Southern Asia · Asia

Iran

Discover Iran - ancient Persia, where Cyrus wrote the first human rights charter, Rumi wrote the world's best-selling poetry, and Isfahan's mosques stun in infinite blue.

Where Is Iran?

Iran is a country in Southern Asia. Its capital is Tehran.

Where Iran isSouthern Asia · Capital Tehran

Capital Tehran
Population 92.4M
Area 1,648,195 km²

Iran is not what most people think it is. Behind the politics and headlines lies one of the oldest continuous civilizations on Earth - at least 7,000 years of history, a literary tradition that rivals any culture's, and a hospitality toward strangers so intense it borders on competitive sport. If you visit Iran, you will be invited to tea, to lunch, to dinner, to stay the night, to attend a wedding. Refusing is almost impossible. The Persians invented hospitality before it had a name.

The culture runs extraordinarily deep. The Cyrus Cylinder, often called the first declaration of human rights, dates to 539 BC. Rumi, born in 13th-century Persia, is the best-selling poet in the United States today. Persian gardens inspired the concept of paradise - the word itself comes from the Old Persian pairidaeza. Isfahan's mosques and palaces are among the most beautiful buildings ever constructed. Persian cuisine - saffron rice, stews of pomegranate and walnut, fragrant kebabs - is one of the world's great food traditions. And the landscape ranges from Alborz peaks topping 5,000 meters to the Dasht-e Lut, the hottest place on Earth. Iran is an entire civilization compressed into a single country.

At a glance

Language

Persian (Farsi)

Currency

Iranian Rial (IRR)

Calling Code

+98

Drives On

Right

Internet

.ir

Timezone

IRST (UTC+3:30)

Script

Arabic (Persian variant)

Government

Islamic Republic

Independence

550 BC (Achaemenid Empire)

By population

Largest cities in Iran

Tehran

Capital sprawling beneath the snow-capped Alborz Mountains, a city of 15 million in the metro area with world-class museums and bazaars

9,500,000

Isfahan

Half the world, the saying goes - a city of breathtaking mosques, bridges, and the vast Naqsh-e Jahan Square, a UNESCO masterpiece

2,200,000

Shiraz

City of poets, wine, and gardens, where the tombs of Hafez and Saadi draw pilgrims and the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque glows in stained glass

1,900,000

Tabriz

Azerbaijan's cultural capital in northwest Iran, home to the oldest covered bazaar in the Middle East, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

1,700,000

Mashhad

Iran's holiest city and second largest, home to the Imam Reza shrine complex visited by over 20 million pilgrims annually

3,300,000

Yazd

UNESCO-listed desert city of wind towers and Zoroastrian fire temples, where an ancient religion's sacred flame has burned for 1,500 years

530,000

People

Famous people from Iran

Rumi
Literature
13th-century Sufi poet whose works on love and spirituality have made him the best-selling poet in the United States 800 years later
Cyrus the Great
Politics
Founded the Achaemenid Empire and authored the Cyrus Cylinder, often considered the first declaration of human rights in 539 BC
Hafez
Literature
Iran's most beloved poet whose Divan is found in almost every Iranian home, consulted like an oracle on matters of the heart
Omar Khayyam
Science
Mathematician, astronomer, and poet who calculated the length of the year to extraordinary precision and wrote the Rubaiyat
Ferdowsi
Literature
Author of the Shahnameh, the Persian Book of Kings - a 50,000-couplet epic that preserved the Persian language and identity
Abbas Kiarostami
Film
Filmmaker whose Taste of Cherry won the Palme d'Or, making Iranian cinema one of the most respected in world film
Avicenna
Science
Medieval polymath whose Canon of Medicine was the standard medical textbook in Europe and the Islamic world for 500 years
Maryam Mirzakhani
Science
First woman and first Iranian to win the Fields Medal, mathematics' highest honor, for her work on geometric surfaces

Food

Traditional cuisine of Iran

Chelo Kebab: Iran's national dish - saffron-infused basmati rice served with grilled kebab of minced lamb or beef, a raw egg yolk, and butter
Ghormeh Sabzi: Herb stew of fenugreek, parsley, cilantro with kidney beans and dried limes, arguably Iran's most beloved home-cooked meal
Tahdig: The crispy golden crust of rice from the bottom of the pot, the most fought-over part of every Iranian meal
Fesenjan: Rich stew of pomegranate and ground walnut sauce with chicken or duck, sweet, sour, and utterly unique
Zereshk Polo: Saffron rice studded with tart barberries and often served with chicken, a dish of stunning color and flavor contrast
Ash Reshteh: Thick noodle soup with beans, herbs, and kashk, traditionally served during Persian New Year celebrations
Dizi: Lamb and chickpea stew served in a stone pot, the broth drunk as soup and the solids mashed into a paste eaten with flatbread
Saffron Ice Cream: Persian ice cream flavored with saffron and rosewater, studded with pistachios, served between thin wafers as bastani

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Iran

Dasht-e LutDesert: UNESCO World Heritage desert where NASA recorded the hottest surface temperature on Earth at 70.7 degrees Celsius
Mount DamavandMountain: Iran's highest peak and a dormant volcano at 5,610 meters, the tallest in the Middle East and a symbol of Iranian identity
Alborz MountainsMountain: Dramatic mountain range separating Tehran from the Caspian Sea, with ski resorts just an hour from the capital
Caspian Hyrcanian ForestsForest: UNESCO World Heritage temperate rainforests along the Caspian coast, a relic of an ecosystem that dates back 50 million years
Persian GardensLandmark: Nine UNESCO-listed gardens spanning 2,500 years of design, the origin of the English word paradise from Old Persian pairidaeza
Hormuz IslandIsland: Surreal island in the Persian Gulf with red, orange, and silver beaches created by mineral-rich soils and volcanic geology
Badab-e SurtLandmark: Stunning terraced hot springs of orange and yellow mineral deposits in the mountains, Iran's answer to Pamukkale
Zagros MountainsMountain: Iran's longest mountain range stretching 1,600 km, home to nomadic Bakhtiari and Qashqai tribes and rich oak forests

Sport

Sports in Iran

Wrestling: Ancient tradition with Olympic pedigree - Iran has won more Olympic medals in wrestling than in any other sport
Football: Qualified for six FIFA World Cups, football is by far the most popular sport in the country
Weightlifting: Multiple Olympic gold medalists including legendary super heavyweight champion Hossein Rezazadeh
Polo: Iran is the birthplace of polo, played by Persian nobility over 2,500 years ago, still practiced and celebrated today

Facts

Did you know?

The word paradise comes from Old Persian pairidaeza, meaning walled garden - Persians literally invented the concept
Iran has about 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites spanning over 7,000 years of continuous civilization
Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, is consistently the best-selling poet in the United States
The Persian calendar, still used in Iran, is one of the most accurate solar calendars ever devised
Iranians celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on the spring equinox with a 13-day festival that dates back over 3,000 years
Iran is one of the world's largest producers of saffron, the most expensive spice on Earth by weight
The ancient city of Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire and could seat 10,000 guests
Ta'arof is the elaborate Persian system of politeness where both parties insist the other goes first, a social ritual that can last several minutes