Ardabil Province

Ardabil Province استان اردبیل
—  Province  —
Location of Ardabīl within Iran
Coordinates: 38.2514°N 48.2973°E / 38.2514; 48.2973
Country	Iran
Capital	Ardabil
Counties	9
Area
• Total	17,800 km2 (6,900 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	1,228,155
• Density	69.00/km2 (178.7/sq mi)
Time zone	IRST (UTC+03:30)
• Summer (DST)	IRST (UTC+04:30)
Main language(s)	Persian (official) local languages: Azeri Talysh

Sheikh Safi's Tomb

Ardabil Province (Persian: استان اردبیل‎, Ostān-e Ardabīl ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north west of the country, bordering the Republic of Azerbaijan and the provinces of East Azerbaijan, Zanjan, and Gilan. Its centre is the city of Ardabil. The province was established in 1993 from the eastern part of East Azerbaijan and the northern part of Gilan.

Climate and geography

Many tourists come to the region for its cool climate (max 35 °C) during the hot summer months. The winters are bitter cold, with temperatures plummeting to -25°C.

Its famous natural region is the Sabalan mountains. The population of Ardabil province is mainly composed of Azeris, Talish, Tats, Kurds and Persians. The province is considered the coldest province in Iran by many. Large parts of the province are green and forested.

Famous athletes such as Ali Daei and Hossein Rezazade are originally from Ardabil.

Ardabil's capital stands about 70 km from the Caspian Sea and has an area of 18011 km². Neighbouring the Caspian Sea and the Republic of Azerbaijan, the city is of great political and economic significance. The province has been blessed with splendid natural beauty and numerous sights.

History

The natural features of the province of Ardabil are mentioned in the Avesta, according to which Zoroaster was born by the river Aras and wrote his book in the Sabalan Mountains. During the Islamic conquest of Iran, Ardabil was the largest city in Azarbaijan, and remained so until the Mongol invasion period.

Shah Ismail I started his campaign to nationalize Iran's government and land from here, but consequently announced Tabriz as his capital in 1500CE. Yet Ardabil remained an important city both politically and economically until modern times.

Administrative divisions

The province is divided into 9 counties: Ardabil, Bilasavar, Germi, Khalkhal, Kowsar, Meshginshahr, Namin, Nir, and Parsabad.

Ardabil Province counties
Ardabil Bilasavar Germi Khalkhal Kowsar Meshginshahr Namin Nir Parsabad

Culture

Ardabil Museum

Ardabil is the seat of the sanctuary and tomb of Shaikh Safî ad-Dîn, eponym of the Safavid Dynasty Kulliye. It has many hot springs and beautiful natural landscapes and these attract tourists. The mineral springs of Ardabil are Beele-Darreh, Sareyn, Sardabeh and Booshloo, which are famed throughout Iran for their medicinal qualities. It also has many beauty lakes: the largest of which are Ne'or, Shoorabil, ShoorGel, NouShahr and Alooche, which are the habitats of some species of water birds.

The beautiful Lake Ne'or is located in a mountainous area 48 km south-east of the city of Ardabil. It covers an area of 2.1 km² and has an average depth of 3 metres. It is fed by springs in the lake bed. Lake Shoorabil is located in a hilly area south of the city of Ardabil and covers an area of 640,000 m². The surface of the lake is covered with a thin white layer of minerals, which is useful for healing skin diseases and rheumatism. Near the lake there is the leisure complex of Shoorabil. Ardabil is a city of great antiquity. Its origins go back 4000 to 6000 years (according to historical research in this city). This city was the capital of Azerbaijan province in different times, but its golden age was in the Safavid period.

One of the most ancient cities in Iran is Meshkin Shahr. It is located in the north-west of Iran in Azerbaijan, 839 kilometers from Tehran. It is the closest city to the Sabalan mountains. In the past, it was called "Khiav", "Orami", and "Varavi".

The most important places to visit in the district of Meshkin Shahr are the following : - The hot water springs of Moiel , Eelando and Qaynarja, located in the suburb of the city. - Qara Soo River Sides. - The spring of Qotur Suie, located 42 kilometers from Meshkin shahr. - The old Castle of Meshkin Shahr. - Qahqaheh castle, located 80 kilometers from Meshkin Shahr. - Deev castle, located in Kavij. - The petrograph of Shapour Sasani in Meshkin Shahr. - The old cemetery in Oonar. - The tomb of Sheykh Haydar in Meshkin Shahr. - Imamzadeh Seyyed Soleyman.

The other significant historical monuments are as follows: the mausoleum of Sheikh Jebra'il, located 2 km north of Ardabil, the old but always lively bazaar, the babadavood anbaran, the Friday mosque, and a few ancient bridges. In addition to these, in many villages of Ardabil, relics of ancient monuments, including tombs, have been found.

Colleges and universities

1. Ardabil University of Medical Sciences
2. Mohaghegh Ardabili University
3. Islamic Azad University of Ardabil
4. Payam Noor University of Ardabil
5. Soureh University of Ardabil
6. Islamic Azad University of Khalkhal

Language

The primary language of Ardebil province is Azeri, a branch of Turkic Languages. It is predominently spoken among people of Ardebil and adjasent provinces like East Azerbaijan, Zanjan, and portions of West Azerbaijan, as well as the Republic of Azerbaijan. Minority languages in Ardabil include Tati, Kurdish, Talishi and Persian

Azeri [8] or Torki[9][10] is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran. Azerbaijani is member of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages and is closely related to Turkish, Qashqai and Turkmen. Today′s Azeri languages evolved from the Eastern Oghuz branch of Western (Oghuz) Turkic[11] which spread to Southwestern Asia during medieval Turkic migrations, and has been heavily influenced by Persian.[12] Arabic also influenced the language, but Arabic words were mainly transmitted through the intermediary of literary Persian.[13]

Turkic Azeri gradually supplanted the old Iranic Azeri language, as well other local Iranic languages, most notably the Tati, Azari, Harzandi, Talishi and Tabrizi. To the north, it replaced a variety of Caucasian languages in the Caucasus, particularly Udi. By the end of the 17th century, it had become the dominant language of the region, and was a spoken language in the court of the Safavid Empire. However, minorities in both Rep. Azerbaijan and Iran continue to speak the earlier Iranian languages to this day, and Middle- and Modern Persian loanwords are numerous in the Azerbaijani language. The great Kurdish tribes of Milani and Shaqaqi have become Azeri speaking only in the past century (when they converted to Shiism) and were turkified.

Rashidi categorizes The historical development of Azeri Language into two major periods: early (ca. 16th to 18th century) and modern (18th century to present). Azerbaijani differs from its descendant in that it contained a much greater amount of Persian, and Arabic loanwords, phrases and syntactic elements. Early writings in Azerbaijani also demonstrate linguistic interchangeability between Oghuz and Kypchak elements in many aspects (such as pronouns, case endings, participles, etc.). As Azerbaijani gradually moved from being merely a language of epic and lyric poetry to being also a language of journalism and scientific research, its literary version has become more or less unified and simplified with the loss of many archaic Turkic elements, stilted Iranisms and Ottomanisms, and other words, expressions, and rules that failed to gain popularity among Azerbaijani-speaking masses.

Between ca. 1900 and 1930, there were several competing approaches to the unification of the national language in Azerbaijan popularized by the literati. Despite major differences, they all aimed primarily at making it easy for semi-literate masses to read and understand literature. They all criticized the overuse of Persian, Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, and European (mainly Russian) elements in both colloquial and literary language and called for a more simple and popular style.

External links

• Encyclopedia of Orient About Ardabil
• Ardabil-Iran Carvan Tourism
• Ardabil entries in the Encyclopædia Iranica
• site of meshkin shahr
• site of khalkhal
• site of ardebil