Aug 31 2011
Iran Provinces, East Azarbaijan Province – استان آذربایجان شرقی
East Azerbaijan Province or East Azarbaijan Provicne (استان آذربایجان شرقی) is in the northwest of the country, bordering Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the provinces of Ardabil, West Azerbaijan, and Zanjan with Tabriz as capital.
The province covers an area of approximately 47,830 km², it has a population of around four million people.
East Azarbaijan province has common borders with the current Republics of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nakhchivan.
The counties of East Azarbaijan province are: Ahar, Ajabshir, Bostan Abad, Bonab, Tabriz, Jolfa, Sarab, Shabestar, Kalebar, Maragha, Marand, Malekan, Miyana, Heris, and Hashtrood. The historical city of Tabriz is the most important city of this province, culturally, politically, and commercially.
The highest peak of East Azerbaijan is Sahand Mountain at 3,722 m of elevation, lying south of Tabriz. The heights of the province may be classified into three sectors, namely: the Qara Daq Mountains, the Sahand and Bozqoosh Mountains, and the Qaflan Kooh Mountains.
The province has a cool and dry climate with temperatures from -10-15 °C in the winter up to 8.9-20 °C. The ideal seasons to visit this province are spring and summer.
Sahand mountains By yayyaskh
Islamic researchers proclaim that the birth of the prophet Zoroaster was in this area, in the vicinity of Lake Orumieh (Chichesht), Konzak City.
The constitutionalist movement of Iran began here in the late 19th century.
Counties (Shahrestan)
Counties in East Azarbaijan Province are:
Ahar, Bonab, Bostanabad, Heris, Hashtrud, Kalibar, Marand, Mianeh, Maragheh, Sarab, Shabestar and Tabriz
Tabriz (تبریز) is the largest city and the capital of the province. It is situated north of the volcanic cone of Sahand, south of the Eynali mountain.
The most outstanding features from a cultural point of view are the language, Azari/Azerice, and folklore of this region. According to Dehkhoda Dictionary, the language of Azerbaijan is originally “a branch of the Iranian languages known as Azari”. The East Azarbaijan Province also boasts numerous learned scholars, gnostics, several national poets such as Mowlana Baba Mazeed, Khajeh Abdol Raheem Aj Abadi, Sheikh Hassan Bolqari, and Abdolqader Nakhjavani, to name a few, and the contemporary poet Mohammad Hossein Shahriyar.
Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organization has registered 936 sites of historical significance in the province. Some are contemporary, and some are from the antiquity of ancient Persia. “Zahak Citadel”, for example, is the name of an ancient ruin in East Azerbaijan, which according to various experts, was inhabited from the second millennium BC until the Timurid era.
Many notable peoples came from this province, among others are:
Ahmad Kasravi (historian), Samad Behrangi (writer), Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan (revolutionary leader), Parvin E’tesami (poetess), Ali Daei and Karim Bagheri (Iranian soccer player), Iraj Mirza (poet and politician) and Shams Tabrizi (mystic).
