Oromiyeh City (Urmia)

Oromiyeh, one of the largest cities in Iran, is the center of West Azerbaijan Province and is located on the northwest of the country. According to the recent census in 1390, solar calendar, it has a population of 667,499 and ranks the 10th most highly-populated city in Iran and the second most populous city in the northwest of he country.
It is located 1,322 m above sea level on the west of Oromiyeh Lake, on the slope of Kuh Sir Mountain within Oromiyeh Plain. It is fairly hot in summer and quite cold in winter.
Over 3,000 years old, the city is still the oldest in the northwest of the country. It has been recorded as the 11th historic city of Iran on UNESCO list.
Some historians believe that Oromiyeh is the hometown of the Zoroastrian. It has gone through various events in the past centuries such as occupation by the Ottoman and Russian.
Its strategic location has made it a commercial spot as you might know it lies on the highway connecting Caucasus, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Noghl (a kind of local sugar-coated almond) is its main souvenir.
The city is pioneer in many areas; the first modern school, first local TV station, first local paper, and Iran's volleyball capital. In addition to Water City, it is also well-known as Dar Alnishat (literally joy house), Iran's Paris, Religions City, and city of ethnicity.
One disadvantage may be that it is regarded as the second most congested city after Tehran.
Naming
"Our" in Assyrian means city- like Jerusalem or Ourshalim which is a city of peace- and Mieh means water, paronymouse with Arabic Mae (water). The city's name change into Rezaiyeh at the beginning of Pahlavi era since Reza Shah loved the city. After the Islamic revolution it turned into Oromiyeh again.
Among its other names are Oromi, Ormiyeh, Oormiyeh, and Eram. In Azerbaijan it is known as Ormi.
History
It is believed that the city was founded 2,000 melenium BC.
Geography
Oromiyeh, 20 km from its lake, enjoys a prominent geographical location.
It lies in Oromiyeh Plain surrounded by the heights like Kuh Sir, Ghiz Ghale, Johudha Mountain, Chehel Mar Shahidan, Kuh Mah, Ali Panjasi and Ali Iman mountains.
In fact, the city lies between the lake and the western mountains.
Geographical location
The city is located at 37° 32' on the northern hemisphere.
It lies at 45°2' east longitude from Greenwich meridian.