About Iran

Iran is one of the most ancient cradles of human civilization. This territory is abundant in historical monuments, each of which dating back to a very far past. Geographical situation of Iran and its location in the route of the Silk Road, forces trade caravans and tourists who departed the West for China and Far East, to traverse through this land, leaving behind countless travel accounts.

Iran lies on southwest Asia with an area of 1,648,195 square kilometers. The present general information on this vast territory is as follows:

Capital city: Tehran

Geographical features: Iran is located in one of the highest areas of the world from sea level. It has two mountain chains of Zagross and Alborz, the height of which reaches 4,500 meters in some parts. It acts as a connection bridge for neighbouring countries with the Caspian Sea in the north and the Persian Gulf in the south.

Religion: 98.8 percent of the Iranian people are Muslims of which, 91 percent are Shi’ite Muslims. The rest of the people are Christian, Jew and Zoroastrian by religion.

Local time: the local time equals to GMT + 3:30 hours

IRAN, or as it was once known - Persia, has long been the seat of civilization and high achievements in poetry, art, architecture, science and history.

Names like Darius, Xerxes, Rostam, Omar Khayyam, Hafiz, Saadi, Mowlavi, Attar and Avicenna just to name a few, are all amongst the great achievers who left great contributions to the world we live in today.

Most of the archaeological and historic sites have been very well preserved. Centers like Susa, Perspolis, Shiraz, Isfahan, Mashhad, Kerman, Bam & Hamadan proudly portray rich history even today.