Tehran
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tehran (or Teheran) (تهران in Persian), is the capital of Iran and the center of Tehran Province. The word Tehran means "warm mountain slope". Tehran to day replaces Ray, the ancient capital of Iran destroyed by the mongols in 1220 A.D. , the ruins of which can be seen 6km south of Tehran. In 1869/70 A.D. , Tehran acquired considerable prestige and was enclosed in an 8km rampart which had 12 gates.
During the safavid period, Shah Safi created a military base in Tehran, and had two great towers erected therein, which became know as Ghaleh Meydan AND Ghaleh Hessa.
In the Qajar period, Tehran was chosen as the capital city of country. During the reign of Agha_Mohammad khan, the governmenal head quarters were built north of Emam_zade Zayd, and during the reign of Fath_Ali shah, the soltani mosque, the Abbas_abad bazaar, and the Ilchi garden (the site of today`s Russia embassy) were added.
In this vast city, numerous historic sites can be admired, the most famous of which are the palaces of Sa`d_abad, Niavaran, Sahebqaranyyeh and Golestan, the mosque of Seyyed Azizollah, the great Bazar of tehran and a multitude of museums, such az Reza Abbasi museum, the carpet museum of Iran, Abguineh(glass and ceramics) museum, the Azadi museum, etc.
Leisure and sport resorts around Tehran include Abe`Ali, Dizin, Gajereh and Shemshak ski stations, the Karadj dam water ski station and the slopes of Darband and Shemiran.
