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The Land
Iran (officially The Islamic Republic Of Iran) is a vast country in southwest Asia. Covering a surface area of 1,648,195 square kilometers, it is bordered by Iraq (1,609 km) on the west, Turkey (486 km) on the northwest, the Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, as well as the Caspian Sea (2,670 km) on the north , Afghanistan (945km) on the east, Pakistan (978 km) on the southeast the Persian Gulf (1,259 km) and the Sea of Oman (784km) on the south. The Persian Gulf is the shallow marginal part of the Indian Ocean that lies between the Arabian Peninsula and the southwest Iran. The Gulf has an area of 240,000 square Kilometers from the Arvand Rud (Shatt ol –Arab) delta to the Strait of Hormoz which links it with the Sea of Oman. Its linear length is 900 km, and its width varies from a maximum of 338 km to a minimum of 55km in the Strait of Hormoz. It is bordered on the north, northeast and east by Iran, on the northwest by Iraq and Kuwait, on the west and southwest by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, on the south and the southeast by the United Arab Emirates and partly by Oman.
The Islands
Regardless Bahrain as the largest island which belonged to Iran until the early second half of the 20th century. Iran has the largest number of islands in the Persian Gulf, the most important of which are as follows: Minoo, Khark (Iranian oil terminal, 6km long, 3km wide, site of one of the world’s largest deep-water oil ports, and linked to the mainland by a 40-km pipeline), Sheikh Sa’ad, Sheikh Sho’ayb, Hendurabi, Kish (largest island of Iran in the Strait of Hormoz, 1,300sq km), Farur, Siri, Abu mussa, the Greater and Lesser Tumbs, Qeshm, Hengam, Larak, Farsi, Hormoz and Lavan. The most significant Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf are Abadan, Khorramshahr, Imam Khomeini(former Shahpoor ), Mahshahr, Deilam, Genaveh, Rig, Bushehr, lengeh, and Abbas.
The Rivers
Several rivers are flowing inside Iranian mainland, the only navigable one of which is the Karoon (920 km long). Other large rivers are: the Atrak (535 km) in Golestan province and along Iran – Turkamanestan border line, Bampoor(275 km), Dalki (285 km), Dez (515 km), Halil Rood (387 km), Hendijan (488 km), Jarahi (or Marun ,438 km), Karkheh (755km), Mehran (382 km), Mond (685km) and Sarbaz (313km) in southern Iran, Qara Chai (540km), Sefid Rood (795km), in northwestern Iran, Zarineh Rood (302 km) and Qara Su (255km) in western Iran, and the Zayandeh Rood (405km) in central Iran. During the summertime, there is little water flowing in the mainland rivers. However water flows underground, finding its outlets in subterranean water canals (locally called qanats), springs and tapped by wells.
The Mountains
The high Alborz range in the north, the Zagros range in the west and southwest as well as the eastern mountains of Iran which surround the Iranian plateau provide Iran with a ruggedly mountainous terrain . Some of the highest mountains of Iran are as follows: Allah Akbar (Quchan, 2,804 m), Alamkuh (Kalardasht, 4,850 m). Alvand (Hamadan, 3,580 m), Ardahal (3.463m west of Kashan ) , Bagh Bala ( Kerman, 3,775 m) , Bahr Asseman ( Jiroft, 3,886m) , Damavand ( East of Tehran, 5,671m) ,Hezar Masjed ( Mashhad, 3,040 m) , Jebal Barez ( Jiroft, 3,741 m) , Jupar ( Kerman, 4,135 m) , Oshtorankuh ( Azna, 4,050 m), Palan Gardan ( Gachsar, 4,375 m ), Taftan ( Khash, 3,941 m ) , Sabalan ( Ardabil, 4,811m) , Sahand ( Tabriz 3,707m ) , Shirkuh ( Yazd, 4,055 m) , Takht Soleiman ( Kalardasht 4,643 m) , Tochal (Tehran, 3,933 m) , Zardkuh Bakhtiari ( Shahr kurd, 4,221m).
Population Population According to 1996 census, the total population of Iran was approximately 60055488, which means it had been doubled within 18 years. At present the population density is 35,26 per sq km. This means that it is rising fastly, roughly speaking 60 per cent of the population lives in the cities, with a quarter of the same in and around Tehran. As a short glance at Iran’s population, it is interesting to know that 44 per cent of the population is under 15 years old. Population growth rate has dropped to 1.7 per cent, birth rate is 2.4 per cent, death rate is 0.7 per cent, life expectancy is 68 years, and infant mortality is 4.2 per cent. The nation consists, of the following national and ethnic groups: Turks, Kurds, Baluches, Lors, Turkamen, Arabs, the Armenians, the Assyrians. And the nomads are consisting of the Bakhtiari, Qashqai, and several other smaller tribes which are decamping from their summer to winter settlements and vice-versa during a year.
Government
Government type: Islamic Republic confirmed in 1 April (1979)
Constitution: 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership
Suffrage: 15 years
Threefold Powers
In accordance with the Constitution, the President, members of the Islamic Consultive Assembly (Parliament), and members of different councils directly elected by the people must administer the country. The threefold powers in the Islamic Republic of Iran which are independent, but coordinated by the President and supervised by the Supreme Spiritual Leader are as follows:
Legislative branch: The number of Unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Islami representatives is 270 elected for a period of 4 years. All approvals of UICA must be ratified by the Guardian Council for the adaptation of these approvals with the Constitution and Islamic religious laws.
Executive branch: Executive power is under supervision of Leader of the Islamic Revolution who is appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts and the President who is directly elected by the people for a four-year term.
Judicial branch: Judiciary power is supportive of individuals as well as social rights of the nation. The highest person in the Judiciary is the Head of the Judiciary. Supreme Court that consists of five members: Chief Justice, Prosecutor General and three theocratic Judges.
Political Divisions of the Country
The country is divided into 28 provinces that are:
Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall & Bakhtiari, Isfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh & Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan & Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan.
Religion
The official religion in Iran is Shi’ite Islam; about 90% of the population is Shi’ite Muslims and approximately 8% Sunni Muslims; the religious minorities are Zoroastrians, Armenians and Assyrian Christians, Jews, and Bahais.
More about the Religion
Iran has been the home of several religions, which either arose in it or found a permanent abode within its boundaries. Generally speaking, we can make a distinction between the religions which originated in Iran and are called Iranian, and Islam, which although of Semitic origin, has been the religion of Iran for the past fourteen centuries. The Iranians contributed much to Islamic civilization and Islamic thought itself, and accepted Islam whole-heartedly. Therefore the religion of Iran include not only the Iranian religions but Islam as well. The religion of the Persians in the pre-historic period was of the Aryan type with close affinities with other Indo-European religions.
Islam
Muslims believe the religion preached by the Prophet Mohammad to be God’s final revelation to humanity. Islam is the state religion of Iran. Iran follows the Shiite sect of Islam rather than the more common Sunni sect followed in other Islamic countries. The Muslim Faith, whether Sunni or Shiite, is the belief that there is only one God and that it is their duty to believe in and serve, Him according to the rules written in the Koran. In Arabic, Islam means submission; a muslim is one who submits to God’s will.
Sunnis & Shiits
The main division in the Islamic world is between Sunnis and Shiites.The schism that divided the Muslim world into these two broad camps took place after the death of Prophet Mohammd died in 632 A.D. Shiites believe that the leader-ship of the community should remain with the prophet’s family.
Important pilgrimage centers in Iran are Imam Reza Shrine in Mashad, Shrine of Hazrat-e Masumeh and Jamkaran Mosque in Qom, Shah Cheragh Shrine in Shiraz and Shrine of Hazrat-e Abdol-Azim in Ray.
Languages & Script
Persian (Farsi) spoken by majority of Iranians, is the official language of Iran. It is the language of government and public instruction and the mother tongue of half of the population. Since Koran the Islam Holy Book is in Arabic, it is taught at schools as the second language. The other necessary language taught at schools is English which is alternated by French or German in some schools; all of which are also spoken for business purposes. Many different dialects of Persian are spoken in Central Plateau and people from each city can usually be identified by their speech. Some dialects, such as Baluchi, Turkmen, Gilaki and Mazandari, are distinct enough to be virtually unintelligible to a Persian speaker from Tehran or Shiraz. Other main regional languages spoken in Iran are Azari, Kurdish, Arabic.
Ancient Persian dates back to 514 B.C. It was used until about 250 A.D. which was written in cuneiform and used exclusively for royal proclamations and announcements.
Middle Persian, also known as Pahlavi, was in use from about 250 to 900 A.D. It was the official language of the Sassanid Empire and of the Zoroastrian priesthood. It was written in an ideographic script called Huzvaresh.
Modern Persian is a continually evolving language that began to develop about 900 A.D. Now it is written from right to left in the Arabic Alphabet with several modifications. Following the Arab conquest of the Sassanid Empire in the seventh century and the gradual conversion of the population to Islam, Arabic became the official, literary, and written language, but Persian remained the language of court records. Persian, however, borrowed heavily from Arabic to enrich its own vocabulary and eventually adopted the Arabic script. In subsequent centuries, many Turkish words also were incorporated into Persian.
For more information on common words and everyday conversational statements, please visit the Frasi-English Dictionary page!
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