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Tehran
Covering an area of 1500 sq. km, Tehran is situated in the north-central part ofIran, on the slope of the Alborz Mountain. As the national capital itis the most populated city in Iran and the center of cultural,economical, political and social activities. It is about 1200 metersabove sea level and enjoys a mild climate. Thehighest peak in the Alborz range, Mount Damavand (5,671 meters, 18,600feet) is an extinct volcano, which dominates the skyline of Tehran.
Thebeginnings of Tehran are unclear but probably occurred sometime in the11th century. It is believed that, as Tehran had a pleasant climate andwas green and fertile, it often came under attack from highwaymen. Inorder to protect themselves, the villagers made underground dwellings.Hence, the name Tehran (Tah - Ran), meaning "underground town" (Tahmeaning under, Ran meaning town or place).
Tehranbecame a capital in 1789, under Qajar rule, replacing Shiraz in thatfunction, and in 1796, Agha Mohammad Khan was enthroned there. Hissuccessor, Fath Ali Shah (1797-1834) continued the transformation ofthe town and had the Shah's Mosque (today, the Imam Khomeini Mosque)and Golestan Palace built, while Nasir ad-Din Shah (1848-96) enlargedthe walls and commissioned the Sepahsalar Mosque.
Duringthe 19th century, the centre of the city remained focused around thepalace and the bazaar. However, Reza Shah (1925-1941) preferred to livein his palaces to the west of the town or in those of Sa'ad Abad, 10kilometers to the north, and large avenues were cut to link these areastogether during his reign. This was the beginning of the verticalnorth-south axis, which is so characteristic of Tehran.
Witha population of an estimated 15 million, Greater Metropolitan Tehranranks as one of the world's largest capitals. The aerial size of thecity has also expanded to such an extent that the size of the city nowexceeds that of New York. The skyline of Tehran is growing with an everincreasing speed - Construction cranes are scattered across thecityscape. New buildings are popping up everywhere, every month.
Themajestic mountains surrounding Tehran is a gift of nature whose beautyno human construction can ever compete with. Without them Tehran wouldnot be "Tehran".
Theaffluent parts of Northern Tehran boast luxury apartment buildings andcondominiums featuring such amenities as "White Glove" doorman servicewith pools, Jacuzzis and private garages in the flat. (You drive thecar into the elevator and it will deliver your car up to your ownprivate garage next to your flat) Real Estate prices in Tehran have inthe last couple of years reached levels that are comparable to New YorkCity. It's not uncommon to see a two to three-bedroom apartment inTehran going for more than $1,000,000 on the market today. On the otherhand, few investments in the world offer such fast and generous returns.
Tehranis expanding in all directions and up into the mountains. Recently, themost ambitious and rigorous efforts have been pursued to establishorder and discipline in the extremely chaotic traffic of the city.Cameras have been installed throughout the highway system and in busyintersections which zoom in to register the license plate of violators.An authoritative voice blares out from loudspeakers installed at busyintersections admonishing the driver who has violated the trafficrules. Huge digital displays along the highways deliver trafficmessages.
Thereare many beautiful parks all around the city. below are some picturesof these parks which are taken in different seasons: Spring - Summer -Fall - Winter.
Darbandis a beautiful mountain resort in the mountains surrounding Tehran - Agreat place to cool down for those escaping the summer heat andTehran's pollution. Darband mountain upskirt , a place for people ofTehran to spend their time in a cool enviroment by the river &nature ...
Theinitial start of the trail at Darband is about 250 metres long and isdotted with a number of small cafes and restaurants. These are quitepopular and are busy in the evenings, as locals and tourists alikevisit the many hooka lounges (locally called ghavekhane sonnati) alongthe trail.
On the way to the trail, there are stores that sells seasonal treats (fresh almonds, berries, etc)..
Darake is anarea in the north-eastern part of Tehran which consists of a villageand numerous trails into the mountains above. The trails are what drawsthe crowds, though for various reasons. They lead into the mountainsand all along the trail are fast moving streams and waterfalls createdby thousands of years of melting snow, making its way down to the baseof the mountains to where Tehran lies.
The trail is extremelypopular among Tehranis, especially younger ones. Along the trail areseveral chaikhanes (tea houses) where one can rest, sit on a rope bed,and sip some piping hot tea. What to eat with your tea? Well, besides anumber of common Iranian nibbles one will find an abundance ofshahtoot, or mulberries. The shahtoot are large, plump and delicious.You will of course eat them using your fingers, turning your fingertipsa shade of purple. When you have had enough of hiking you can stop justabout anywhere along the trail, position yourself on some of the largerocks that lie beside the stream and dip your feet into the ice coldwater. It is extremely cold water but exhilarating.
Itis best to start out for Darake early in the morning, before the sunrises too high in the sky. If you go early and on a Friday (everyone'sday off), you will find that you are not alone. You will see hundredsof Tehranis taking a break from city life and will doubtless get achance to meet and speak to many of them.
JamshidiehPark (or Jamshidieh Stone Garden), established in memorial of JamshidDavallu Qajar, a Qajar Prince that dedicated this garden to Farah Diba,Empress of Iran. The park, which is located in the Niavaran district atthe base of the Kolakchal Mountain, is one of the most picturesque andbeautiful parks in Tehran. There are numerous restaurants, traditionalteahouses (houses of culture which represent the diversity of Iran'sethnic and tribal heritage), picnic areas, and hiking trails from thelower area of the park all the way up to the top of the mountain.
Thereis also a classically designed open air amphitheatre. The park wasdeveloped during the Pahlavi era, but has been extensively upgraded andmaintained since the Iranian Revolution. It is especially popularamongst the youth.
Hashtbehesht is located in the northern part of Tehran near Darake.
Althoughthere are in theory 16 ski resorts are located in Iran (depending onthe conditions), there are two main ski resorts Dizin and Shemshak. Thetwo are located very close to each other and there is quite a bit ofrivalry between the locals.
Shemshak, inaugurated in 1958, is a goodresort if you look at Skiing as a sport rather than as a fun pastime.Its slopes are suitable for expert skiers and those who enjoy skimoguls. If you want to meet the best Iranian skiers and snowboardersthis is the place to go.
Dizin is Iran's main and most frequentedski resort. It is suited to beginners and intermediate skiers. Itbecame operational in 1969.
Foreign skiers usually choose Dizin whencoming to Iran, as it provides the best facilities and provides anoverall good ski experience all round. Dizin is one of the highest skiresorts with its peak, from which you can ski down, reaching analtitude of around 3600 meters, i.e. 12,000 feet.
Beloware some pictures taken from shopping centers in Tehran. There aredifferent shopping malls at different locations in Tehran.
Tehran City Theater is the place that most of the famous players have their performance.
Cinemas are also very popular among people.
Iraniancomposer and conductor, Shahdaad Rohaani, conducting the TehranPhilharmonic Symphony Orchestra at a concert at Tehran's Roudaki Hall,which after the revolution is called "Vahdat Hall".
Builtin 1974 for the purpose of hosting the Asian Games, and hopefully oneday the Olympic Games. But then came the revolution which toppled theregime of the Shah, and Iran's aspiration to host the Olympics vanishedover night. Back then it was called "Aryamehr Stadium" - Aryamehr wasthe title bestowed on the last Shah of Iran, and translates into"Light-of-the-Aryans" (The name of the country - "Iran" literally means"Aryan", which is ancient Persian for "Noble") Today it's officiallycalled "Freedom Stadium" (Azadi). The AzadiStadium holds more than100,000 people and the surrounding sports facilities include an indoorswimming pool which supposedly is the largest in the world, unless aneven larger one has been built in recent years..
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts is oneof the world's renowned museums of Modern Art which also houses one ofthe world's largest collections of contemporary Western art - Thelargest outside of Europe and the U.S.A.
Rembrandt, Van Gogue,Picasso, Salvador Dali, Matisse, Andy Warhol, you name it. Tehran'sMuseum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) has one of the largest collections ofWestern contermporary art in the world. After the revolution of 1979,many of the "nudes" were kept hidden in the archives of the museum.Only as recently as this year has many of those nudes reappeared ondisplay in the museum..
IRIB thenew headquarters of the state-run Iranian Radio and TV Broadcasting.IRIB's International Service makes it one of the leading in the world.Few other countries target so many different language groups. Here aresome of the languages IRIB broadcasts in: Arabic, Albanian, Armenian,Bengal, Bosnian, Chinese, Dari, English, French, German, Hausa, Hebrew,Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Kiswahili, Kurdish,Pashto, Russian, Spanish, Tajik, Turkish, Urdu...
TheTehran Monorail which together with the Tehran Metro and a cable carsystem would hopefully help decrease the choking nightmarish Tehrantraffic and pollution. However, Monorail is currently underconstruction and hopefully will come to operation in near future.
Knownas the "Shahyad" monument before the revolution - Now it is known asthe "Azadi" (Freedom) monument.. As you arrive from the Mehrabad International airport, it welcomes you as sort of an entrance gate toTehran. Under the monument there is a vast museum with everything aboutIran's history, and at the top there is a restaurant among other things.
 
The progressive and modern Tehran of today is an example of Iranianresourcefulness - An asset which has been used to resist the manypainful events that has afflicted Iran throughout its long history. Theimages of this collection may not show the whole picture since I havechosen to show only the best side of Tehran. Tehran, and Iran as awhole today, is faced with many problems - Social, economical,environmental and political - A lot of it being consequences of thelong and devastating Iran-Iraq war, U.S. imposed sanctions andinternational isolation. My aim with putting together this collectionis that these pictures which reflect "Iranian resourcefulness" shallprovide hope and inspiration, as well as motivation to resolve all ofthese problems. Let these images of Tehran serve as a reminder of thisresourcefulness and as a source to provide passion, vision and hope fora bright, prosperous and progressive future for Tehran and every cornerof Iran.
God Bless Tehran!
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