Sari, Iran

For the administrative subdivision, see Sari County.

Sari ساری
—  city  —
Clock Tower
Nickname(s): none
Sari
Coordinates: 36°33′48″N 53°03′36″E
Country	Iran
Province	Mazandaran
County	Sari
Bakhsh	Central
Human Settlement	About 75,000 Years
Founded	Antiquity
Refoundation	By Farrukhan, Daboyans Dynasty of Tapuria
Government
• Mayor	Seyed Ali Hejazi
Elevation	5 northwest up to 50 in southeast m (15 - 150 ft)
Population (2006)
• Total	259,084
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
• Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Postal Code	48xxx-xxxxx
Area code(s)	0151
Vehicle Plate	IRAN 62
Website	www.sari.ir www.sarycity.ir

Sari ( pronunciation ) (/Sārī/ Mazandarani: ساری, Persian: ساری; also Romanized as Sārī; also known as Shahr-i-Tajan and Shari-i-Tajan) is the provincial capital of Mazandaran and former capital of Iran (for a short period), located in the north of Iran, between the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains and southern coast of the Caspian Sea. At the 2006 census, its population was 259,084, in 71,522 families.

Location

The Mazandaran Sea provides a beautiful coastline in north of Sari; northeast of the city is Neka. Qa'emshahr (Formerly known as Shahi) is to its south-west, Juybar is to its north-west, and Kiasar, Damghan, and Semnan are cities located to the south.

Map showing position of Sari county as well as Sari city in Mazandaran province

History

Early history

The Muslim historian Hamdollah Mostowfi attributes the foundation of Sari to king Tahmoures Divband of the Pishdadian Dynasty. Ferdowsi mentioned the name of the city in Shahnameh at the time of Fereydun and Manuchehr when Manuchehr is returning to Fereydun's capital, Tamisheh in Mazandaran, after victory over Salm and Tur:

ز دریای گیلان (مازندران) چون ابر سیاه / دمادم به ساری رسید آن سپاه / چو آمد به نزدیک شاه آن سپاه / فریدون پذیره بیامد به راه

Coming from this evidence and other similar evidences in Shahnameh, native people of Sari have a folklore that the city was populated when Smith Kaveh (native of city) revolted against the tyranny of Zahak. After that success, Fereydun of Pishdadi (From Tamishan) feeling indebted to Kaveh, chose this city so as to live near him until his death. For this reason, when Touraj and Salam murdered Iraj (son of Fereydun), they buried him here. Espahbod Tous-e Nouzar (great-grandson of Fereidun) systematically founded it to remain as family monument. Also recognition by Greek historians goes back to the 6th century BC (Achaemenid dynasty) when they recorded it as Zadrakarta (Persian name Sadrakarta),

According to Arrian, this was the largest city of Hyrcania. The term signifies, " the yellow city "; and it was given to it from the great number of oranges, lemons, and other fruit trees which grew in the environs of that city. Hence it is by D'Anville, Rochette, and other geographers, identified with Saru, which Pietro Della Valle says, in his Travels, signifies yellow. It is probable that Zadracarta and Saru are the same with the Syringis of Polybius, taken from Arsaces ii. by Antiochus the Great, in his fruitless attempt to reunite the revolted provinces of Hyrcania and Parthia to the Syrian crown. Han way, who visited Saru a. d. 1734, mentions four ancient Magian temples as still standing, built in the form of rotundas, each thirty feet in diameter, and near 120 in height. But Sir W. Ouseley, who was there in 1811, has pronounced these to be masses of brick masonry of the Mohammedan age. One of them only is now standing, the others having been overturned by an earthquake. This and other remains of similar buildings, bear the names of Firedoon, Salm, Toor, and other mystic personages, M^hose celebrity had been established about 2000 years anterior to their erection. One of them Avas called the tomb of Kaus, and was supposed to contain the ashes of Cyrus the Great. Sir William Ouseley thinks it was that of Kabus, or Kaus, the son of Washmakin, who governed Mazanderan in the fourth century of the Hejira. It was at Saru that the ashes of the youthful hero, Sohraub, were deposited by his father, Roostum, after he had unwittingly slain him in single combat. Saru is celebrated for its abundance of gardens, which emit a pleasing fragrance in the vernal and summer months. Oriental hyperbole declares, that the gates of paradise derive sweetness from the air of Saru, and the flowers of Eden their fragrance from its soil. The city was again a regional capital in the Sassanid dynasty.

Capital of Tabaristan local rulers

In the seventh century, Farrukhan, the Great of the Dabuyid dynasty reconstructed the city, and because his son's name was "Sarouyeh", he called it by this name. Sari once again became the capital of Tabaristan during that century (previously the capital was Amol).

After invasions by the inheritors of Mongols, Timur the Lame of Uzbeks, Turcoman, and Tatars the city lost its high status and was periodically burnt to ashes.

Integration into the national administration

Because Shah Abbas I's mother was from Behshahr (Ashraf), he merged Mazandaran into his empire, and founded Farahabad as his alternate capital of Persia in the north of the city and created the gardens in Ashrafi.
After the Safavid dynasty, there is no evidence of any notable events in Sari.

Former Capital of Iran

On March 21, 1782, Agha Mohammad Shah proclaimed Sari as his imperial capital. Sari was the site of local wars in those years, which led to the transfer of the capital from Sari to Tehran by Fath Ali Shah.

Early 20th Century

Boasting of developments found after the Qajar dynasty, Reza Shah Pahlavi systematically changed Sari; as Sari Train Station, Most of the streets and Governmental buildings date from that era. During World War II the Soviet army occupied the city, but left it after the war.

About Sari

The Clock Tower, in the Clock Square (Meydan-e-Sa'at) located in downtown Sari, attracts many visitors and has become its most famous landmark. Sari also contains the tombs of the Muslim leaders Yahya and Zayn Al-Abedin, Emamzade-ye Abbas, and Shazdeh Hussein from the 15th century.

Economy

The economy of Sari is based on food production such as cakes, milled rice, yogurt, doogh, canned meat, oilseed and exporting fruits especially orange, lemon, etc. During the 1950s and 1970s the big factory complex of MM company was the city's largest industrial facility; it was one of the country's biggest plant oil producers. It was nationalized after the revolution, and went bankrupt.^{[citation needed]}

Sari's property prices are quite variable. This allows most residents to own their homes, but most neighborhoods are quite expensive because of the pleasant climate. Land prices vary between $1000 USD per square meter to more than $8,100 USD per square meter.

Climate

Sari has a borderline humid subtropical/Mediterranean climate. Winters are cool and rainy whilst summers are hot and humid. Sari's 2005-2006 statistical weather information, in comparison with that of other Mazandaran cities, shows that Sari has an average climate, but it is somewhat sunnier and has more spring rain. However, recent rainfall in Sari has declined.

Climate data for Mahdasht, Sari
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	30.2 (86.4)	31.2 (88.2)	35.0 (95.0)	37.0 (98.6)	39.0 (102.2)	44.0 (111.2)	39.0 (102.2)	40.5 (104.9)	39.0 (102.2)	38.0 (100.4)	34.0 (93.2)	30.0 (86.0)	44.0 (111.2)
Average high °C (°F)	11.9 (53.4)	11.9 (53.4)	14.0 (57.2)	20.9 (69.6)	25.2 (77.4)	29.2 (84.6)	31.2 (88.2)	31.2 (88.2)	28.5 (83.3)	24.1 (75.4)	19.0 (66.2)	14.4 (57.9)	21.8 (71.2)
Average low °C (°F)	3.3 (37.9)	3.4 (38.1)	5.0 (41.0)	9.4 (48.9)	13.8 (56.8)	17.8 (64.0)	20.7 (69.3)	21.2 (70.2)	18.6 (65.5)	13.8 (56.8)	9.3 (48.7)	5.2 (41.4)	11.8 (53.2)
Record low °C (°F)	−2.5 (27.5)	−5 (23.0)	−3.5 (25.7)	1.0 (33.8)	2.0 (35.6)	4.0 (39.2)	8.5 (47.3)	10.0 (50.0)	2.5 (36.5)	0.0 (32.0)	−2 (28.4)	−5 (23.0)	−5 (23.0)
Precipitation mm (inches)	105.2 (4.142)	91.5 (3.602)	100.6 (3.961)	60.5 (2.382)	53.2 (2.094)	36.2 (1.425)	35.5 (1.398)	58.8 (2.315)	88.9 (3.5)	98.1 (3.862)	104.4 (4.11)	114.4 (4.504)	947.3 (37.295)
% humidity	77	76	76	72	69	66	66	70	73	75	76	76	72.7
Avg. rainy days	8	8	10	7	6	4	5	6	7	7	7	8	83
Source: Iranian Meteorological Organization

City districts

Sari contains the following major sections:
Mirzazamani , Azad Goleh, Bagher Abad,Booali & Posht-e-Hotel(both located in Pasdaran Blvd.), Barbari Mahalleh, Bazaar-e Nargesiyeh, Bazaar-e Rooz, Chenar-Bon, Gol-Afshan, Golma, Kooy-e Azadi, Kooy-e DadGostari, Kooy-e Daneshgah, Kooy-e Djahad, Kooy-e Golha, Kooy-e-Karmandan, Kooy-e Mahyar, Kooy-e MirSarorozeh, Kooy-e Qelich, Lesani, Mehdi-Abad , Na'l-Bandan, No-Tekiyeh, Peyvandi, Pir Tekiyeh, Pol-e Gardan, Posht-e Nim-e Shaban, Posht-e Zendan, Rahband-e Dokhaniyat , Dokhaniyat, Kooy-e Etehad , Rahband-e Sangtarashan, Sang, Sari Kenar, Sarvineh Bagh, Seyyed AlShohada, Shafa, Shahband, Shazdeh Hossein, Shekar Abad, Tabaristan, Tavakkoli, Torki Mahalleh, Torkmen Mahalleh, etc.

Previous districts

Sari's old city structure changed in the first Pahlavi era, as new avenues and streets in the city center date from that era. In the Qajar dynasty, Sari had famous neighborhoods identified as follows:
Afghoun Mahalleh, Bahar Abad, Balouchi Kheyl, Balouchi Mahalleh, Birameter (Bahram-Ottor), Chaleh Bagh, Dar Masdjed, Isfahouni Mahalleh, Kohneh Baq Shah,Kurd Mahalleh, Mir Mashad Mahalleh, Mir Sar Rozeh, Na'l Bandan, Naqareh Khaneh, Ossanlou Mahalleh, Paay-e Chenar, QelichLi Mahalleh, Sabzeh Meydan, Shazdeh Hossein, Shepesh Koshan, Shishehgar Mahalleh

Telephone area codes

Sari's area code is 151 (+98151 outside of Iran). Also Sari has the internal area codes as shown below, three digits are the beginning of seven-digit numbers (e.g., 221-xxxx):

22 System	23 System	24 System	32 System	34 - 37 System	38 System
221 Downtown (2003)D	233	243	321 North of Downtown (2004)A	340 Northeast of Downtown (2006)D	381
222 Downtown (First)D	234	244	322 Far South (2005)D		382
225 Northwest of Downtown (2005)D	235	245	323 South of Downtown (2002)D		383 Sari's Primary Industrial Area D
223 Southwest of Downtown (2000)D	236	246	324 North of Downtown (1997)D		384 Dangesarak, Koula A
227 Far West (2002)D	237	247	325 North of Downtown (1998)D		385
	238	248	326 West of Downtown (2003)D		387
			328 Far East (2000)A		388 Wood Industries
* Numbers in parentheses show the year the phone office was established. D = Digital System, A = Analog System

Population

The population density of some neighborhoods in downtown (for example: Mirzazamani , Peyvandi , Sang) is greater than 20,000 per square kilometer. Note that before 1950, the population of the city during the summer was less than in winter. This influenced estimations, such that an estimate done in summer might be inaccurate.

• 1808 = 21,000 est.
• 1827 = 19,000 est.
• 1832 = 20,000 est.
• 1850 = 15,000 est.
• 1856 = 9,000 est.
• 1872 = 15,500 est.
• 1874 = 16,000 est.
• 1883 = 16,100 est.
• 1905 = 25,000 est.
• 1923 = 35,000 est.
• 1956 = 26,278 cen.
• 1966 = 44,547 cen.
• 1976 = 70,753 cen.
• 1986 = 141,020 cen.
• 1996 = 195,882 cen.
• 2006 = 262,627 est.
• 2008 = 300,000 est.

People and culture

Residents are known as Saravis or Sariyan. The population is a mixture of native Mazandaranis, Persians, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Balochis, and Turcomans. Whereas neighborhoods were identified during the Qajar dynasty by the ethnicity of their inhabitants, this is no longer so. Historically, some areas were labeled as being home to immigrants from Kurdistan and Balochistan. Sari, as well as other regions in northern Iran, is well known for its hospitality. Most residents speak Mazandarani and the Saravi dialect. Sari used to be the home of Georgians, Armenians, and Zoroastrians, but today their percentage of the population is low. Local languages are spoken in some neighborhoods, but almost everyone understands and uses Persian as second language.

Zoroastrians from Sari who migrated to India in the 10th Century founded there a city which they named "Navu Sari" (English: "New Sari"), a name which was by now shortened to Navsari; the town is still a center of the Zoroastrian Parsi community of India.

Transport

Arriving

By air

Sari is served by Dasht-e Naz International Airport, which is located in the northeast of the city. it has four daily flights in summer and six weekly flights in other seasons scheduled to and from Tehran (cost: $20 USD). Also, it has weekly flight destinations to Mashhad and Jeddah. Seasonal destinations include Isfahan, Kish Island, and sometimes other cities, depending on demand. Tickets should be reserved one week in advance.

By train

The city is connected to Gorgan and Tehran by Shomal Railways, since it is on a major branch of the Iran's Railroad. The Sari train station is the city's first modern rail station and it dates from the Pahlavi dynasty. Currently, there are three major passenger trains (Sari Exclusive Train, No. 220, and No. 221) everyday to Sari. If you travel to Sari from Tehran, you may use the Gorgan train, which runs in the evening. Only some major express trains have announcements in English, but this train does. The fare is $3.5 USD, and the trip takes either 7 hours (Tehran-Sari) or 71/2 hours (Sari-Tehran), because the trip is through mountains. For more than 60 years, Sari's exclusive train has been arriving about 4 PM.

By boat

The port of Amir Abad is located on the southern coast of the Mazandaran Sea.

By car

Local highways have been well developed after the Iran–Iraq War. Sari area contains highway 62w, which has the Qa'emshahr exit and 62e, which has the Neka exit. You can travel from Sari to Tehran via Firoozkooh under 3 hours.

By bus

There are five bus terminals, but just one, Terminal-e Dowlat, is popular. The others serve cities that are located within 150 kilometers of Sari: Gorgan, Nowshahr and Chaloos, Kiyasar, etc.

	By Train
Gorgan	153 Kilometers*	138 Kilometers	Neka, Behshahr, Gaz, Nokandeh, Gorgan
Bojnourd	-----		Behshahr, Gorgan, Minoodasht, Ashkhaneh, Bojnourd
Mashad	1152 Kilometers*	730 Kilometers	Behshahr, Gorgan, Bonjnourd, Quchan, Mashad
Babol		45 Kilometers*	Qa'emshahr, Babol
Nowshahr		170 Kilometers	Jouybar, Babolsar, Fereydoon Kenar, Nour, Royan, Nowshahr
Lahijan			Babolsar, Nour, Nowshahr, Shahsavar, Ramsar, Chaboksar, Lahijan
	By Train	Via Savadkooh Road	Via Kiasar Road	Via Azadshahr Road	Via Haraz Road
Tehran	354 Kilometers*	265 Kilometers*	-----	-----	245 Kilometers
Semnan	354 Kilometers*			-----	-----
Shahroud	555 Kilometers*				-----
* indicates that destination is actually nearer than the kilometers shown

Getting around

The layout of the city lends itself to using taxis. There is a wide choice of taxi systems including ceremony taxis, wireless taxis, airport or rail station taxis, and telephone taxis. City buses are also popular because they connect Sari's suburbs to the center of city, and most of the population lives in the suburbs. Although pedestrians must take care crossing busy streets, Sari is safe for pedestrians even at night.

Outdoors

Sari is balmy and pleasant. Most major places of interest are listed below:

• Farah Abad Coast
• Gohar Baran Coast
• Darya Kenar Coast
• Khezer Shahr Coast
• Dehkadeh Aramesh Tourist Village
• Tajan River Park
• Zare' Forest Park
• Salardareh Forest Park
• Dasht-E-Naaz National Park
• Pol-e-Gardan hiking trail
• Nemashoun Lake
• Lak-Dasht Lake
• Soleyman-Tangeh Lake
• Bam-e-Shahr Hill (offers a great panoramic view of the city)
• Qor-Maraz (natural spa, Neka)
• jamaloddin kola(damaneh kohe shahdezh)

Colleges and universities

Unlike today, Sari was once one of the most cultured cities in the history of Iran. The scientific knowledge of Saravis was noted throughout history and recorded by Pietro Della Valle and other famous visitors. Today, the universities are as follows:

• University of Agricultural
• Mazanderan University of Medical Science (MazUMS)
• University of Natural Science
• Islamic Azad University of Sari
• Imam Mohammad Bagher University of Technology
• Sarian University of Art & Architecture
• Payam-e-Noor University
• University of Tech & Engineering (Khalil Moqadam)
• University of Tarbiyat-e Modaress
• Sama Technology Faculty of Azad University
• Rouzbehan University
• science and research branch islamic azad university
• hadaf University

Sports

Many complexes feature sports in Sari, but most do not have complete facilities. Most popular are Jahan-Pahlavan Takhti Sports Complex, which is located on Farhang Street; Hashemi-Nassab Sports Complex, which is located on the railway side of the autobahn; and Montazeri Sports complex, which is located in Shahband. Sari has the Mottaqi football stadium as well, but it is seldom used.

Wrestling

Sari is the birthplace of many popular wrestlers and athletes, and it was the host of 2006 Wrestling World Cup Competitions. Notable wrestlers from Sari include Asgari Mohammadian , Majid Torkan and Morad Mohammadi.

Cultural attractions

Although Sari is the most important cultural place in the north of Iran, earthquakes and other causes destroyed most of its cultural buildings. Still, Sari has been described as Safa City (City of Curvet).
Notable are Famous Houses such as Kolbadi House and Amir Divan House (Ramedani House) , Archeological sites including Hutto Cave (70th millennium BC), Kamarband Cave (70th-millennium BC); also the Resket Tower from the Qaran era and the Farahabad Complex Place from the Safavid era.

Directors

Khosrow Sinai (born 19 January 1941 in Sari) is the most famous film director in Mazandaran, who was the first Iranian film director to win an international prize after the Islamic revolution in Iran. He is also known as an Iranian scholar and has been awarded the prestigious Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.

Authors and Poets

Sari has raised many authors and poets. Mina Assadi is probably the most famous one. She was born and raised in Sari but then moved to Teheran to study journalism and work as a journalist at newspapers like Kayhan. Today Mina Assadi lives in exile in Stockholm, Sweden.

Religious sites

Tomb of Imamzadeh Abbas, Located in eastern part of Sari, Mazandaran.

• Emamzadeh Yahya (son of Imam Moosa-ebn Jafar)
• Emamzadeh Abbas (son of Imam Moosa-ebn Jafar)
• Emamzadeh Abdollah, Koula
• Masjed-e-Jaame' Mosque (constructed before Islam by Zoroastrians, where many important kings and heroes of Persia such as Iraj,

Touraj, Salam, Fereidun, Sohrab (son of Rostam) that Ferdowsi remind them in shahnama are buried near this place).

• Emam-Sajjad Mosque (formerly Shah-Qazi, first was Marqad-'Ala-Adolleh School but Rostam Shah Qazi reconstructed it in 1169 and renamed it Shah-Qazi during the Qaznavi era)
• Haaj Mostafa Khan Mosque (Sourteci)
• Reza Khan Mosque (Hozeh Elmiyeh)
• Molla-Majd-Addin Place
• Shazdeh-Hossein Place
• Pahneh-Kalla Place.

Sister cities

• Gomel

Mayor

• Mohammad Ghanbarpour (formerly)
• Seyed Ali Hejazi (present)

General

Some of the important people from Sari are Haj Ali Akbar Nikbakht, Musa Vafayan,Mohammad Ali Ramedani and Abdolhamid Darab.

References

• About Sari, Author: Dr. Hussein Eslami, Year: 1995, Special Municipal Research & Cultural Center for Sari
• Sari, My Lovely City, Author: Ali Hessami, Year: 2006, 23965 Sari Primary Library

External links

• Sari in Encyclopædia Britannica
• Sari travel guide from Wikitravel