A modern city in the heart of ancient Iran
Whenever you plan a travel to the east, Iran is the first country coming to the mind to be suggested. As it is a country of beauty and majesty with impressive culture, besides being one of the world’s mountainous countries, and the second largest one in the Middle East…

...Persia, conventional European name of the country known now as Iran- center of the Persian Empire in the 6th century BC (the world's preeminent power) ...with the history rooted from 1500 BC when Iranian plateau was settled by Aryan tribes..For more than three thousand years Persia was a melting pot of civilizations and demographic movements between Asia and Europe. Under Cyrus the Great, it became the center of the world’s first empire. The country has always been known to its own people as Iran (land of the Aryans) or “noble people”, although for centuries it was referred to as Persia (Pars or Fars) by the Europeans, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians. First inhabited 4000 B.C., the region was overrun by Aryans, who later split into two groups, the Medes and the Persians. The Persian Empire was founded 550 B.C. by Cyrus the Great and dominated the surrounding area until the time of Alexander the Great. Cyrus the Great overthrew the Median rulers, conquered the kingdom of Lydia in 546 BC and established the Persian Empire. .with the art of its own tradition and distinctive style evident in its architectures, paintings, ceramics, carpets, and even its poems by Hafez, Ferdowsi, Sa`adi, Mowlavi, etc..., accompanied with the custom which represents the sole of the country and its people...Geographically, Iran is a Middle Eastern country, south of the Caspian Sea and north of the Persian Gulf. It shares borders with Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Tehran, as Iran's showcase and capital city, is a modern city in the heart of ancient Iran. Tehran was well known as a village in the 9th century, but was less well-known than the city of Rages (Shahr_e Rey) which was flourishing nearby in the pre-Mongol era. In the 13th century, following the destruction of Rages by Mongols, many of its inhabitants fled to Tehran. In some sources of the Mongol era the city is mentioned as "Rages's Tehran".

Nearly 12 Million people live in Tehran in contrast to two hundred thousand in 1920. The visitor who has been away for a while can no longer find the way around the city. New roads link the western part of the city to the northern quarters. Towering buildings have been erected right and left. Large stores, super-markets, self-service shops have been opened, public buildings, government departments and monuments have been built and arrays of giant cranes show the development fever.

It grew in population and size, and new administrative buildings, palaces, and mosques were constructed there. Tehran's museums include the Iran Bastan Museum, (Museum of Ancient Iran), which is one of the world’s best collections of ancient artifacts, dating to 4000 BC; the Golestan Palace Museum, which holds a collection of wonderful jewelry, such as the Peacock Throne, the Globe of Jewels with more than 51,000 stones, the Imperial State Crown, and the great uncut diamond Darya-e Noor; the National Arts Museum, a treasure house of works from Persian artists; the Persian Museum, including Persian rugs; the Abgineh va Sofalineh Museum (Glass and Ceramics Museum); and several museums established by Iran’s Islamic government .

Tehran is a city at the foot of Alborz mountain range. Mount Damavand, the country’s highest peak which lies in the central part of the range, attracted mountaineers, and legends to its snow-covered slopes for centuries. In winter, the mountain hotels and ski-clubs at Shemshak, Shahrestanak and Dizine are full several days a week. Some expert skiers consider the snow quality in northern Tehran to be one of the best in the world.
To Be Continued...