The earliest reference to the city, as Tirazis, is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BC. In the 13th century, Shiraz became a leading center of the arts and letters, thanks to the encouragement of its ruler and the presence of many Persian scholars and artists. Shiraz was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1750 until 1781, as well as briefly during the Saffarid period.

Shiraz is known as the city of poets, wine and flowers. It is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens, due to the many gardens and fruit trees that can be seen in the city. Shiraz has had major Jewish and Christian communities. The crafts of Shiraz consist of inlaid mosaic work of triangular design; silver-ware; pile carpet-weaving and weaving of kilim, called gilim and jajim in the villages and among the tribes.

In Shiraz industries such as cement production, sugar, fertilizers, textile products, wood products, metalwork and rugs dominate. Shirāz also has a major oil refinery and is also a major center for Iran’s electronic industries: 53% of Iran’s electronic investment has been centered in Shiraz.

Hamadan has a green mountainous area in the foothills of the 3574-meter Alvand Mountain, in the midwest part of Iran. The city is 1850 meters above sea level. According to archaeologists and historians, this ceramic producing city has a long historical record dating back 7500 years to ancient Persia, as revealed by excavations in recent years at Ecbatana Hill, Gyan in Nahavand and Nushijan in Malayer in Hamedan Province.
During the invasion of Mongols, only seven craftsmen survived the barbaric onslaught and these artisans managed to revive the ceramics industry once again.



As you stroll through the ancient city, you see how people from all walks of life are heavily involved in their ancestors’ tradition of creating works of art.
The majority of local residents earn their bread and butter from this craft ranging from utensils to decorative items.
The Khoshuei Brothers are among the outstanding artisans of Lalejin who have created the most significant works of art over the last half a century.These craftsmen not only have preserved the traditional Persian arts but also have introduced a number of innovations themselves.



Most foreign and domestic tourists are enthusiastic to purchase local handicrafts such as ceramics, leather products, traditional Iranian glasses, kilims, wooden crafts and a variety of other traditional items.
Deputy Director of the Hamedan Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, Behjat Abbasi said, “With 900 workshops and 3900 employees, Lalejin is the capital city of ceramics in Iran.”

According to the official, pottery production in recent years has undergone a process of major change, including changes in coloring compounds both in traditional and industrial paintings, and the introduction of modern furnaces to replace the traditional ones.”

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Esfahan City had a population of 1,583,609 and the Esfahan metropolitan area had a population of 3,430,353 in the 2006 Census, the second most populous metropolitan area in Iran after Tehran.

The cities of Najafabad, Khaneh Esfahan, Khomeini-shahr, Shahin-shahr, Zarrinshahr, Mobarakeh, Falavarjan and Fouladshahr all constitute the metropolitan city of Esfahan. Esfahan is located on the main north-south and east-west routes crossing Iran, and was once one of the largest cities in the world. It flourished from 1050 to 1722, particularly in the 16th century under the Safavid dynasty, when it became the capital of Persia for the second time in its history. Even today, the city retains much of its past glory. It is famous for its Islamic architecture, with many beautiful boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, mosques, and minarets.
This led to the Persian proverb Esfahan nesf-e jahan ast: “Esfahan is half of the world”.

Photo – Masoud Alinaghian

The Naghsh-e Jahan Square in Esfahan is one of the biggest city squares in the world and an outstanding example of Iranian and Islamic architecture. It has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The city also has a wide variety of historic monuments ranging from the Sassanid to the Safavid dynasties.

Remaining Islamic architectural sites were built from 11th to the 19th century while older pre-Islamic monuments date back to 1000 B.C.

Now Mashhad is notably known as the resting place of the Imam Reza (Ali ibn Musa al-Rida). A shrine was later built there to commemorate the Imam, which in turn gave rise to increasing demographic development.

The city is located at 36.20º latitude and 59.35º east longitude, in the valley of the Kashaf River near Turkmenistan, between the two mountain ranges of Binalood and Hezar-masjed. The city benefits from the proximity of the mountains, having very cold winters, pleasant springs, mild summers, and beautiful autumns. It is only about 250 km (156 miles) from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

The city is the administrative centre of Mashhad County (or the shahrestan of Mashhad) as well as the somewhat smaller district (bakhsh) of Mashhad. The city itself, excluding parts of the surrounding bakhsh and shahrestan, is divided into 13 smaller administrative units, with a total population of almost 2,5 million.

Mashhad consists mainly of people of Iranian descent. There are also over 20 million pilgrims who visit the city every year.

To see more photos from Iran

To see more photos from Iran

To see more photos from Iran

To see more photos from Iran

To see more photos from Iran