel, a convention center, a world trade centre, and an IT park. Traditionally a low-lying city due to seismic activity in the region, modern high rise developments in Tehran have been undertaken in order to service its growing population.
The tallest residential building in Iran is a 54-story building located North of Youssef Abad district, the Tehran International Tower. It is architecturally designed similar to Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, USA. Appealing to the principle of vertical rather than horizontal expansion of the city, the Tehran International Tower is bound to the North by Youssef Abad, to the South By Hakim Highway, to the East by Kordesstan Highway and to the West by Sheikh Bahai Highway, all of which facilitate access to various parts of the city.
Location and subdivisions
Tehran county borders Shemiranat county to the north, Damavand county to the east, Eslamshahr, Pakdasht, and Ray counties to the south, and Karaj and Shahriar counties to the west.
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, Lavizan, Narmak, Navab, Nazi Abad, Niavaran, Park-e Shahr, Pasdaran, Punak, Ray, Sa'adat Abad, Sadeghiyeh, Seyed Khandan, Sohrevardi, Shahrara, Shahr-e ziba, Shahrak-e Gharb, Shemiran, Tajrish, Tehranpars, Tehransar, Vanak, Velenjak, Yaft Abad, Yusef Abad, Zafaraniyeh, etc.
For a map of the relative locations of the neighborhoods and the full list, see List of the localities around Tehran.
Older neighborhoods
Tehran's old city fabric changed dramatically during the Pahlavi era. Some of the older remaining districts of Tehran are: