West Azerbaijan Province

Extracted from Rasekhoon
West Azerbaijan Province with an area of 43660 square kilometers is located in the northwest of Iran and is one of the oldest provinces in Iran. The center of this province is the city of Urmia and its subordinate cities are Khoy, Maku, Salmas, Sardasht, Mahabad, Miandoab, Naqadeh, Piranshahr, Oshnavieh, Bukan, Takab, Shahin Dezh and Siah Cheshmeh (Chaldoran).
The majority of the people of this province follow the religion of Islam and Shia religion, but the people of Mahabad, Sardasht and Piranshahr are more from Sunnis and Kurds. A number of Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian minorities also live in Urmia.
Azerbaijan in the Middle Persian is called Aurupatkan, and in ancient Persian writings it is called Azarbaigan and in the current Persian language is called Azerbaijan. The ancient history of Azerbaijan has been merged with the history of the people of Medes. After the migration to Iran, the people of Medes seized Western parts of Iran, including Azerbaijan. After the victory of Macedonian Alexander over Iran, a serdar in the name of Atopart appeared in Azerbaijan, and this land was known as the Attopardegan. During the rule of Seloki, the Attopardegan region became Iranian refuge in front of Greece. Many local governments took power in Azerbaijan. After the capture of Azerbaijan by Shah Ismail I Safavid, Azerbaijan became the main center for the gathering of military forces for the Safavid kings. At the time of Safavid, Azerbaijan was the site of bloody conflicts between the Iranian and Ottoman troops, and the Chaldoran War was the most significant one of them. In that war, Seyyed Sadr al-Din, the Major General of Shah Isma'il Safavi, was martyred and his tomb is now located four kilometers from Chaldoran town in the village of Sadal.
This province is one of the most prominent provinces in the country, with many historical, natural and tourist attractions. In terms of number of landmarks, perhaps fewer provinces in Iran have the power to compete with West Azerbaijan. The existence of ancient works such as Takht-e Soleyman, Hassan-e-Lo Hill, Gharra-e Kelisa, and so on ... have a long history of the ancient civilization of this region of our beloved country.

● Geography of West Azerbaijan province, Ministry of Education

▪ Ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important places of Mahabad city
Mahabad is one of the most important cities of West Azerbaijan located in the south of Lake Urmia. Like other cities in the province, this city has a cold weather and the best time to travel is from May to October, and especially in summer. The large population and the presence of service and government centers have made the city one of the most important cities in the province. The people of this region are Sunnis who have Shafi'i religion; hence the name of the Imam Shafei is seen on many alleys and streets and mosques.
The city among the cities of the province is known as a tourist destination with many attractions, and during the holidays, especially during the summer, a massive number of passengers from the surrounding towns come to the city. Mahabad has a lot of people with culture and customs and they host and welcome and have a very good deal with tourists and foreign tourists, so that the city among other towns around is called the "Little Paris"; although the shortage of hotels and tourist accommodation in the city is evident, this city can be particularly suitable for local anthropological research.
Mahabad Dam and its river, Mellat Park and foreign goods market are considered as the recreational and sightseeing centers of the city. In addition, Sahvalan Cave and Fakhrygah Historical Cave near the city also have a privilege to attract tourists.

▪ Ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important places of the city of Maku

Maku city is located in the northwestern part of the Azerbaijani Republic of Maku, and has an important geographical and military location because it is located on the border of three countries: Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan. According to this importance, during the World War II, the Russians launched a ferry route from Shah Takhti to Bayazid, which passed through the city of Maku, and about 150 km of the path was in Iran. Unfortunately, now this route is completely ruined and unusable. The city is bounded to the Aras River from north, from the west to the Coduk-Kalame (Turkish border), from the east to the bridge Pol-e Dokhtar over Aras, and from the south to Turkey and Khoy. The city of Maku is mountainous and has several mountains.
Chaldoran and St. Thaddeus Monastery are also located in this city. S. Jay Wilson, an American priest after passing from the city of Maku, wrote about it: "As we approached the Maku, the spiral road passed through a narrow valley through which a river by the same name passed through it and it poured sequentially in the form of small waterfalls; In one of these mountain bends, the magnificent views of the city of Maku were appearing in a pleasant and wonderful way. There were mountainous cliffs that suddenly stretched out to the sky at least to the height of a thousand feet. The mountain on the right side gets bump as it rises, rising up above the city, like a canopy. They have built a castle in the depressions of the rocks. "
Maku has been known by various names during different periods of history, including Shavarshan, Makuye, Ghale Ghaban, Artaz, Roussa, Madkouh and Maki. It can be argued that Maku is one of the most prominent cities in Iran. When you walk in the city, you actually enjoy seeing it. Especially with sunset and reddening of the sky and rocky mountains around the city, the beauty is multiplied. The Maku stone mountain and the nest of storks that are made in the corners of the city and on the roadways on the power lines and water supplies are also some of Maku's spectacular views.
Due to its location along the Bazargan border and customs, the city is the gateway for travelers who are planning to travel to Turkey through the country, and therefore, many people are traveling daily in the city, due to which the facilities of the city is much less than necessary, and it is especially difficult to accommodate travelers in the busy season.
This will require immediate attention to the construction of the necessary hotels and innings as well as the establishment of a station for providing the necessary tourist information.

▪ Ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important areas of Naqadeh

Naqade is one of the small and lush cities of the West Azerbaijan, located south of Lake Urmia. A city is full of apple gardens, with fruitful trees that are in many spots of the city. Naqade is one of the bilingual cities of Azerbaijan, which is almost equally Azeri and Kurdish, which is why most people in this city are familiar with both languages and can speak both languages.
The golden bowl of Hasanlu is obtained from one of the villages of this city and one of the most ancient works of this city is the historic hill of Hasanlu. The hill, due to the age and variety of works, may be as important as the "Zabul Shahr-e Sukhteh" and "Kashan Sialk hills".
One of the other reasons for the reputation of Naqadeh is the presence of a well-known mountaineer named "Mohammad Oraz" in the city, and it has caused many people to go to his hometown on the grave of the athlete.

▪ ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important places of Urmia

Orumiyeh or Urmia, the capital of the West Azerbaijan province, is one of the oldest Iranian cities dating back to 2000 BC. The city is located in a vast, greenery plain, surrounded by vines and apple orchards for miles. Historians believe that the main name of this city is "Chichest", but there is a controversy about the current name. Some believe that the Urmie consists of two words, Ur + Mie, and "Ur" means the place and "Mie" in the Assyrian language means water. This city was renamed to Rezaieh during the reign of Reza Khan, which returned to its original name, Urmia, after the revolution's victory.
Urmia is one of the most beautiful and long-standing cities in the West Azerbaijan province in the plain by 70 km long and 30 km width along a lake with the same name. The city is one of the country's most popular cities due to its temperate climate and beautiful scenery. Religious diversity is enormous in Urmia, and Shiites, Sunnis, Jews, Assyrians and Armenians live side by side in a completely peaceful way. Due to the religious diversity, linguistic diversity is also high in the city. The people of this city speak Turkish, Kurdish, Assyrian and Armenian. But most of them are dominant in Turkish and Kurdish (and of course, the official language of the country: Persian), and they should not be so much concerned about communicating with the people of this city.
The variety of agricultural products in the province of West Azerbaijan, especially the city of Urmia, has become very important in this regard. Extensive gardens of grapes and apples have a special reputation over other cities and attracts viewers every summer. The variety of grapes and apples is unique in its kind.

▪ Ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important areas of the city of Oshnavieh

Oshnavieh is another city in western Azerbaijan, located on the western border of the province. This city has no famous historical and natural significance. According to city officials, during the excavations, two stone ewes have been discovered, which are now kept in the municipality of Oshnavieh. There is not much information about the age and importance of these ewes.
According to the study, in this city apart from these two ewes, no other particular ancient works have been discovered; however, the existence of these two ewes reflects the old civilizations in the city, which may be achieved with a little search.

▪ Ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important places of the city of Bukan

Bukan is another Kurdish city in western Azerbaijan, which due to the presence of tomb of "Hasan Zirak", has a special reputation among Azerbaijani Kurds and other Azerbaijani settlers. Bukan is a small town in the southeastern part of Mahabad, which in the last visit of Anobanini's team, according to local people, there is no known ancient or natural heritage in it.

▪ Ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important places of the city of Takab

Takab is one of the richest cities in West Azerbaijan province that because of many ancient monuments and natural and mineral resources around it. The economy of this city is more dependent on agriculture and livestock. Every year, hundreds of places around the world visit the city's ancient artifacts, in particular the Takht-e-Solomon Temple, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Some of the spectacular areas of this city are Kuh-e Zendan, Qinrjeh Waterfall, various hot waters, the Chaman Moteharek and Takht-e Soleyman. Belqis Mountain near Takab is one of the most beautiful hiking and recreational places and it has a great climate during the summer. Due to the fact that the city of Takab is not on the border of the country's highways, compared to its importance, it has limited recreational and tourist facilities. The existence of some of the country's most important antiquities makes the necessity of extending tourism facilities in the region undeniable. The existence of the fourth record of Iran in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites has given the city such a great deal of attention as it needs more facilities.
If you are planning to travel to this city, be sure to plan it carefully and because of the limited outer buses, you need to have a returning plan before travelling there.

▪ Ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important landmarks in Khoy

Khoy as the heir of the 6000-year-old civilization in the Assyrian chronicles called Hovaiava, and in the Torah called Hovaiya, and in the book "Al-Alam al-Mashreq ela al-Maqreb" called "khovaiya", and finally in the year 250 AH, Ibn Khordad refers to the current Khoy in the book "Al-Masalek and Al-Mamalik". In some writings, writers consider "Khoy" as equivalent to the word "salt", and some others consider it Armenian word that means ram, which there is doubt about it.
According to the Assyrian writings, Khoy is a prosperous city, and it is likely that the name "Hezar Dieh" contained in the Assyrian inscriptions be about this city, referred by Herzlfield. According to Allameh doctor Raziyab Khoyi, the name "Khoy", in the inscription "Darius", was also written by the Achaemenid king, with the same pronunciation, which is a symbol of the historical dating of this city.
There are numerous ancient artifacts in the city for instance: minarets of Shams Tabrizi, Masjid Matlab Khan, the stone gate and the bridge Pol-e Khatun.

▪ Ancient monuments, tourist attractions and important places of the city of Sardasht

The city of Sardasht is located in the southwestern part of Azerbaijan and is located very close (about 5 km) to the Iraqi border. Sardasht is built on heights and it is spectacular indeed. The name Sardasht may have been chosen because of its location relative to the surrounding area. The mountains around the city and especially the mountains located between Piranshahr and Sardasht, are covered with trees and are quite covered by forests; a very beautiful forest that can only be seen in the north forests.
Unlike what is said, Sardasht does not look like an insecure city. At the hot seasons, like many touristic cities in the country, tents are set up in different parts of the city and travelers sleep in tents to the morning. Sardasht is quite rich in landscapes and scenic natural areas. The virgin forests and the famous and beautiful Shalmash waterfall are among the landmarks of this city.