Iran is one of the largest Asian states. It borders countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Armenia. The capital is the city of Tehran. Iran is a country on whose territory the first centers of human civilization were located thousands of years ago. What are the main features of this country?
Main information and geographical characteristics of Iran
The main part of the country is located on the Iranian plateau. Here the plateaus are interspersed with high plains. The Elbrus mountain range is located in the northern part of the country. It is separated from the Caspian by a small strip of lowland. The climate of the country is continental subtropical. Iranian rivers are usually shallow. The largest lakes are Urmia and Khamun.
The entire area of Iran is divided into 27 districts, or "stop". The largest cities are Isfahan, Tabriz, Urmia, Abadan, Mashhad. Iran also includes some islands located in the Persian and Ottoman Gulfs. The total area of Iran is 1.65 million km2. The state is in 17th place in the world in terms of territory. The Iranian currency is the rial.
Economy
A significant part of the area of Iran is rich in minerals. These are manganese, copper, chromium, zinc ores. Foreign trade products are carpets and nuts, as well as fishing products. Most of the population living in Iran Square is employed in agriculture. One of the main problems is low soil fertility and lack of fresh water for irrigation. About a third of the total population are unemployed. Mostly young people.
Population
More than 60 ethnic groups live in Iran. For the most part, these are Persians - they live in the southern and central parts of the country. Gilyans, Mazenderans, Talyshs live in the north. On the western territory - Kurds, Lurs, Bakhtiars, on the eastern - Pashtuns, Balochs, Tajiks. All these peoples are ethnically close to the Persians. It is known that Iran is one of the "youngest" countries in the world. The number of residents, whose age does not exceed 15 years, is approximately 25%. The next largest ethnic group is Azerbaijanis. According to various estimates, their number ranges from 20% to 40% of the total population. Why do so many Azerbaijanis live on both sides of the Iranian border? This is due to the fact that historically the territory of present-day Azerbaijan is part of the Iranian state system. They are part of Iranian society. And in the western part of Iran, Kurds live (from 5% to 10% of the total). The total population is 78.4 million.
Languages in Iran
Which languages are most common in everyday lifeIranians? There are many misconceptions about this. Most Iranians are ethnically Persians. Therefore, they speak Persian, or Farsi. Persian is the most common among the Iranian group of the Indo-European language tree. It has about 50 million speakers in Iran (more than 80% of the total population).
Farsi is not only the official language in Iran - it is spoken by the inhabitants of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and the Pamirs. There are also a few communities that use Farsi in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. For written speech, Farsi speakers use a slightly modified Arabic alphabet - several letters have been added to it that are not in Arabic itself. The Persian language contains a large number of borrowed lexical units from Arabic. This language influenced Farsi as a result of conquests in the 7th century.
From the history of Farsi
Farsi has a fairly ancient history. The first sources of the Old Persian language date back to the 1st millennium BC. e. Then cuneiform writing was widely used. The most ancient version of Farsi has undergone transformations for 2 thousand years. Approximately in the 1st millennium AD. e. the era of the Middle Persian language, which was the official language of the Sassanid Empire, began. In the 7th century A. D. e. political transformations took place - the Persian territory was conquered by the Arabs. At that time, the small Zoroastrian diasporas and the Parsi ethnic group in India used Middle Persian.
The next step isNew Persian, which included elements from Arabic. Beginning in the 9th century, Farsi very quickly acquired the status of a second literary language throughout the Muslim world. At present, Farsi differs significantly from classical New Persian. These differences are visible in pronunciation, writing, and vocabulary. The basis for oral speech, corresponding to stylistic and grammatical norms, is the Tehran dialect.
President of Iran
The current leader of Iran is Hassan Rouhani, who won the elections on May 20, 2017. In total, about 41 million Iranians took part in the elections. 57% of the total number of voters voted for the incumbent president, and 38% voted for his opponent, Ibrahim Raisi. The state structure of Iran is such that the president occupies the second place in terms of influence - in the political hierarchy, the head of state is subordinate to the religious leader ("ayatollah"). The religious head is elected by a special council. Now it is Ali Khamenei.
An unusual communication tradition
Tourists who visit Iran for the first time are usually confused. When they want to pay for taxi services, the driver refuses the money. They come to the store - the same thing happens. What is the reason? It turns out that a cultural practice has been adopted in Iran under the intricate name "taarof". Of course, as in other countries, people do not receive free goods in stores or services. The practice of taarof being a local brand is an expression of true Persian courtesy. If someone is invited to visit or for dinner, thenthe duty of the invitee is to play along with the inviter and first refuse. The practice of taarof in Iran fits almost any social situation.
Famous Persian carpets
Among the Persians there is a saying: "The Persian carpet is impeccable in its imperfection, accurate in its inaccuracy." Where did it come from? In fact, errors and inaccuracies in Persian carpets are deliberately created. So the Persians strive to show that only God can create something perfect. Religious aside, the Persian rug is an important element of Iranian culture. After all, it is over 2,000 years old. The ability to weave carpets is especially common in some regions - for example, in the city of Kashan, they are passed down from generation to generation.
The Qur'an describes the process of creation of the world: the earth was created by Allah in six days. The first in the infinite void of the Cosmos were the seven heavenly bodies. And then a beautiful carpet of earth spread beneath them. Therefore, the carpet in the Eastern tradition is associated with a mini-model of the kingdom of God on earth. The level of prosperity in the East is measured by how many carpets a person has in a house, and how expensive they are. If for some reason a family could not afford to cover their home with carpets, they evoked compassion. Historians believe that carpets were first invented by ancient Asian nomadic tribes.
The real gold of Iran
It is known that Iran is the largest producer of caviar, one of the most expensive products on the entire globe. It is from here that its rarest species is supplied, and at the same time the most expensive. Caviarbeluga called "Almas" costs more than 2 million rubles for just one kilogram. The age of the fish for this caviar is between 60 and 100 years old.
And that's not all. The Iranian tradition of saffron production dates back about 3 millennia. About 90% of all exports of this spice are produced here. At the same time, saffron is more expensive than many jewelry. Its price is about 4 thousand rubles per gram.
Beliefs of Ancient Iran
Mesopotamia was once on the site of modern Iraq and Iran. The cities that appeared here in antiquity are called the cities of Mesopotamia by modern historians. They reached the peak of their power during the Sassanid era. The ancient Iranian urban culture was formed under the influence of Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism.
Zoroastrianism is a very ancient monotheistic belief. It is named after the founder named Zarathustra. The inhabitants of ancient Greece considered Zarathustra a philosopher and astrologer. They also renamed the prophet Zoroaster (from the ancient Greek "aster" - "star"). According to one version, the prophet lived in the II millennium BC. e. According to researcher Mary Boyce, Zarathustra lived in the territory east of the Volga.
Manichaeism arose around the 3rd century. n. e. His prophet was Mani, or Manes, who delivered sermons in 240 CE. e. in the capital of the Sassanid Empire - Ctesiphon. Prophet Mani was sure that all religions of the world are one. The basis of Manichaeism was the opposition between good and evil.
Myths about Iran
In fact, Iran has a very highlevel of public safety. The last hostilities took place here more than 30 years ago. This misconception has spread because of tourists who tend to confuse Iran and Iraq. Despite the fact that Iran is adjacent to Afghanistan and Iraq, it is absolutely safe to be on its territory. Iranians are very friendly and hospitable people. Every year more and more tourists from different countries come here to relax.
Iran also has a high level of education and culture, especially among women. More than half of university students are girls. Women also work in offices, can do business, take part in elections. In Iran, it is customary for women to wear headscarves, but they do not wear a veil covering their faces. Among the beautiful half of the population of Iran, there are many fashionistas who love bright clothes.
Iran is in third place in the world in terms of the number of UNESCO cultural monuments, second only to Italy and Egypt. The history of Ancient Persia, the heir of which is modern Iran, has more than 5 thousand years. There used to be a saying among Iranians: “Whoever visits Isfahan has seen half of the world.”
