About Tehran

Tehran (also spelled Teheran, which more correctly reflects the Persian pronunciation), population 9,000,000 (metropolitan: 14,000,000), and a land area of 254 square miles, is the capital of Iran and one of the major world cities. It is also the center of Tehran Province. Tehran is a metropolis of 14 million situated at the foot of the towering Alborz range. More than half of the country's industry is based there. Industries include the manufacturing of cars, electronics and electrical equipment, weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products. It is also a leading center for the sale of carpets and furniture. There is an oil refinery nearby. Tehran is a lively city at the foot of the Alborz mountain range with an immense network of highways unparalleled in western Asia. It is also the hub of the country's railway network. The city has numerous large museums, art centers, palace complexes and cultural centers. Besides Persians there are Azeri, Armenian, Jewish and Afghani communities in Tehran. Persian-speakers constitute 98.3 percent of Tehran's residents. The city is dotted with mosques, churches and synagogues.

Tehran's mushrooming skyline is a mix of new and old architectural styles. The Azadi Tower is the first thing visitors come across when coming from the Mehr-abad International Airport. The tower has become an icon of sorts for Tehran and Iran. Like many of the world's large cities, Tehran suffers from serious traffic congestion and pollution problems. Tehran has become so congested in the past 10 years, that the government has considered moving the nation's capital to another city to alleviate these problems and help de-centralize the economy and population. This is especially true in light of predictions of an imminent major earthquake in Tehran. Yet millions choose to live and work in Tehran despite these problems. The appealing side of Tehran, it seems, outweighs these concerns.

Tehran Theater of Performing Arts. An example of Pahlavi era architecture. The Peacock Throne of the Persian Shahs can be found in Tehran's Golestan Palace. Some of the important museums are National Museum of Iran, Sa'dabad Palaces Complex, Glassware and Ceramics Museum of Iran, The Carpet Museum of Iran, Tehran's Underglass painting Museum, Niavaran Palace Complex etc. The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is also appealing to many because it features the works of great artists such as Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. The huge Tehran International Fair organises many expositions. Its book expositions are especially popular. Tehran is also the seat of Iran's Parliament (the Majles). Tehran is also a city of parks and possesses more than 800 well-kept parks. The Tehran Stock Exchange which is a full member of the FIBV and a founding member of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges, is one of the world's best performing stock exchanges, in recent years.

Among the unusual attractions in Tehran (especially for tourists) are its many electronic stores and the buildings encompassing them where unlicensed copies of music and software CDs, in addition to VCD and DVD movies, are sold at very low prices. Tehran has eight TV channels broadcast by IRIB, and is in receiving range of satellite stations that broadcast over 100 free channels from Europe and Asia. Although technically banned by Iran's government, the four foot dishes are a commodity in millions of homes in Iran.