1.
Harireh
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Harireh is an ancient 8th century city located in what is now Kish, Iran. It is situated in the center of the northern coast of the island and its area is about 3 square kilometers. Some say Harireh was first built sometime between the late Sasanid period and the early Islamic era, Harireh was quite popular during the Saljuks and Atavakan of Fars. An Iranian cultural heritage organization has verified that Harireh is at least 800 years old, Harireh is most probably the town that the renowned Iranian poet, Saadi, has referred to in his book Gulistan. There are references in the works of Iranian and Arab historians to the location of the town on the island and these say that the town was situated in the middle of the northern part, precisely where the ruins are standing today. Kookherd Bastak Bandar Lengeh Hormozgān 1
2.
Dariush Grand Hotel
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The Dariush Grand Hotel is a 190-room, $200 million, five star hotel located on the eastern part of Kish Island in the Persian Gulf. Dariush Grand Hotel was built to look like Persepolis, a symbol of the ancient Persian civilization, the hotel was designed and developed by Iranian entrepreneur Hossein Sabet, who also owns and manages several tourist attractions and hotels in the Canary Islands. The hotel was completed in 2003 and is owned by a number of companies. On May 7,2004 it was announced that the Rezidor Hotel Group would manage the Dariush Grand Hotel for ten years, with the intention of rebranding the hotel as a Radisson SAS property in the future. In 2006, Rezidor and the owner of the agreed to cancel the contract. The General Manager at the time was Sascha Kaiser. It is unknown what company currently runs the hotel, Dariush Grand Hotel Dariush Hotel Pictures Dariush Hotel Reservation
3.
Greek Ship
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The Greek Ship is the nickname of a cargo steamship, Khoula F, that has been beached on the southwest coast of Kish Island, Iran, since 1966. She was built in Britain by William Hamilton and Company in Port Glasgow, Scotland, from 1946 to 1966 she passed through a series of British and Iranian owners and various changes of name. Her final owners were Greek, and it is them that she derives her nickname. Empire Trumpet had nine corrugated furnaces with a grate area of 165 square feet that heated three 220 lbf/in2 single-ended boilers with a combined heating surface of 7,248 square feet. The boilers raised steam for her engine, which had cylinders of 24.5 inches,39 inches and 72 inches bore by 48 inches stroke and was rated at 510 NHP. The engine was built by David Rowan & Co Ltd of Glasgow, Empire Trumpets first owner was the British Ministry of War Transport, which placed her under the management of Larrinaga Steam Ship Co from 1943 and then T&J Harrison Co from 1945. She was chartered to the South African Government from 1943 to 1946, in 1946 Charente Steam Ship Co bought her, renamed her Naturalist and continued the management arrangement with T&J Harrison. In 1959, Iranian Lloyd & Co Ltd of Khorramshahr bought her, Iranian Lloyd placed Persian Cyrus under the management of B Ashworth and Co. In 1965 Iranian Shipping Lines SA of Khorramshahr bought her and renamed her Hamadan, in 1966 P. J. Frangoulis and A. I. Cliafas of Greece bought the ship and renamed her Koula F, on 25 July 1966, Koula F ran aground on the south-western coast of Kish in the Persian Gulf at position 26°31′34. 13″N 53°54′29. 11″E. The Dutch salvage tug Orinoco tried to refloat her but was unsuccessful and her insurers declared Khoula F a total loss and she has remained beached ever since. Her condition has deteriorated and her stern has started to break up, in kish Island, the ship attracts tourists who come to view her at sunset
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Iran
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Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
6.
Provinces of Iran
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Iran is subdivided into thirty one provinces, each governed from a local center, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital of that province. The provincial authority is headed by a Governor-General, who is appointed by the Minister of the Interior subject to approval of the cabinet, from 1960 to 1981 the governorates were raised to provincial status one by one
7.
Hormozgan Province
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Hormozgan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the south of the country, in Irans Region 2, facing Oman and its area is 70,697 km2, and its provincial capital is Bandar Abbas. The province has fourteen islands in the Persian Gulf and 1,000 km of coastline. The province has 13 major cities, Bandar Abbas, Bandar Lengeh, Hajiabbad, Minab, Qeshm, Sardasht, Sirik, Jask, Bastak, Bandar Khamir, Parsian, Rudan, the province has 21 counties,69 municipalities, and 2,046 villages. In 2011 a little more than 1.5 million people resided in Hormozgan Province, the province is said to have been particularly prosperous between 241 BC and 211 BC, but grew even further in trade and commercial significance after the arrival of the Islamic era. Marco Polo visited the port of Bandar Abbas in 1272 and 1293 and he reported widespread trading in Persian jewelry, the ivory and silk of Indochina, and pearls from Bahrain in the bazaars in the port of Hormuz. In 1497 Europeans landed in the region for the first time, in 1508 the Portuguese, led by Afonso de Albuquerque invaded the area with seven warships, under the pretext of protecting their interests from Egypt and Venice. The port of Hormuz was at this time considered strategic for commercial interests in the Persian Gulf, the name of Bandar Abbas comes directly from the name of Shah Abbas I. The Persian government was unable to defend itself against this attack, however, with the souring of British and Dutch relations, military tensions grew in the region. The Dutch finally resorted to moving their base up to Kharg Island, the Amir of Kharg, Mir Mahna, was able to defeat the Dutch forces at Kharg, leaving the British firmly in charge of the entire region. Soon Britain took control over the entire Persian Gulf via the British East India Company, the British adopted a policy of encouraging local autonomy throughout the Persian Gulf to prevent any formidable unified force from threatening their establishments in the gulf. The strategic importance of the Persian Gulf further increased after World War I with the discovery of oil in the region, Hormozgans ethnic Arab population speak a variety of Arabic dialects, and in 2006 they made-up roughly 10% of Hormozgans total population of about 1.5 million people. 90-95% of the province is ethnically Persian, hormuzs contact with peoples from the Arabian peninsula include for the main part the coastal regions of Qatar, Dubai, Oman, and Yemen. The contact between the Iranian peoples and the peoples of the eastern Arabian seaboard is legendary, stories about the more ancient contact are embedded in poet Ferdowsis epic, the Shahnameh. The province is mountainous, consisting of the southern tip of the Zagros Range. The province experiences a hot and humid climate, with temperatures sometimes exceeding 120 °F in summers. There is very little precipitation year round, Hormozgan today has 11 ports, five national airports, and three international airports. The province has an agriculture sector, ranking first in Iran in lime production
8.
Free-Trade Zone
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A free-trade zone is a specific class of special economic zone. It is an area where goods may be landed, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured. Free trade zones are generally organized around major seaports, international airports, the World Bank defines free trade zones as small, fenced-in, duty-free areas, offering warehousing, storage, and distribution facilities for trade, transshipment, and re-export operations. Free-trade zones are referred to as zones in the United States. In the United States, FTZs provide Customs-related advantages as well as exemptions from state, some were previously called free ports. Free zones range from specific-purpose manufacturing facilities to areas where legal systems, Free zones may reduce taxes, customs duties, and regulatory requirements for registration of business. Zones around the world often provide special exemptions from normal immigration procedures, Free zones are intended to foster economic activity and employment that could occur elsewhere. An export-processing zone is a type of FTZ, set up generally in developing countries by their governments to promote industrial and commercial exports. According to the World Bank, an export processing zone is an estate, usually a fenced-in area of 10 to 300 hectares. It offers firms free trade conditions and a regulatory environment. In 1997,93 countries had set up export processing zones employing 22.5 million people, China has specific rules differentiating an EPZ from a FTZ. For example, 70% of goods in EPZs must be exported, the worlds first document free-trade zone was established on the Greek Island of Delos in 166 BCE. It lasted until about 69 BCE when the island was overrun by pirates, the Romans had many civitas libera, or free cities, some of which could coin money, establish their own laws, and not pay an annual tribute to the Roman Emperor. These continued through at least the first millennium CE, in the 12th century the Hanseatic League began operating in Northern Europe, and established trading colonies throughout Europe. These Free Trade Zones included Hamburg, and the Steelyard in London, the Steelyard, like other Hansa stations, was a separate walled community with its own warehouses on the river, its own weighing house, chapel, counting houses and residential quarters. In 1988 remains of the former Hanseatic trading house, once the largest medieval trading complex in Britain, were uncovered by archaeologists during work on Cannon Street Station. The Shannon Zone was started to help the city airport adjust to a change in aircraft technology that permitted longer range aircraft to skip a required refueling stops at Shannon. It was an attempt by the Irish Government to maintain employment around the airport and it was hugely successful, and is still in operation today
9.
Metropolitan area
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As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people
10.
Iran Standard Time
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Iran Standard Time or Iran Time is the time zone used in Iran. Iran uses a UTC offset UTC+03,30, IRST is defined by the 52.5 degrees east meridian, the same meridian which defines the Iranian calendar and is the official meridian of Iran. Between 2005 and 2008, by decree of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and it was reintroduced from 21 March 2008. Iran is unusual in that the dates of DST transitions arent based on a such as the third Monday in September. So in most countries, DST transitions occur on the same every year
11.
Persian language
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Persian, also known by its endonym Farsi, is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan and it is mostly written in the Persian alphabet, a modified variant of the Arabic script. Its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages, Persian gets its name from its origin at the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persis, hence the name Persian. A Persian-speaking person may be referred to as Persophone, there are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. For centuries, Persian has also been a cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia. It also exerted influence on Arabic, particularly Bahrani Arabic. Persian is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-European family, other Western Iranian languages are the Kurdish languages, Gilaki, Mazanderani, Talysh, and Balochi. Persian is classified as a member of the Southwestern subgroup within Western Iranian along with Lari, Kumzari, in Persian, the language is known by several names, Western Persian, Parsi or Farsi has been the name used by all native speakers until the 20th century. Since the latter decades of the 20th century, for reasons, in English. Tajiki is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the Tajiks, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term Persian as a language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Native Iranian Persian speakers call it Fārsi, Farsi is the Arabicized form of Pārsi, subsequent to Muslim conquest of Persia, due to a lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The origin of the name Farsi and the place of origin of the language which is Fars Province is the Arabicized form of Pārs, in English, this language has historically been known as Persian, though Farsi has also gained some currency. Farsi is encountered in some literature as a name for the language. In modern English the word Farsi refers to the language while Parsi describes Zoroastrians, some Persian language scholars such as Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, and University of Arizona professor Kamran Talattof, have also rejected the usage of Farsi in their articles. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa, as its system is mostly based on the local names. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses the name Persian for the dialect continuum spoken across Iran and Afghanistan and this consists of the individual languages Dari and Iranian Persian. Currently, Voice of America, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also includes a Tajik service and an Afghan service. This is also the case for the American Association of Teachers of Persian, The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, Persian is an Iranian language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages
12.
Persian Gulf
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The Persian Gulf is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Hormuz, the Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf was a battlefield of the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War and it is the namesake of the 1991 Gulf War, the largely air- and land-based conflict that followed Iraqs invasion of Kuwait. The gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, the body of water is historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf. Some Arab governments refer to it as the Arabian Gulf or The Gulf, the name Gulf of Iran is used by the International Hydrographic Organization. The Persian Gulf is geologically young, having been formed around 15,000 years ago. Its length is 989 kilometres, with Iran covering most of the northern coast, the Persian Gulf is about 56 km wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz. The waters are very shallow, with a maximum depth of 90 metres. Various small islands lie within the Persian Gulf, some of which are the subject of territorial disputes between the states of the region. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the Persian Gulfs southern limit as The Northwestern limit of Gulf of Oman and this limit is defined as A line joining Ràs Limah on the coast of Arabia and Ràs al Kuh on the coast of Iran. The Persian Gulf and its areas are the worlds largest single source of crude oil. Safaniya Oil Field, the worlds largest offshore oilfield, is located in the Persian Gulf, large gas finds have also been made, with Qatar and Iran sharing a giant field across the territorial median line. Using this gas, Qatar has built up a substantial liquefied natural gas, the oil-rich countries that have a coastline on the Persian Gulf are referred to as the Persian Gulf States. In 550 BC, the Achaemenid Empire established the first ancient empire in Persis, consequently, in the Greek sources, the body of water that bordered this province came to be known as the Persian Gulf. In the travel account of Pythagoras, several chapters are related to description of his travels accompanied by the Achaemenid king Darius the Great, to Susa and Persepolis, and the area is described. This water channel separates the Iran Plateau from the Arabia Plate, has enjoyed an Iranian Identity since at least 2200 years ago. Before being given its present name, the Persian Gulf was called many different names, the classical Greek writers, like Herodotus, called it the Red Sea. In Babylonian texts, it was known as the sea above Akkad, the name of the gulf, historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf after the land of Persia, has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s
13.
Free trade zone
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A free-trade zone is a specific class of special economic zone. It is an area where goods may be landed, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured. Free trade zones are generally organized around major seaports, international airports, the World Bank defines free trade zones as small, fenced-in, duty-free areas, offering warehousing, storage, and distribution facilities for trade, transshipment, and re-export operations. Free-trade zones are referred to as zones in the United States. In the United States, FTZs provide Customs-related advantages as well as exemptions from state, some were previously called free ports. Free zones range from specific-purpose manufacturing facilities to areas where legal systems, Free zones may reduce taxes, customs duties, and regulatory requirements for registration of business. Zones around the world often provide special exemptions from normal immigration procedures, Free zones are intended to foster economic activity and employment that could occur elsewhere. An export-processing zone is a type of FTZ, set up generally in developing countries by their governments to promote industrial and commercial exports. According to the World Bank, an export processing zone is an estate, usually a fenced-in area of 10 to 300 hectares. It offers firms free trade conditions and a regulatory environment. In 1997,93 countries had set up export processing zones employing 22.5 million people, China has specific rules differentiating an EPZ from a FTZ. For example, 70% of goods in EPZs must be exported, the worlds first document free-trade zone was established on the Greek Island of Delos in 166 BCE. It lasted until about 69 BCE when the island was overrun by pirates, the Romans had many civitas libera, or free cities, some of which could coin money, establish their own laws, and not pay an annual tribute to the Roman Emperor. These continued through at least the first millennium CE, in the 12th century the Hanseatic League began operating in Northern Europe, and established trading colonies throughout Europe. These Free Trade Zones included Hamburg, and the Steelyard in London, the Steelyard, like other Hansa stations, was a separate walled community with its own warehouses on the river, its own weighing house, chapel, counting houses and residential quarters. In 1988 remains of the former Hanseatic trading house, once the largest medieval trading complex in Britain, were uncovered by archaeologists during work on Cannon Street Station. The Shannon Zone was started to help the city airport adjust to a change in aircraft technology that permitted longer range aircraft to skip a required refueling stops at Shannon. It was an attempt by the Irish Government to maintain employment around the airport and it was hugely successful, and is still in operation today
14.
Southwest Asia
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Western Asia, West Asia, Southwestern Asia or Southwest Asia is the westernmost subregion of Asia. The concept is in limited use, as it overlaps with the Middle East. The term is used for the purposes of grouping countries in statistics. The total population of Western Asia is an estimated 300 million as of 2015, in an unrelated context, the term is also used in ancient history and archaeology to divide the Fertile Crescent into the Asiatic or Western Asian cultures as opposed to ancient Egypt. As a geographic concept, Western Asia almost always includes the Levant, Mesopotamia, the term is used pragmatically and has no correct or generally agreed-upon definition. In contrast to this definition, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation in its 2015 yearbook also includes Armenia and Azerbaijan, unlike the UNIDO, the United Nations Statistics Division excludes Iran from Western Asia and include Turkey, Georgia, and Cyprus in the region. These four countries are listed in the European category of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, the Olympic Council of Asias multi-sport event West Asian Games are contested by athletes representing these thirteen countries. Among the regions sports organisations are the West Asia Basketball Association, West Asian Billiards and Snooker Federation, West Asian Football Federation, Western Asia was in use as a geographical term in the early 19th century, even before Near East became current as a geopolitical concept. Use of the term in the context of contemporary geopolitics or world economy appears to date from the 1960s, Western Asia is located directly south of Eastern Europe. The region is surrounded by seven major seas, the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. The Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut deserts in eastern Iran naturally delimit the region somewhat from Asia itself, three major tectonic plates converge on Western Asia, including the African, Eurasian, and Arabian plates. The boundaries between the plates make up the Azores-Gibraltar Ridge, extending across North Africa, the Red Sea. The Arabian Plate is moving northward into the Anatolian plate at the East Anatolian Fault, several major aquifers provide water to large portions of Western Asia. In Saudi Arabia, two large aquifers of Palaeozoic and Triassic origins are located beneath the Jabal Tuwayq mountains and areas west to the Red Sea. Cretaceous and Eocene-origin aquifers are located beneath large portions of central and eastern Saudi Arabia, including Wasia, flood or furrow irrigation, as well as sprinkler methods, are extensively used for irrigation, covering nearly 90,000 km² across Western Asia for agriculture. Western Asia is primarily arid and semi-arid, and can be subject to drought, the region consists of grasslands, rangelands, deserts, and mountains. Water shortages are a problem in parts of West Asia, with rapidly growing populations increasing demands for water. Major rivers, including the Tigris and Euphrates, provide sources for water to support agriculture
15.
Dubai
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Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the countrys legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the northern coastline. Dubai will host World Expo 2020, Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East. It is also a transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s, Dubais economy was based on revenues from trade and, to an extent, oil exploration concessions. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969, Dubais oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low, today, less than 5% of the emirates revenue comes from oil. The emirates Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, aviation, real estate, Dubai was recently named the best destination for Muslim travellers by Salam Standard. Dubai has recently attracted attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the worlds tallest building, Dubai has been criticised for human rights violations concerning the citys largely South Asian and Filipino workforce. As of 2012, Dubai was the 22nd most expensive city in the world, in 2014, Dubais hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world, after Geneva. Dubai was rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle East by U. S. global consulting firm Mercer, Many theories have been proposed as to the origin of the word Dubai. One theory suggests the word was used to describe the souq, another theory states that the name came from a word meaning money, as people from Dubai were commonly believed to be rich due to the thriving trading centre of the location. An Arabic proverb says Daba Dubai, meaning They came with a lot of money, according to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAEs history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word daba, referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, an inhabitant or native of the city is a Dubaian. Although stone tools have been found at archaeological sites, little is known about the UAEs early inhabitants as only a few settlements have been found. Many ancient towns in the area were trading centres between the Eastern and Western worlds, the remnants of an ancient mangrove swamp, dated at 7000 BC, were discovered during the construction of sewer lines near Dubai Internet City. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries
16.
Sharm El Sheikh
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Sharm El Sheikh is a city situated on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, Egypt, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 73,000 as of 2015, today the city is a holiday resort and significant centre for tourism in Egypt. Sharm El Sheikh is sometimes called the City of Peace, referring to the number of international peace conferences that have been held there. It was known as Şarm-üş Şeyh during Ottoman rule, and as Ofira during Israeli occupation between 1967 and 1982, among Egyptians and Israelis, the name of the city is commonly shortened to Sharm. The name is sometimes written as Sharm al-Sheikh, Sharm el-Sheik or Sharm al-Sheik in English. Sharm El Sheikh is on a promontory overlooking the Straits of Tiran at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba and its strategic importance led to its transformation from a fishing village into a major port and naval base for the Egyptian Navy. It was captured by Israel during the Suez Crisis of 1956, a United Nations peacekeeping force was subsequently stationed there until the 1967 Six-Day War when it was recaptured by Israel. Sharm El Sheikh remained under Israeli control until the Sinai peninsula was restored again to Egypt in 1982 after the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty of 1979, a hierarchical planning approach was adopted for the Gulf of Aqaba, whereby their components were evaluated and subdivided into zones, cities and centers. In accordance with this approach, the Gulf of Aqaba zone was subdivided into four cities, Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab, Sharm El Sheikh city has been subdivided into five homogeneous centers, namely Nabq, Ras Nusrani, Naama Bay, Umm Sid and Sharm El Maya. Sharm El Sheikh city, together with Naama Bay, Hay el Nour, Hadaba, Rowaysat, Montazah and Sharks Bay form a metropolitan area. Before 1967, Sharm El Sheikh was little more than a base of operations for local fishermen. Commercial development of the area began during the Israeli presence in the area, the Israelis built the town of Ofira, overlooking Sharm El Maya Bay and the Nesima area, and opened the first tourist-oriented establishments in the area 6 km north at Naama Bay. These included a hotel on the southern side of the bay, a nature field school on the northern side, diving clubs, a now well-known promenade. The site off the gun emplacements at Ras Nasrani opposite Tiran Island is now a diving area. After Sinai was restored to Egypt in 1982, the Egyptian government embarked on an initiative to encourage continued development of the city, foreign investors – some of whom had discovered the potential of the locality during the Israeli occupation – contributed to a spate of building projects. Environmental zoning laws currently limit the height of buildings in Sharm El Sheikh so as to avoid obscuring the natural beauty of the surroundings. In 2005, the resort was hit by the Sharm El Sheikh terrorist attacks, eighty-eight people were killed, the majority of them Egyptians, and over 200 were wounded by the attack, making it the deadliest terrorist action in the countrys history. The city has played host to a number of important Middle Eastern peace conferences, a second summit was held at Sharm on 17 October 2000 following the outbreak of the second Palestinian intifada, but it failed to end the violence
17.
Visa policy of Iran
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Visitors to Iran must obtain a visa from one of the Iranian diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries or countries eligible for visa on arrival. All visitors must hold a valid for at least 6 months. Admission is refused to women not wearing Islamic head cover, scarf, citizens of Israel are totally banned from entry to Iran. Iran to start issuing electronic visas by 2017, furthermore, Iranian authorities are exploring a potential visa waiver program under which visa limitations for 60 countries will be lifted as part of Irans program to attract more tourists. Citizens of the following 8 countries can visit Iran without a visa, According to some reports, Iran lifted visa requirements for citizens of Egypt. Holders of passports issued by the countries are allowed to enter Iran without a visa. Iran plans to increase the length of stay from 1 month to 3 months, visa on arrival will be available at the airports Ahvaz International Airport, Urmia Airport, Shahid Sadooghi Airport in the near future. British, Canadian and American citizens are required to be escorted by a government approved guide at all times, independent travel for these citizens has been banned due to the closure of Iranian foreign missions in these countries. Admission is also refused to the holders of passports of the United States as a measure to a similar ban introduced by the United States on January 27,2017. However holders of visas can visit Iran. Visa requirements for Iranian citizens Tourism in Iran
18.
History of Iran
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Iran is home to one of the worlds oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 7000 BC. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel names the Persians as the first Historical People, the Medes unified Iran as a nation and empire in 625 BC. It was the largest empire yet seen and the first world empire and they were succeeded by the Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Empires, who successively governed Iran for almost 1000 years and made Iran once again as a leading power in the world. Persias arch-rival was the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, the Persian Empire proper begins in the Iron Age, following the influx of Iranian peoples. Iranian people gave rise to the Medes, the Achaemenid, Parthian, once a major empire of superpower proportions, having conquered far and wide, Iran has endured invasions too, by the Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and the Mongols. Iran has continually reasserted its national identity throughout the centuries and has developed as a political and cultural entity. The Muslim conquest of Persia ended the Sasanian Empire and was a point in Iranian history. Islamization of Iran took place during the eighth to tenth centuries, however, the achievements of the previous Persian civilizations were not lost, but were to a great extent absorbed by the new Islamic polity and civilization. Iran, with its history of early cultures and empires, had suffered particularly hard during the late Middle Ages. Many invasions of nomadic tribes, whose leaders became rulers in this country, the earliest archaeological artifacts in Iran were found in the Kashafrud and Ganj Par sites that are thought to date back to 100,000 years ago in the Middle Paleolithic. Mousterian stone tools made by Neandertals have also been found, in 1949, a Neanderthal radius was discovered by Carleton S. Coon in Bisitun Cave. Early agricultural communities such as Chogha Golan in 10,000 BC along with such as Chogha Bonut in 8000 BC, began to flourish in. Around about the time, the earliest-known clay vessels and modeled human and animal terracotta figurines were produced at Ganj Dareh. There are also 10, 000-year-old human and animal figurines from Tepe Sarab in Kermanshah Province among many ancient artifacts. The two main Neolithic Iranian settlements were the Zayandeh River Culture and Ganj Dareh, parts of what is modern-day northwestern Iran was part of the Kura–Araxes culture, that stretched up into the neighboring regions of the Caucasus and Anatolia. Susa is one of the settlements of Iran and the world. Based on C14 dating, the time of foundation of the city is as early as 4395 BC, the general perception among archeologists is that Susa was an extension of the Sumerian city state of Uruk. In its later history, Susa became the capital of Elam and it is one of the most artifact-rich archaeological sites in the Middle East
19.
Ancient Greek
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Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
20.
Assyria
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Assyria was a major Mesopotamian East Semitic-speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East and the Levant. Centered on the Tigris in Upper Mesopotamia, the Assyrians came to rule powerful empires at several times. Assyria is named after its capital, the ancient city of Aššur. In the 25th and 24th centuries BC, Assyrian kings were pastoral leaders, Assyria can also refer to the geographic region or heartland where Assyria, its empires and the Assyrian people were centered. The indigenous modern Eastern Aramaic-speaking Assyrian Christian ethnic minority in northern Iraq, north east Syria, southeast Turkey, in prehistoric times, the region that was to become known as Assyria was home to a Neanderthal culture such as has been found at the Shanidar Cave. The earliest Neolithic sites in Assyria were the Jarmo culture c.7100 BC and Tell Hassuna, during the 3rd millennium BC, a very intimate cultural symbiosis developed between the Sumerians and the Akkadians throughout Mesopotamia, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian, and vice versa, is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a scale, to syntactic, morphological. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the third millennium BC as a sprachbund and it is highly likely that the city was named in honour of its patron Assyrian god with the same name. The city of Aššur, together with a number of other Assyrian cities, however it is likely that they were initially Sumerian-dominated administrative centres. In the late 26th century BC, Eannatum of Lagash, then the dominant Sumerian ruler in Mesopotamia, similarly, in c. the early 25th century BC, Lugal-Anne-Mundu the king of the Sumerian state of Adab lists Subartu as paying tribute to him. Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is known, in the Assyrian King List, the earliest king recorded was Tudiya. According to Georges Roux he would have lived in the mid 25th century BC, Tudiya was succeeded on the list by Adamu, the first known reference to the Semitic name Adam and then a further thirteen rulers. The earliest kings, such as Tudiya, who are recorded as kings who lived in tents, were independent semi-nomadic pastoralist rulers and these kings at some point became fully urbanised and founded the city state of Ashur in the mid 21st century BC. During the Akkadian Empire, the Assyrians, like all the Mesopotamian Semites, became subject to the dynasty of the city state of Akkad, the Akkadian Empire founded by Sargon the Great claimed to encompass the surrounding four quarters. Assyrian rulers were subject to Sargon and his successors, and the city of Ashur became an administrative center of the Empire. On those tablets, Assyrian traders in Burushanda implored the help of their ruler, Sargon the Great, the name Hatti itself even appears in later accounts of his grandson, Naram-Sin, campaigning in Anatolia. Assyrian and Akkadian traders spread the use of writing in the form of the Mesopotamian cuneiform script to Asia Minor, the Akkadian Empire was destroyed by economic decline and internal civil war, followed by attacks from barbarian Gutian people in 2154 BC. The rulers of Assyria during the period between c.2154 BC and 2112 BC once again fully independent, as the Gutians are only known to have administered southern Mesopotamia
21.
Elamites
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The modern name Elam stems from the Sumerian transliteration elam, along with the later Akkadian elamtu, and the Elamite haltamti. Elamite states were among the political forces of the Ancient Near East. In classical literature, Elam was also known as Susiana, which is a derived from its capital. Elam was part of the early urbanization during the Chalcolithic period, the emergence of written records from around 3000 BC also parallels Sumerian history, where slightly earlier records have been found. In the Old Elamite period, Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan and its culture played a crucial role during the Persian Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded Elam, when the Elamite language remained among those in official use. Elamite is generally accepted to be an isolate unrelated to the much later arriving Persian. The Elamites called their country Haltamti, Sumerian ELAM, Akkadian Elamû, female Elamītu resident of Susiana, the Elamite civilization was primarily centered in the province of what is modern-day Khuzestān and Ilam in prehistoric times. The modern provincial name Khuzestān is derived from the Persian name for Susa, Old Persian Hūjiya Elam, in Middle Persian Huź Susiana, in geographical terms, Susiana basically represents the Iranian province of Khuzestan around the river Karun. In ancient times, several names were used to describe this area, the great ancient geographer Ptolemy was the earliest to call the area Susiana, referring to the country around Susa. Another ancient geographer, Strabo, viewed Elam and Susiana as two different geographical regions and he referred to Elam as primarily the highland area of Khuzestan. Disagreements over the location also exist in the Jewish historical sources says Daniel T. Potts, some ancient sources draw a distinction between Elam as the highland area of Khuzestan, and Susiana as the lowland area. Yet in other ancient sources Elam and Susiana seem equivalent, the uncertainty in this area extends also to modern scholarship. Since the discovery of ancient Anshan, and the realization of its importance in Elamite history. Some modern scholars argued that the centre of Elam lay at Anshan and in the highlands around it and they were Anshanites, Marhashians, Shimashkians, Zabshalians, Sherihumians, Awanites, etc. That Anshan played a role in the political affairs of the various highland groups inhabiting southwestern Iran is clear. Knowledge of Elamite history remains largely fragmentary, reconstruction being based on mainly Mesopotamian sources, the history of Elam is conventionally divided into three periods, spanning more than two millennia. At least three proto-Elamite states merged to form Elam, Anshan, Awan and Shimashki, references to Awan are generally older than those to Anshan, and some scholars suggest that both states encompassed the same territory, in different eras. To this core Shushiana was periodically annexed and broken off, in addition, some Proto-Elamite sites are found well outside this area, spread out on the Iranian plateau, such as Warakshe, Sialk and Jiroft in Kerman Province
22.
Susa
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Susa was an ancient city of the Proto-Elamite, Elamite, First Persian Empire, Seleucid, and Parthian empires of Iran, and one of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about 250 km east of the Tigris River, the modern Iranian town of Shush is located at the site of ancient Susa. Shush is the capital of the Shush County of Irans Khuzestan province. It had a population of 64,960 in 2005, in Elamite, the name of the city was written variously Ŝuŝan, Ŝuŝun, etc. The origin of the word Susa is from the city deity Inshushinak. Susa was one of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa is also mentioned in the Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible by the name Shushan, mainly in Esther, but also once each in Nehemiah and Daniel. Both Daniel and Nehemiah lived in Susa during the Babylonian captivity of the 6th century BCE, Esther became queen there, married to King Ahasueurus, and saved the Jews from genocide. A tomb presumed to be that of Daniel is located in the area, however, the current structure is actually a much later construction dated to the late nineteenth century, ca. Susa is further mentioned in the Book of Jubilees as one of the places within the inheritance of Shem and his eldest son Elam, Greek mythology attributed the founding of Susa to king Memnon of Aethiopia, a character from Homers Trojan War epic, the Iliad. The site was examined in 1836 by Henry Rawlinson and then by A. H. Layard, in 1851, some modest excavation was done by William Loftus, who identified it as Susa. In 1885 and 1886 Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy and Jane Dieulafoy began the first French excavations, jacques de Morgan conducted major excavations from 1897 until 1911. These efforts continued under Roland De Mecquenem until 1914, at the beginning of World War I, French work at Susa resumed after the war, led by De Mecquenem, continuing until World War II in 1940. Archaeological results from the period were very thinly published and attempts are underway to remedy this situation. Roman Ghirshman took over direction of the French efforts in 1946, together with his wife Tania Ghirshman, he continued there until 1967. The Ghirshmans concentrated on excavating a single part of the site, the pottery found at the various levels enabled a stratigraphy to be developed for Susa. During the 1970s, excavations resumed under Jean Perrot, archeologists have dated the first traces of an inhabited Neolithic village to c 7000 BCE. Evidence of a civilization has been dated to c 5000 BCE. Painted ceramic vessels from Susa in the earliest first style are a late, in urban history, Susa is one of the oldest-known settlements of the region
23.
Karun
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The Kārun is Irans most affluent and only navigable river. The Karun continues toward the Persian Gulf, forking into two branches on its delta - the Bahmanshir and the Haffar - that join Arvand Roud. The important Island of Abadan is located between two branches of the Karun. The port city of Khorramshahr is divided from the Island of Abadan by the Haffar branch, juris Zarins and other scholars have identified the Karun as one of the four rivers of Eden, the others being the Tigris, the Euphrates and either the Wadi Batin or the Karkheh. In early classical times, the Karun was known as the Pasitigris, the modern medieval and modern name, Karun, is a corruption of the name Kuhrang, which is still maintained by one of the two primary tributaries of the Karun. It originates in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran, on the slopes of 4,221 m Zard-Kuh, the river flows south and west through several prominent mountain ridges, and receives additional water from the Vanak on the south bank and the Bazuft on the north. These tributaries add to the catchment of the river above the Karun-4 Dam.25 kilometres downstream, the Khersan flows into an arm of the reservoir from the southeast. The river passes through this reservoir and flows through a canyon, now in a northwest direction, past Izeh. The Karun then turns north into the reservoir of Shahid Abbaspour Dam, the Karun flows southwest into the impoundment of Masjed Soleyman Dam, then turns northwest. Finally, it leaves the foothills and flows south past Shushtar, the largest river by discharge in Iran, the Karun Rivers watershed covers 65,230 square kilometres in parts of two Iranian provinces. The river is around 950 kilometres long and has a discharge of 575 cubic metres per second. The largest city on the river is Ahvaz, with over 1.3 million inhabitants, other important cities include Shushtar, Khorramshahr, Masjed-Soleyman, and Izeh. Much of Khuzestans transport and resources are connected in one way or another to the Karun, since the British first discovered oil at Masjed-Soleyman, the Karun has been an important route for the transport of petroleum to the Persian Gulf, and remains an important commercial waterway. Water from the Karun provides irrigation to over 280,000 hectares of the surrounding plain, the Karun River valley was once inhabited by the Elamite civilization which rose about 2,700 B. C. At several points in history, Mesopotamian civilizations such as Ur and Babylon overthrew the Elamites and gained control of the Karun, however, the Elamite empire lasted until about 640 B. C. when the Assyrians overran it. The city of Susa, near the city of Shush between the Dez and Karkheh rivers, was one of their largest before it was destroyed by the invaders. In two of several competing theories about the origins and location of the Garden of Eden, the Karun is presumed to be the Gihon River that is described in the Biblical book of Genesis. The name of the river is derived from the peak, Kuhrang
24.
Qeshm
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Qeshm, formerly also known as Kishm, is an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, separated from the mainland by the Clarence Strait/Khuran in the Persian Gulf. Qeshm Island is located a few kilometers off the southern coast of Iran, opposite the cities of Bandar Abbas. The island, at its widest point, located near the center of the island, similarly, at it narrowest point, the island spans 9.4 kilometres. The island has an area of 1,491 square kilometres and is 2.5 times the size of Bahrain. Qeshm city, located at the easternmost point of the island, is 22 kilometres from Bandar Abbas while the closest point of the island is, the average temperature on the island is approximately 27 °C. The warmest months are June through August, and the coldest from October to January, the average rainfall is 183.2 mm. The island comprises 59 towns and villages and the population was 117,774 at the 2011 Census, the local population is involved in fishing, dhow construction, trade and services. An additional 30,000 are involved in administrative and industrial workforce, plans have also been made to build a bridge to connect Qeshm with the rest of Iran. Historical records concerning the Qeshm island date far back into the pre-Islamic era, names as Qeshm, Keshm, Kish and Tunb mark the lengthy stay of Ilamids in the area, several centuries BC. It is, apparently, the island called Alexandria or Aracia by Ptolemy, in the 2nd century CE, during Sassanian Empire administration the island was called Abarkawan. According to historical records, Qeshm Island has been famous as a trade and its economy flourished during the Dailamites and Buyid eras, as trade vessels sailed between Qeshm Island and China, India and Africa. Explorer William Baffin was mortally wounded on Qeshm in 1622 during a battle against Portuguese forces who occupied the fort, Qeshm is also a supposed site of the Garden of Eden according to Cassells Bible. Fishing is a leading occupation practiced by the inhabitants of the island, on what little cultivated land there is, dates and melons are grown. Salt is mined on the southeastern coast, Qeshm is famous for its wide range of ecotourist attractions such as the Hara marine forests. According to environmentalists, about 1. 5% of the birds and 25% of Irans native birds annually migrate to the forests. Several domes, salty caves, the area in Shibderaz Village where Hawksbill turtles hatch, as well as numerous docks. The Nazz Islands are located at the wing of Qeshm Island. Oysters, corals, colorful fishes and sea birds in these islands attract many tourists and it is possible to walk toward the island on soft and wet gravel through a gravel connection way between these islands and Qeshm at the time of the ebb
25.
Hormuz Island
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Hormuz Island, also spelled Hormoz, is an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. Located in the Strait of Hormuz,5 miles off the Iranian coast, Hormuz Island has an area of 42 km2. It is covered by rock and layers of volcanic material on its surface. The highest point of the island is about 186 metres above sea level, due to a lack of precipitation, the soil and water are salty. Specialists have helped cultivar white mangrove or Hara trees to grow in the climate, due to the lack of fresh water, Iranian engineers have constructed a water pipeline from the mainland. There are many beaches that go all around the island. The principality paid tributes to the Mongol-ruled Ilkhanate and was an important source of income from maritime trade, the towns ruler decided to shift his residence to the island around 1300, in order to evade attacks by Mongolian and Turkish groups from the interior. The ruler later made peace with the Ilkhans, a new town was built on the northern tip of Jarun island which was called New Hormuz for a number of years to distinguish it from the old town on the mainland until this fell into ruins. Slowly the name of the new town came to be used for the island as well, the island is arid, and during the summer months the temperate can rise to over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. As such, it was not a location for the capital of a principality as all provisions including water had to be brought from the mainland. Its location, however, gave the island a degree of security which let it grow to be a trading port for several centuries. As its competitors suffered from intermittent destruction, Hormuz remained a reliable, in the 15th century, Hormuz was visited several times by a Chinese fleet led by Zheng He as he explored the Indian Ocean during the Ming Dynasties naval ventures. In 1505 the reign King Manuel I of Portugal led Portugal to establish a policy of expansion in Africa, during attempts to expand Portuguese influence into the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese duke Afonso de Albuquerque captured the island in 1507 and it was incorporated into the greater Portuguese Empire. The Portuguese constructed a fortress on the island to deter potential invaders, the island became an emergency stopover point for Portuguese ships traveling to Goa, Gujarat, and nearby Kishm. In 1622 the island was captured from the Portuguese by a combined Anglo-Persian force at the behest of the East India Company. Shah Abbas I distrusted the local population and was not interested in maintaining the island as a center or military post. Many of its inhabitants moved to their fields and orchards around the old Hormuz on the mainland. The island continued to export small quantities of salt and lumps of iron oxide which were used as ballast stones for sailing ships
26.
Achaemenid Empire
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The Achaemenid Empire, also called the Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. The empires successes inspired similar systems in later empires and it is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in a Hellenistic style in the empire as well. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, Alexander, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered the empire in its entirety by 330 BC. Upon his death, most of the former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire. The Persian population of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire, the historical mark of the Achaemenid Empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well. Many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange. The impact of Cyruss edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, the empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of modern Iran. Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details Due to the duration of their reigns, Smerdis, Xerxes II. The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here, the Pasargadae, Maraphii, and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the Pasargadae are the most distinguished, they contain the clan of the Achaemenids from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Derusiaei, Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as by 6th century BC another group of ancient Iranian peoples had established the short lived Median Empire. The Iranian peoples had arrived in the region of what is today Iran c.1000 BC and had for a number of centuries fallen under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, based in northern Mesopotamia. However, the Medes and Persians, Cimmerians, Persians and Chaldeans played a role in the overthrow of the Assyrian empire. The term Achaemenid means of the family of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes, despite the derivation of the name, Achaemenes was himself a minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria. At some point in 550 BC, Cyrus rose in rebellion against the Medes, eventually conquering the Medes and creating the first Persian empire
27.
Medes
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The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in an area known as Media and who spoke the Median language. This allowed new peoples to pass through and settle, in addition Elam, the dominant power in Iran, was suffering a period of severe weakness, as was Babylonia to the west. During the reign of Sinsharishkun the Assyrian empire, which had been in a state of constant civil war since 626 BC, subject peoples, such as the Medes, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Scythians, Cimmerians, Lydians and Arameans quietly ceased to pay tribute to Assyria. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great. However, nowadays there is doubt whether a united Median empire ever existed. There is no evidence and the story of Herodotus is not supported by sources from the Neo-Assyrian Empire nor the Neo-Babylonian Empire. A few archaeological sites and textual sources provide a documentation of the history. Apart from a few names, the language of the Medes is unknown. The Medes had an Ancient Iranian Religion with a priesthood named as Magi, later during the reigns of the last Median kings, the reforms of Zoroaster spread into western Iran. Besides Ecbatana, the other existing in Media were Laodicea. The fourth city of Media was Apamea, near Ecbatana, whose location is now unknown. According to the Histories of Herodotus, there were six Median tribes, Thus Deioces collected the Medes into a nation, now these are the tribes of which they consist, the Busae, the Paretaceni, the Struchates, the Arizanti, the Budii, and the Magi. The six Median tribes resided in Media proper, the triangular shaped area between Ecbatana, Rhagae and Aspadana, in modern Iran, that is the area between Tehran, Isfahan and Hamadan. Of the Median tribes, the Magi resided in Rhaga, modern Tehran and it was a type of sacred caste, which ministered to the spiritual needs of the Medes. The Paretaceni tribe resided in and around Aspadana, modern Isfahan, the Arizanti lived in and around Kashan, the Struchates and the Budii lived in villages in the Median triangle. The original source for different words used to call the Median people, their language, the meaning of this word is not precisely established. The Median people are mentioned by name in many ancient texts. According to the Histories of Herodotus, The Medes were called anciently by all people Aryans, but when Medea, such is the account which they themselves give
28.
Persian people
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The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group that make up over half the population of Iran. They share a cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language. The ancient Persians were originally a branch of the ancient Iranian population who entered modern-day Iran by the early 10th century BC. The English term Persian derives from Latin Persia, itself deriving from Greek Persís, in the Bible, it is referred to as Parás —sometimes Paras uMadai —within the books of Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemya. Although Persis was originally one of the provinces of ancient Iran, varieties of this term were adopted through Greek sources, thus, in the Western world, the term Persian came to refer to all inhabitants of the country. 10th-century Iraqi historian Al-Masudi refers to Pahlavi, Dari and Azari as dialects of the Persian language, in 1333, medieval Moroccan traveler and scholar Ibn Battuta, referred to the people of Kabul as a specific sub-tribe of Persians. Lady Mary Sheil, in her observation of Iran during the Qajar era, describes Persians, Kurds and Leks to identify themselves as descendants of the ancient Persians. On March 21,1935, the king of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi, issued a decree asking the international community to use the term Iran. However, the term Persian is still used to designate the predominant population of the Iranian peoples living in the Iranian cultural continent. The earliest known written record attributed to the Persians is from the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, the inscription mentions Parsua as a tribal chiefdom in modern-day western Iran. The ancient Persians were originally a branch of the Iranian population that, in the early 10th century BC. They were initially dominated by the Assyrians for much of the first three centuries after arriving in the region, however, they played a role in the downfall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes, another branch of population, founded the unified empire of Media as the regions dominant cultural and political power in c.625 BC. Meanwhile, the Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids formed a state to the central Median power. In c.552 BC, the Achaemenids began a revolution which led to the conquest of the empire by Cyrus II in c.550 BC. They spread their influence to the rest of what is called the Iranian Plateau, at its greatest extent, the Achaemenid Empire stretched from parts of Eastern Europe in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen. The Achaemenids developed the infrastructure to support their growing influence, including the creation of Pasargadae and its legacy and impact on the kingdom of Macedon was also notably huge, even for centuries after the withdrawal of the Persians from Europe following the Greco-Persian Wars. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, until the Parthian era, the Iranian identity had an ethnic, linguistic, and religious value, however, it did not yet have a political import
29.
Lighthouse
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Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines, hazardous shoals, reefs, and safe entries to harbors, and can assist in aerial navigation. Once widely used, the number of operational lighthouses has declined due to the expense of maintenance, before the development of clearly defined ports, mariners were guided by fires built on hilltops. Since raising the fire would improve the visibility, placing the fire on a platform became a practice that led to the development of the lighthouse. In antiquity, the lighthouse functioned more as a marker to ports than as a warning signal for reefs and promontories. The most famous lighthouse structure from antiquity was the Pharos of Alexandria, coins from Alexandria, Ostia, and Laodicea in Syria also exist. The modern era of lighthouses began at the turn of the 18th century, advances in structural engineering and new and efficient lighting equipment allowed for the creation of larger and more powerful lighthouses, including ones exposed to the sea. The function of lighthouses shifted toward the provision of a warning against shipping hazards. The Eddystone Rocks were a major hazard for mariners sailing through the English Channel. The first lighthouse built there was a wooden structure, anchored by 12 iron stanchions secured in the rock. His lighthouse was the first tower in the world to have been exposed to the open sea. The civil engineer, John Smeaton, rebuilt the lighthouse from 1756–59, his tower marked a step forward in the design of lighthouses. He modelled the shape of his lighthouse on that of an oak tree and he pioneered the use of hydraulic lime, a form of concrete that will set under water, and developed a technique of securing the granite blocks together using dovetail joints and marble dowels. This profile had the advantage of allowing some of the energy of the waves to dissipate on impact with the walls. His lighthouse was the prototype for the lighthouse and influenced all subsequent engineers. One such influence was Robert Stevenson, himself a figure in the development of lighthouse design. His greatest achievement was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse in 1810 and this structure was based upon Smeatons design, but with several improved features, such as the incorporation of rotating lights, alternating between red and white. Stevenson worked for the Northern Lighthouse Board for nearly fifty years during which time he designed and oversaw the construction and he also invented the movable jib and the balance crane as a necessary part for lighthouse construction. Alexander Mitchell designed the first screw-pile lighthouse – his lighthouse was built on piles that were screwed into the sandy or muddy seabed, construction of his design began in 1838 at the mouth of the Thames and was known as the Maplin Sands lighthouse, and first lit in 1841
30.
Alexander the Great
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Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty and he was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of historys most successful military commanders. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16, after Philips assassination in 336 BC, he succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. Alexander was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his fathers Panhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of Persia, in 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Following the conquest of Anatolia, Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of battles, most notably the battles of Issus. He subsequently overthrew Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety, at that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. He sought to reach the ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea and invaded India in 326 BC and he eventually turned back at the demand of his homesick troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city that he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexanders surviving generals, Alexanders legacy includes the cultural diffusion which his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt, Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and he is often ranked among the most influential people in human history. He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his wife, Olympias. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his wife for some time. Several legends surround Alexanders birth and childhood, sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wifes womb with a seal engraved with a lions image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of dreams, that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and it was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception
31.
Nearchus
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Nearchus was one of the officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his voyage from the Indus river to the Persian Gulf following the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great. An account of his voyage is given in Arrians Indica, written in the 2nd century AD. A native of Lato in Crete and son of Androtimus, his family settled at Amphipolis in Macedonia at some point during Philip II’s reign, at which point Nearchus was probably a young boy. Nearchus, along with Ptolemy, Erigyius and Laomedon, and Harpalus, was one of Alexander’s ‘mentors’ – and it is not known where the exiles went, but they were recalled only after Philip’s death, on Alexander’s accession. After their recall, these men were held in the highest honour, Nearchus was appointed as satrap of Lycia and Pamphylia in 334/3 BC, one of the earliest of Alexanders satrapal appointments. In 328 BC he was relieved of his post and rejoined Alexander in Bactria, after the siege of Aornus Nearchus was sent at the head of a reconnaissance mission – especially to find out about elephants. In 326 BC, Nearchus was made admiral of the fleet that Alexander had built at the Hydaspes, during the voyage some of the ships were damaged, and Nearchus was instructed to remain behind to oversee repairs, before continuing down the river. This perhaps indicates some knowledge of shipbuilding, but he could hardly have been the only one qualified, however, he remained in command of the fleet for the voyage from the Indus to the Persian Gulf, which he recorded in detail. Again, although he was the admiral, in command of the fleet, during the voyage, Nearchus was reputedly the first Greek commander to visit Bahrain, which was called Tylos by the Greeks. His visit marked the start of Bahrains inclusion within the Hellenic world, after many adventures, Nearchus arrived in Carmania, meeting up with Alexander after the latter’s crossing of the Gedrosian desert. Alexander sent him off to complete his voyage – he went as far as the Euphrates before turning back to rejoin Alexander at Susa, Nearchus married the daughter of Barsine and Mentor, and received a crown as recognition of his exertions. He then took the fleet up to Babylon, where he gave Alexander the Chaldeans’ warning not to enter the city. Nearchus had a place in Alexander’s final plans, as he was to be the admiral of the Arabian invasion fleet, in the initial arguments over the rule of the empire Nearchus supported Heracles, Alexander’s son by Barsine – the king’s mistress was now his mother-in-law. Once order broke down he joined Antigonus’ camp and his last mention is as an adviser to Demetrius in 313/2 BC, what happened after that is not known, although he probably retired to write his history. Ancient authorities, Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri, vi,4,19,20,25, Plutarch, Life of Alexander,10,68,75, Strabo, xv. pp.721,725, Diodorus Siculus, xvii. Arrian, The Indica translated by E. Iliff Robson, pothos. org, Nearchus by Marcus Pailing Livius, Nearchus by Jona Lendering The Trierarchs of Nearchus by livius. org Nearchus the Cretan and the Foundation of Cretopolis
32.
Sea of Oman
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The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman is a strait that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It borders Pakistan and Iran on the north, Oman on the south, Iran Oman Pakistan United Arab Emirates Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert The Book of Duarte Barbosa by Duarte Barbosa, Mansel Longworth Dames. ISBN 81-206-0451-2 The Natural History of Pliny. by Pliny, Henry Thomas Riley, P.117 The Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf by Samuel Barrett Miles -1966. P.148 The Life & Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, P.279 The Outline of History, Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind. by Herbert George Well. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge by Johann Jakob Herzog, Philip Schaff, Albert Hauck
33.
Marco Polo
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He learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time, the three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa, Marco was imprisoned and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a merchant, married. He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice, Marco Polo was not the first European to reach China, but he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. This book inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travellers, there is a substantial literature based on Polos writings, he also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map. Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice Republic and his exact date and place of birth are archivally unknown. Some historians mentioned that he was born on September 15 but that date is not endorsed by mainstream scholarship, Marco Polos birthplace is generally considered Venice, but also varies between Constantinople, and the island of Korčula. There is dispute as to whether the Polo family is of Venetian origin, the first recorded Polo is Venetian Domenico Polo who was mentioned in 971 regarding the prohibition of trade with the Arabs. Later other Polos were also mentioned in the service of the realm, whether they were related with the family of Marco Polo is uncertain, but this could indicate that his ancestors travelled between Venice and Dalmatia. Some of the first indications of where his family originated and were resident come from Venetian documents and manuscripts. Some scholars argued that this account could go along with the note from Il Milione that his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, the non-Venetian i. e. Sanuto also mentioned a captain from Korčula, Antonio di Polo. Moule cited two early 17th century Venetian manuscripts questi ueneno de dalmatia, Polo questi uene de Dalmatia, scholars etymologically argued that his family name derives from Latin Paulus, the name of a certain bird species, or like Albert tSerstevens considered - from Eastern origin. However, the habitat of the shorebird is non-existent on Korčula, the surname Polo seems related with other widespread Dalmatian surnames. The lack of evidence makes the Korčula theory as a specific birthplace strongly disputed, in 1168, his great-uncle, Marco Polo, borrowed money and commanded a ship in Constantinople. His grandfather, Andrea Polo of the parish of San Felice, had three sons, Maffeo, yet another Marco, and the travellers father Niccolò and this genealogy, described by Ramusio, is not universally accepted as there is no additional evidence to support it. His father, Niccolò Polo, a merchant, traded with the Near East, becoming wealthy, Niccolò and his brother Maffeo set off on a trading voyage before Marcos birth. In 1260, Niccolò and Maffeo, while residing in Constantinople, then the capital of the Latin Empire, foresaw a political change, they liquidated their assets into jewels and moved away. According to The Travels of Marco Polo, they passed through much of Asia, and met with Kublai Khan and their decision to leave Constantinople proved timely
34.
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
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Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, known as Mohammad Reza Shah, was the Shah of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979. Mohammad Reza Shah took the title Shāhanshāh on 26 October 1967 and he was the second and last monarch of the House of Pahlavi of the Iranian monarchy. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi held several titles, including that of Āryāmehr. His dream of the Great Civilization in Iran led to an industrial and military expansion as well as economic. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi came to power during World War II after an Anglo-Soviet invasion forced the abdication of his father, various additional controversial policies were enacted, including the banning of the communist Tudeh Party, and a general suppression of political dissent by Irans intelligence agency, SAVAK. According to official statistics, Iran had as many as 2,200 political prisoners in 1978, by 1979, political unrest had transformed into a revolution which, on 17 January, forced him to leave Iran. Soon thereafter, the Iranian monarchy was abolished, and Iran was declared an Islamic republic led by Ruhollah Khomeini. Facing likely execution should he return to Iran, he died in exile in Egypt, whose President, due to his status as the last de facto Shah of Iran, he is often known as simply the Shah. Born in Tehran to Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Tadj ol-Molouk, Mohammad Reza was the eldest son of the first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Shah. He was born with a sister, Ashraf Pahlavi. However, Shams, Mohammad Reza, Ashraf, Ali Reza, nevertheless, Reza Shah was always convinced that his sudden quirk of good fortune had commenced in 1919 with the birth of his son who was dubbed khoshghadam. Mohammad Reza described his father in his book Mission for My Country as one of the most frightening men he had ever known, depicting Reza Khan as a dominating man with a violent temper. Reza Khan often impressed on his son his belief that history was made by men such as himself. From women, and apparently from women alone that the future Shah received whatever psychological nourishment he was able to get as a child, traditionally, male children were considered more preferable than females, and as a boy, Mohammed Reza was often spoiled by his mother and sisters. Mohammed Reza was very close to his twin sister Ashraf as she noted, It was this twinship, no matter how I would reach out in the years to come-sometimes even desperately-to find an identity and a purpose of my own, I would remain inextricably tied to my brother. Always, the center of my existence was, and is, in 1973, Mohammad Reza told the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, A king who does not need to account to anyone for what he says and does is unavoidably doomed to loneliness. However, I am not entirely alone, because a force others cant perceive accompanies me, I have lived with God besides me since I was 5 years old. Since, that is, God sent me those visions, in his 1961 book Mission for My Country, Mohammad Reza wrote, From the time I was six or seven, I have felt that perhaps there is a supreme being, who is guiding me
35.
Iranian Revolution
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Demonstrations against the Shah commenced in October 1977, developing into a campaign of civil resistance that included both secular and religious elements and which intensified in January 1978. Between August and December 1978 strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country, the Shah left Iran for exile on 16 January 1979, as the last Persian monarch, leaving his duties to a regency council and an opposition-based prime minister. Ayatollah Khomeini was invited back to Iran by the government, the royal reign collapsed shortly after on 11 February when guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting, bringing Khomeini to official power. It was a relatively non-violent revolution, and helped to redefine the meaning, the Shahs regime became increasingly oppressive, brutal, corrupt, and extravagant. It also suffered from basic functional failures that brought economic bottlenecks, shortages, the Shah was perceived by many as beholden to – if not a puppet of – a non-Muslim Western power whose culture was affecting that of Iran. The Shia clergy had a significant influence on Iranian society, the clergy first showed itself to be a powerful political force in opposition to the monarchy with the 1891 Tobacco Protest. On 20 March 1890, Nasir al-Din Shah granted a concession to Major G. F. Talbot for a monopoly over the production, sale. The boycotts and protests against it were widespread and extensive because of Mirza Hasan Shirazis fatwa, finally Nasir al-Din Shah found himself powerless to stop the popular movement and cancelled the concession. The Tobacco Protest was the first significant Iranians resistance against the Shah and foreign interests, and revealed the power of the people, the growing discontent continued until the Constitutional Revolution. The revolution led to the establishment of a Parliament and approval of the first constitution, although the constitutional revolution was successful in weakening the autocracy of the Qajar regime, it failed to provide a powerful alternative government. Consequently, within the following the establishment of the new parliament. Many of these events can be viewed as a continuation of the struggle between the constitutionalists and the Shahs of Persia, many of whom were backed by foreign powers against the parliament. He established a monarchy, deposing the last of the Qajar shah in 1925 and introduced many social, economic. A number of reforms led to public discontent which provides circumstances for an Iranian revolution. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavis father, Reza Shah, replaced Islamic laws with Western ones, police forcibly removed and tore chadors off women who resisted his ban on the public hijab. In 1935, dozens were killed and hundreds injured in the Goharshad Mosque rebellion, on the other hand, in the early rise of Reza Shah, Abdul-Karim Haeri Yazdi founded the Qom Seminary and created important changes in seminaries. However, he would avoid entering into political issues, as did other leaders who followed him. Hence, no widespread anti-government attempts were organized by clergy during the Reza Shah Rule, however, the future Ayatollah Khomeini was a student of Sheikh Abdul Karim Ha’eri
36.
Kish International Airport
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Kish International Airport is an international airport on Kish Island, Iran. It serves as the point for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who come to Kish Island. The airport grants 14-day visa-free entry foreign citizens who enter from a country under a different scheme from that of mainland Iran. Air France considered Kish as a destination to be served from Paris by a sub-fleet of longhaul Airbus A319s to serve Irans oil, prior to the Iranian Revolution, Iran had an outstanding order for two Concorde aircraft. These aircraft were supposed to be used on Kish-Paris and Kish-London routes to serve the tourism market that Kish was supposed to serve. Iran Civil Aviation Organization Transport in Iran List of airports in Iran List of the busiest airports in Iran List of airlines of Iran Kish Island Iran Kish International Airport
37.
Concorde
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Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde is a British-French turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet airliner that was operated until 2003. It had a speed over twice the speed of sound at Mach 2.04. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued flying for the next 27 years and it is one of only two supersonic transports to have been operated commercially, the other is the Soviet-built Tupolev Tu-144, which was operated for a much shorter period. Concorde was jointly developed and manufactured by Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation under an Anglo-French treaty, twenty aircraft were built, including six prototypes and development aircraft. Air France and British Airways were the airlines to purchase. The aircraft was used by wealthy passengers who could afford to pay a high price in exchange for Concordes speed. In the UK, any or all of the type are known simply as Concorde, the type was retired in 2003 after the crash of Air France Flight 4590, in which all passengers and crew were killed. The general downturn in the aviation industry after the September 11 attacks in 2001. The group met for the first time in February 1954 and delivered their first report in April 1955, at the time it was known that the drag at supersonic speeds was strongly related to the span of the wing. The team outlined a baseline configuration that looked like an enlarged Avro 730 and this same short span produced very little lift at low speed, which resulted in extremely long take-off runs and frighteningly high landing speeds. In an SST design, this would have required enormous engine power to lift off from existing runways, based on this, the group considered the concept of an SST infeasible, and instead suggested continued low-level studies into supersonic aerodynamics. Soon after, Johanna Weber and Dietrich Küchemann at the RAE published a series of reports on a new wing planform, the vortex will lower the air pressure and cause lift to be greatly increased. This effect had been noticed earlier, notably by Chuck Yeager in the Convair XF-92, Weber suggested that this was no mere curiosity, and the effect could be deliberately used to improve low speed performance. Küchemanns and Webers papers changed the nature of supersonic design almost overnight. Although the delta had already used on aircraft prior to this point. Such a layout would still have good supersonic performance inherent to the span, while also offering reasonable take-off. It would also need to have landing gear to produce the required angle of attack while still on the runway. Küchemann presented the idea at a meeting where Morgan was also present, test pilot Eric Brown recalls Morgans reaction to the presentation, saying that he immediately seized on it as the solution to the SST problem
38.
Duty-free shop
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Which products can be sold duty-free vary by jurisdiction, as well as how they can be sold, and the process of calculating the duty or refunding the duty component. However, some countries impose duty on goods brought into the country, though they had been bought duty-free in another country, or when the value or quantity of such goods exceed an allowed limit. Duty-free shops are found in the international zone of international airports, sea ports. They are not as available for road or train travelers. These outlets were abolished for intra-EU travellers in 1999, but are retained for travelers whose final destination is outside the EU and they also sell to intra-EU travelers but with appropriate taxes. Some special member state territories such as Åland, Livigno and the Canary Islands, are within the EU but outside the EU tax union, and thus still continue duty-free sales for all travelers. 31 percent of sales came from the fragrances and cosmetics category, followed by the wine and spirit category with 17 percent and then comes tobacco products. The worlds largest airport by duty free sales is South Koreas Incheon Airport, with US$1.85 billion in 2016, the worlds first duty-free shop was established at Shannon Airport in Ireland by Brendan ORegan in 1947 and is still open to this day. Duty-free shopping was in its infancy when two American entrepreneurs, Charles Feeney and Robert Warren Miller, created what is now Duty Free Shoppers on 7 November 1960, DFS started operations in Hong Kong and spread to Europe and other places around the globe. Securing the exclusive concession for duty-free sales in Hawaii in the created a business breakthrough for DFS. DFS continued to innovate, expanding into off-airport duty-free stores and large downtown Galleria stores, in 1996, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton acquired the interests of Feeney and two other shareholders and today jointly owns DFS with Miller. In this same period, several locales grew as duty-free shopping destinations and they are exemplified by Saint Martin and the U. S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, Hong Kong and Singapore. Still others claim prices competitive to duty-free, generally, goods are free of duty and tax levied on imports for sale anywhere in the shopping destination. Merchants may pay inventory/business or other taxes, but their customers usually pay none directly, the mere absence of duty or other taxes on goods being sold does not assure that they are bargains. Costs of identical goods from different duty-free sources can vary widely and they often depend on the presence or absence of nearby competition, e. g. airport stores, especially if all at any airport are owned by a single firm such as Dufry. Also, prices can often be driven upward by the costs of buyer convenience, many airlines, such as Emirates, El Al, Singapore Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, Delta, and Avianca, offer duty-free sales on their flights. Some duty-free shops operate in central business districts away from airports or other ports, in Japan, for example, any visitor whose passport indicates that they have been in the country for less than six months can buy duty-free items. Duty-free shops are also a mainstay in the Akihabara electronic shopping district of Tokyo, in Thailand, the King Power chain has shops where duty-free items are pre-purchased and delivered separately to the airport to be picked up on departure
39.
Robert Levinson
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Robert Alan Bob Levinson is an American former Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation agent believed to be currently held as a hostage by the government of Iran. He disappeared on March 9,2007, when visiting Irans Kish Island while supposedly researching a cigarette smuggling case, U. S. officials believed Levinson had been arrested by Iranian intelligence officials to be interrogated and used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Washington. But as every lead fizzled and Iran repeatedly denied any involvement in his disappearance and he was subsequently revealed to be alive. In an interview, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke of cooperation regarding Levinsons case and we are willing to help, and all the intelligence services in the region can come together to gather information about him to find his whereabouts. John Miller of CBS described this statement as an admission that hes in their custody. On January 8,2013, the Associated Press reported that the consensus now among some U. S, the tradecraft used to send those items was too good, indicating professional spies were behind them, the officials said. While everything dealing with Iran is murky, their conclusion is based on the U. S. governments best intelligence analysis, media reported in August 2007 that Christine Levinson, wife of Robert, was planning a trip to Iran with their oldest son, Dan. The Department of State stressed that there was a warning to that country. Iran announced on September 23,2007, that they would be allowed to visit the country, in December 2007, Christine and Dan traveled to Iran to attempt to learn more about Levinsons disappearance. They met with Iranian officials in Tehran and traveled to Roberts hotel on Kish and they were also able to view Roberts signature from the hotel check-out bill on March 9. Iranian officials promised to provide a report to the family. In July 2008 and subsequent interviews, Christine and Dan have said they wanted to travel to Iran again soon, rose asked, Is there anything that could happen, a trade or something, that could allow him to come back to the United States. Ahmadinejad responded, I remember that last year Iranian and American intelligence groups had a meeting, I thought theyd come to some kind of an agreement. CBS John Miller says that tacit admission that hes in their custody, in a 2008 interview with NBCs Brian Williams, Ahmadinejad was questioned regarding Levinsons case and its status. He responded, There was a claim made some time ago, some people came over and they talked and met with our officials and were given our responses. I see no reason for a person who was given an Iranian visa and — came into Iran, arrived in Iran through official channels, to have problems here. Our security officials and agents have expressed their willingness to assist the FBI and we have said that we are ready to help, to assist with that matter. There are certain informations that only the FBI at the moment has, in June 2007, President George W. Bush released a statement on Levinsons case, saying, I am
40.
Geography of Iran
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Geographically, Iran is located in West Asia and borders the Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Gulf of Oman. Its mountains have helped to both the political and the economic history of the country for several centuries. The mountains enclose several broad basins, on which major agricultural, until the 20th century, when major highways and railroads were constructed through the mountains to connect the population centers, these basins tended to be relatively isolated from one another. Typically, one major town dominated each basin, and there were complex economic relationships between the town and the hundreds of villages surrounded it. There are no river systems in the country, and historically transportation was by means of caravans that followed routes traversing gaps. The mountains also impeded easy access to the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea, with an area of 1,648,000 square kilometres, Iran ranks eighteenth in size among the countries of the world. Iran shares its borders with three post-Soviet states, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. These borders extend for more than 2,000 kilometres, including nearly 650 kilometres of water along the shore of the Caspian Sea. Irans western borders are with Turkey in the north and Iraq in the south, the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman littorals form the entire 1,770 kilometres southern border. To the east lie Afghanistan on the north and Pakistan on the far south, Irans diagonal distance from Azerbaijan in the northwest to Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast is approximately 2,333 kilometres. The topography of Iran consists of rugged, mountainous rims surrounding high interior basins, the main mountain chain is the Zagros Mountains, a series of parallel ridges interspersed with plains that bisect the country from northwest to southeast. Many peaks in the Zagros exceed 3,000 metres above sea level, as the Zagros continue into southeastern Iran, the average elevation of the peaks declines dramatically to under 1,500 metres. Rimming the Caspian Sea littoral is another chain of mountains, the narrow but high Alborz Mountains. Volcanic Mount Damavand,5,610 metres, located in the center of the Alborz, is not only the countrys highest peak, the center of Iran consists of several closed basins that collectively are referred to as the Central Plateau. The average elevation of this plateau is about 900 metres, the eastern part of the plateau is covered by two salt deserts, the Dasht-e Kavir and the Dasht-e Lut. Except for some scattered oases, these deserts are uninhabited, parts of northwestern Iran are part of the Armenian highlands, which adjoins it topographically with other parts of neighbouring Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Iran has only two expanses of lowlands, the Khuzestan Plain in the southwest and the Caspian Sea coastal plain in the north, the former is a roughly triangular-shaped extension of the Mesopotamia plain and averages about 160 kilometres in width. It extends for about 120 kilometres inland, barely rising a few meters above sea level, much of the Khuzestan plain is covered with marshes
41.
Coral reef
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Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals. Coral reefs are built by colonies of tiny animals found in waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups, the polyps belong to a group of animals known as Cnidaria, which also includes sea anemones and jellyfish. Unlike sea anemones, corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which support, most reefs grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters. Often called rainforests of the sea, shallow coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, paradoxically, coral reefs flourish even though they are surrounded by ocean waters that provide few nutrients. They are most commonly found at depths in tropical waters. Coral reefs deliver ecosystem services to tourism, fisheries and shoreline protection, the annual global economic value of coral reefs is estimated between US$29. 8-375 billion. However, coral reefs are fragile ecosystems, partly because they are sensitive to water temperature. Most of the coral reefs we can see today were formed after the last glacial period when melting ice caused the sea level to rise and this means that most modern coral reefs are less than 10,000 years old. As communities established themselves on the shelves, the reefs grew upwards, Reefs that rose too slowly could become drowned reefs. They are covered by so much water there was insufficient light. Coral reefs are found in the sea away from continental shelves, around oceanic islands. The vast majority of islands are volcanic in origin. The few exceptions have tectonic origins where plate movements have lifted the deep ocean floor on the surface. In 1842 in his first monograph, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, Charles Darwin set out his theory of the formation of atoll reefs and he theorized uplift and subsidence of the Earths crust under the oceans formed the atolls. Darwin’s theory sets out a sequence of three stages in atoll formation and it starts with a fringing reef forming around an extinct volcanic island as the island and ocean floor subsides. As the subsidence continues, the reef becomes a barrier reef. Darwin predicted that underneath each lagoon would be a bed rock base, where the level of the underlying earth allows, the corals grow around the coast to form what he called fringing reefs, and can eventually grow out from the shore to become a barrier reef
42.
Strait of Hormuz
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The Strait of Hormuz /hɔːrˈmuːz/ Persian, تنگه هرمز Tangehyyeh Hormoz listen, Arabic, مَضيق هُرمُز Maḍīq Hurmuz) is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the ocean and is one of the worlds most strategically important choke points. On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, at its narrowest, the strait has a width of 29 nautical miles. About 20% of the worlds petroleum passes through the strait, making it an important strategic location for international trade. At the upper end of this there is a market-town designated by law called Apologus, situated near Charaex Spasini. In the 10th–17th centuries AD, the Kingdom of Ormus, which seems to have given the strait its name, was located here, scholars, historians and linguists derive the name Ormuz from the local Persian word هورمغ Hur-mogh meaning date palm. In the local dialects of Hurmoz and Minab this strait is still called Hurmogh and has the aforementioned meaning, the resemblance of this word with the name of the Persian god هرمز Hormoz has resulted in the popular belief that these words are related. To reduce the risk of collision, ships moving through the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme, inbound ships use one lane, outbound ships another, the lanes are separated by a two-mile-wide median. To traverse the Strait, ships pass through the waters of Iran and Oman under the transit passage provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Although not all countries have ratified the convention, most countries, Oman has a radar site Link Quality Indicator to monitor the TSS in the Strait of Hormuz. This site is on an island on the peak of Musandam Peninsula. According to the U. S. Energy Information Administration, in 2011 and this was said to represent 35% of the worlds seaborne oil shipments and 20% of oil traded worldwide. The report stated that more than 85% of these crude oil exports went to Asian markets, with Japan, India, South Korea, unlike other straits, there is no bridge or tunnel at the Strait. On 18 April 1988, the U. S. Navy waged a battle against Iranian forces in. The battle, dubbed Operation Praying Mantis by the U. S. was launched in retaliation for the USS Samuel B. Roberts striking a mine laid in the channel by Iran on 14 April. U. S. forces sank one frigate, one gunboat, on 8 January 2007, the nuclear submarine USS Newport News, traveling submerged, struck MV Mogamigawa, a 300, 000-ton Japanese-flagged very large crude tanker, south of the strait. There were no injuries, and no oil leaked from the tanker, a series of naval stand-offs between Iranian speedboats and U. S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz occurred in December 2007 and January 2008. U. S. officials accused Iran of harassing and provoking their naval vessels and this followed more ambiguous threats from Irans oil minister and other government officials that an attack on Iran would result in turmoil in the worlds oil supply
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Iranian Plateau
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The Persian Plateau, or Iranian Plateau, is a geological formation in Western Asia and Central Asia. As a historical region, it includes Parthia, Media, Persis, the Zagros Mountains form the plateaus western boundary, and its eastern slopes may be included in the term. The Encyclopædia Britannica excludes lowland Khuzestan explicitly and characterizes Elam as spanning the region from the Mesopotamian plain to the Iranian Plateau, from the Caspian in the northwest to Baluchistan in the south-east, the Iranian Plateau extends for close to 2,000 km. It is a geologically well-studied area because of general interest in continental collision zones, the Iranian plateau in geology refers to a geographical area north of the great folded mountain belts resulting from the collision of the Arabian plate with the Eurasian plate. In this definition, the Iranian plateau does not cover southwestern Iran and it extends from East Azerbaijan Province in northwest of Iran all the way to Pakistan west of the Indus River. It also includes parts of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Its mountain ranges can be divided into five major sub-regions, the region is known as the Anti-Taurus, and the average elevation of its peaks exceeds 3,000 m. Mount Ararat, at 5,137 meters the highest point in Turkey, is located in the Anti-Taurus, Lake Van is situated in the mountains at an elevation of 1,546 meters. Several small streams empty into the Black Sea or landlocked Lake Van also originate in these mountains. The Indus River begins in the highlands of Tibet and flows the length of Pakistan almost tracing the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau, the Indus River forms the Iranian plateaus eastern boundary. Southeast Anatolia lies south of the Anti-Taurus Mountains and it is a region of rolling hills and a broad plateau surface that extends into Syria. Elevations decrease gradually, from about 800 meters in the north to about 500 meters in the south, traditionally, wheat and barley are the main crops of the region. The kingdoms of Aratta known from cuneiform sources may have located in the Central Iranian Plateau. In classical antquity the region was known as Persia, due to the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, originating in Persia proper, the Middle Persian Erān began to be used in reference to the state from the Sassanid period. Oak forests are found around Shiraz, aspen, elm, ash, willow, walnut, pine, and cypress are also found, though the latter two are rare. As of 1920, poplar was harvested for making doors, other trees like acacia, cypress, and Turkestan elm were used for decorative purposes. Flower wise, the plateau can grow lilac, jasmine, hawthorn and Cercis siliquastrum are common, which are both used for basket weaving. The Iranian plateau harvests trees for making doors, ploughs, pears, apples, apricots, quince, plums, nectarines, cherries, mulberries, and peaches were commonly seen in the 20th century
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Arabian Peninsula
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The Arabian Peninsula, simplified Arabia is a peninsula of Western Asia situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian plate. From a geological perspective, it is considered a subcontinent of Asia and it is the largest peninsula in the world, at 3,237,500 km2. The Arabian Peninsula consists of the countries Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Peninsula plays a critical geopolitical role in the Middle East and the Arab world due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. Before the modern era, it was divided into four regions, Hejaz, Najd, Southern Arabia. Hejaz and Najd make up most of Saudi Arabia, Southern Arabia consists of Yemen and some parts of Saudi Arabia and Oman. Eastern Arabia consists of the coastal strip of the Persian Gulf. The most prominent feature of the peninsula is desert, but in the southwest there are mountain ranges, harrat ash Shaam is a large volcanic field that extends from the northwestern Arabian Peninsula into Jordan and southern Syria. The peninsulas constituent countries are Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the island nation of Bahrain lies off the east coast of the peninsula. Six countries form the Gulf Cooperation Council, however, this is a disputed term. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia covers the part of the peninsula. The majority of the population of the live in Saudi Arabia. The peninsula contains the worlds largest reserves of oil, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are economically the wealthiest in the region. Qatar, a peninsula in the Persian Gulf on the larger peninsula, is home of the Arabic-language television station Al Jazeera. Kuwait, on the border with Iraq, is an important country strategically, though historically lightly populated, political Arabia is noted for a high population growth rate - as the result of both very strong inflows of migrant labor as well as sustained high birth rates. The population tends to be young and heavily skewed gender ratio dominated by males. In many states, the number of South Asians exceeds that of the local citizenry, the four smallest states, which have their entire coastlines on the Persian Gulf, exhibit the worlds most extreme population growth, roughly tripling every 20 years. In 2014, the population of the Arabian Peninsula was 77,983,936. Listed here are the human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups in Arabia Haplogroup J is the most abundant component in the Arabian peninsula and its two main subclades, show opposite latitudinal gradients in the Middle East
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Hendurabi
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Hendurabi or Hendorabi is an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. Its name is derived from the Persian word اندرآبی Andar-abi meaning Inside the waters and it is located in Hormozgan Province, to the west of Kish Island and due south of Bastak. Administratively, the island is in Kish Rural District, Kish District, Bandar Lengeh County, Hormozgan Province, list of lighthouses in Iran Bandar Lengeh Hormozgān
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Lavan Island
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Lavan Island is an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. It has an area of 78 square kilometres, the island has one of the four major terminals for export of crude oil in Iran alongside Kharg island. Lavan island sits on top of Lavan gas field, containing 9.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, administratively, the island forms part of the Lavan Rural District in Kish District, Bandar Lengeh County, Hormozgan Province. The island is served by Lavan Airport, list of lighthouses in Iran Bandar Lengeh Laz, Iran
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Tourism in Iran
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Tourism in Iran is diverse, providing a range of activities from hiking and skiing in the Alborz mountains, to beach holidays by the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. The Iranian government has been making concerted efforts to attract tourists to the destinations in the country. Kish Island alone attracts around 1 million visitors per year, the majority of whom are Iranian, Tourism declined dramatically during the Iran–Iraq War in the 1980s. Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, the majority of visitors to Iran have been religious pilgrims. Domestic tourism in Iran is one of the largest in the world, in 2013, the number of foreign tourists in Iran reached 4.76 million, contributing more than $2 billion to the national economy. The strong devaluation of the Iranian Rial since early 2012 is also an element for tourism in Iran. Over five million tourists visited Iran in the year of 2014-2015, ending March 21. Based on the report in the year of 2014 Travel & Tourism directly supported 413,000 jobs and this is expected to rise by 4. 4% in 2015 and rise by 4. 3% pa to 656,000 jobs by 2025. Around three-quarters of those entering Iran in 1999 came from Europe, according to the New York Times, unlike most Americans who stopped visiting Iran after the Revolution, European tourists continued to visit the country in similar numbers after the revolution. This was mainly because the Revolution was far more Anti-American and not so much Anti-European, the majority of the 300,000 tourist visas granted in 2003 were obtained by Asian Muslims, who presumably intended to visit important pilgrimage sites in Mashhad and Qom. Several organized tours from Germany, France, UK and other European countries come to Iran annually to visit archaeological sites, the most popular tourist destinations are Esfahan, Mashhad, and Shiraz. From 2004, the experienced a 100-percent growth in foreign tourist arrivals until mid-2008 when the number of foreign arrivals surged up to 2.5 million. Specially, there has been an increase in the number of German tourists traveling to Iran in 2008. In 2011, most of Iran’s international visitors arrived in Iran solely for the purpose of leisure travel, leisure tourists arriving from abroad are also often relatives of Iranian citizens or expatriates residing outside of Iran returning to visit. Another key segment of international traffic are pilgrims come to pay a visit to one of the many holy sites scattered throughout the country. The number of international arrivals has been increasing, up from 2.2 million people in 2009 to 3.6 million in 2011. Over five million tourists visited Iran in the year of 2014-2015, ending March 21. In general, Iran has tried to improve its complex and time-consuming visa application process and has begun to issue visas for the nationals of 68 countries at airports
listen (help·info)) is a 91.5-square-kilometre (35.3 sq mi) resort island in the Persian Gulf off the southern coast of Iran. It is part of the Bandar Lengeh County in Hormozgān Province of Iran. Owing to its free trade zone status, the island is touted as a consumer's paradise, with numerous malls, shopping centres, tourist attractions, and resort hotels,[1] it has an estimated population of 26,000 residents and about 1 million visitors annually.[2]
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