Iran

Iran (or Persia, Persian : ایران), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: جمهوری اسلامی ایران Djoemhūrī-ye Eslami-ye Iran), is a country in Western Asia . The capital isTehran, that with more than 10 million inhabitants also the largest city in the country. A total of 79.8539 million live in Iran  (2013)  people. [5] The Persian, an Indo-European language , the official language of Iran. [6] [7]

Iran / Persia has a very long history and can be called one of the cradles of civilization (see the history of Iran ).

Iran is in the Middle East, bordering Iraq , Turkey , Armenia , Azerbaijan , Turkmenistan , Afghanistan and Pakistan . The Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, located to the south and the Caspian Sea to the north of Iran. Iran shares the Caspian Sea, except with the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, also with Kazakhstan andRussia . On the opposite shore of the Persian Gulf are Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , Bahrain , Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman .

Exports of petroleum and natural gas are the main source of income for Iran. Iran therefore has an important position as the fourth largest oil exporter in the world.

Content
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 * 1 Name
 * 2 History
 * 2.1 6th century BC. - 6th century AD.
 * 2.2 7th century - 15th century
 * 2.3 16th century - 19th century
 * 2.4 1925-1979: Pahlavi dynasty
 * 2.5 1979 Iranian Revolution
 * 2.6 1980 - present
 * 3 Polity and Politics
 * 3.1 Polity
 * 3.2 Administrative divisions
 * 3.3 Foreign relations
 * 3.4 Human rights situation
 * 3.5 Drug Problems
 * 4 Physical characteristics
 * 4.1 Geology
 * 4.2 Climate
 * 4.3 Flora, fauna and environment
 * 5 Population
 * 5.1 Cities
 * 5.2 Demographics
 * 5.3 Emigration
 * 5.4 Languages
 * 5.5 Religion
 * 5.6 Norms and values
 * 6 Culture
 * 6.1 Archaeology and monuments
 * 6.2 Architecture
 * 6.3 Calendar and Holidays
 * 6.4 Literature and poetry
 * 6.5 Fine Arts
 * 6.6 Cinematography
 * 6.7 Music
 * 6.8 Sport
 * 6.9 Daily Life
 * 7 Education and science
 * 8 Economy
 * 8.1 Transportation
 * 8.2 Energy
 * 8.3 Agriculture
 * 8.4 Media
 * 9 Defense
 * 10 See also
 * 11 External links

Name
Iran until 1935 called in Dutch official Persia, but the country's name in Persian has been since the time of the Sassanid Iran. The name refers to Persia, the Greek wordPersis derived from Pars, the part of the country where 2,500 years ago the ancient kings of Iran came from. Iran means "Land of the Aryans . "

In early 1935 the then Shah Reza Pahlavi to all countries to now the local name of the country, Iran, to use. Because the name Iran often caused confusion with the neighboring state of Iraq, was officially introduced in 1949 for use abroad again called Persia. After an outcry from the Persian / Iranian scholars, the government announced in 1959 that, in languages ​​other than Persian, both names are for official use. [source?] A native of Iran / Persia has an Iranian or Persian.

History
The ruins of the historic Persepolis

Iran / Persia has a very long history and is known as one of the cradles of human civilization. The west of the country was part of the Fertile Crescent, one of the areas whereagriculture arose.

6th century BC. - 6th century AD.
Iran's history as a country goes back to the 6th century BC. , when Cyrus the Great of the dynasty of Achaemenid united the various peoples of Iran. In the following centuries achieved this Persian Empire enormous power and it was the largest empire of antiquity, and it covered an area of Egypt and Greece in the west to the Indian subcontinent in the east.

In the 4th century BC. conquered the Macedonian Alexander the Great, the Persian Empire and defeated King Darius III at the Battle of Gaugamela . The country was after Alexander's death ruled by a Hellenistic (Greek) class under the Seleucids . Later defeated the Parthians the Seleucids and established the Parthian Empire, followed by theSassanids , both very powerful empires and formidable opponents of the Romans and Byzantines .

7th century - 15th century
In the 7th century were the Sassanids and very large parts of the Byzantine Empire, after they were both extremely weakened by years of wars against each other and other domestic problems, conquered by theMuslim Arabs and in a 200-year period, Zoroastrianism replaced as state religion by Sunni Islam. The Arab empire of the caliphs dominated Persia to the 9th century and from then lost the central authority of theAbbasids in Baghdad and his authority were in Persia various kingdoms and empires. The Christianity had in the Nestorian form of the 8th to the 13th century, a period of great prosperity.

In the 11th century it was the Turkish Seljuks who conquered Persia and later defeated the Arabs. The Seljuks were strongly influenced by the Persian culture. The empire of the Seljuks, however, soon fell apart again and fell in the 13th century, the Mongol Empire in Persia. The Mongols destroyed many cities and killed many people making the thriving Islamic and Persian cultures received a heavy blow. Notorious is the massacre of almost the entire population of Merv (then belonging to Persia, now in Turkmenistan located) and environment where perhaps 1 million people were slain.

Late 14th century conquered another Turkish ruler called Tamerlane Persia and he founded many massacres massacres, among others in Khorasan .

16th century - 19th century
The 17th century mosque of the Shah in Isfahan is one of the architectural highlights of Iran

From 1499 ruled the dynasty of the Safavid Persia / Iran. Safavid performed include Shiism as the state religion in the region that is now Iran, and Azerbaijan . Shiism has been one of the reasons that Iran never became an Arab country and has always kept its identity. Particularly under Shah Abbas I came Persian culture blossomed, which is clearly visible in the then capital of Isfahan . At that time also had the VOC trading stations in Persia . [8]

If the last Safavid ruler is sold in 1736 to 1796 the country challenged by three dynasties, which ended the Qajar Persia again prevail and make unity. After the fall of theSafavids [9] [10] around 1722 arose several small de facto independent khanates in the Iranian territories in the Caucasus. [11] [12] After the Safavid Iran was ruled by the Iranian dynasties of Afsharid and Sand and recently by the Qajar . After the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) Iran was forced much of its territory in the Caucasus, today representingDagestan , Azerbaijan , and eastern Georgia to cede to Russia Empire. After the next and last Russo-Persian war, that of 1826-1828, Iran was again forced to cede territories in the Caucasus. After this last war, Iran had to cede its territory in the Caucasus to Russia. [13] Until the advent of the Russian-Persian wars of the 19th century, the territories that now belong to the sovereign states Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, and the North Caucasus region of Dagestan contain all to Iran. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] As the southern border Arasrivier was held between Russia and Iran. This limit was after the fall of the Soviet Union, the border between Iran and Azerbaijan.

Persia / Iran did in the 18th and 19th centuries as one of the few countries in Asia and West Asia in particular, to remain fairly independent of Western countries, already had particularly UK and Russia are major influences. Russia captured during the Qajar four wars in many parts of the Persian Empire, areas such as the Caucasus and share parts of Central Asia ( Turkmenistan ).

1925 - 1979: Pahlavi dynasty
In the 20th century, ruled for a long time the Pahlavi dynasty . Father Reza Pahlavi came with a coup to power and he and his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ruled as dictators . The Pahlavi's took the title shah(king), but were of normal descent. The population was often harshly suppressed. Anyone who questioned the absolute authority of the Shah - socialists, liberals but also geestelijken- was tackled hard. The West supported the dictatorship of the Pahlavi's for geopolitical reasons (a regional ally in the then Cold War ), but also for economic reasons, of which the most important was the access to the rich Iranian oil supplies.

In 1951 was Mohammad Mossadeq by the Iranian Parliament appointed Prime Minister. He was enormously popular in Iran after he nationalized the oil industry. In 1953 he was deposed by a coup by the Shah, caused by an Anglo-American covert operation to get the oil industry back into British hands. After the coup was the Shah's increasingly autocratic . From the mid-70s grew discontent with the repressive regime of the Shah.

1979 Iranian Revolution
Mass Demonstration in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution .

In 1979 forced a wide revolt of clerics, students, intellectuals, shopkeepers and many civil society organizations, the dictatorship of the Shah overthrown during the Iranian Revolution . Finally slid the most powerful political party, that of the clergy, its former supporters of the revolution aside and chose to give the power in the hands of one person: their leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini . Since then the country is ruled by him as an established conservative Islamic laws and is the ultimate power in the hands of the clergy. Displays the previous Shah's dictatorship was replaced by an equally repressive religious dictatorship based on Islamic law, the Sharia . The West, the United Statesfirst, condemned the Iranian Revolution. A number of employees of the US embassy in Tehran was held hostage for 444 days, the Iranian hostage crisis .

1980 - present
From 1980 to 1988 Iraq was at war with neighboring Iran during the bloody Iran-Iraq war which were slain estimated half to one million Iranians. The West supported the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in this war.

After the death of Khomeini in 1989 was Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran.

Under the presidency of reformist President Mohammad Khatami, 1997-2005, were in the country, of which more than half the population is younger than 30 years, some changes have been made ​​towards a more democratic society. However, in 2005, the conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, pushed forward by the conservative clergy, President of Iran and the previous reforms partly reversed and the changes that have been introduced since then largely conservative in nature.

When the Iranian presidential election, 2009 Ahmadinejad won again: he got 63% of the vote, while opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi 34% of the votes garnered. The results led to great unrest among the opposition that the results are not trusted. Riots broke out which were the worst in a decade, [20] perhaps thirty years. [21] A large number of demonstrations followed. Foreign journalists working was difficult; some were beaten, arrested or deported. Social networking sites were closed or filtered, as well as the mobile phone traffic .

In 2013 was Hassan Rouhani, elected a reformist candidate in the presidential election. He gave a conciliatory tone towards the Western world and gave among others to want to make more work for women's rights in his country.

Polity
Iran since the Iranian Revolution, an Islamic republic. It has a unique state structure, which occurs in no other country. The state structure is derived from the state religion of Iran, Shiism . The main principle is that ofvalajat-e ​​Fakih either the "guardianship of the jurist. This means that the highest spiritual ultimately must approve all bills.

The country is run by four entities: Many political decisions are taken by the president or parliament, but the clergy, both the religious leader as the board of guardians, the authority have anything against the Sharia to reject because it is one of those decisions veto have. Since 1989, Ali Khamenei, the religious leader (and actual ruler) of Iran, and since August 3, 2013 Hassan Rouhani , the president of Iran.
 * The religious leader or Rahbar (Persian: رهبر), chosen by the Council of Experts
 * The Guardian Council or Shuraye Negahbane Ghanune Assasi (Persian: شورای نگهبان قانون اساسی)
 * The president of Iran or Rais Jumhur (Persian: ریس جمهور)
 * The Majlis of Iran ie the parliament or consultative or advisory council (Persian: مجلس شورای اسلامی) The Majlis consists of 290 seats, and every four years there are elections.

Administrative division
Iran is divided into 31 provinces . Each province (Ostān) is subdivided into regions at (Shahrestān), which are subdivided into districts (Bakhsh). The population of these provinces, in some cases, mainly from minority groups with occasionally their own distinctive clothing, as is the case in Iraq bordering province of Khuzestan .

Foreign relations
Iran is a founding member of the United Nations, the OPEC , the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Organization of Non-Aligned Countries .

Iran maintains diplomatic relations with almost all countries, but since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 ties with its US and Israel disconnected.

Iran maintains good relations with neighboring countries. Iran has a strong influence in Syria and Lebanon. Iran maintains close ties with the Shiites in Iraq and hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims annually visit the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala . Iran also has close ties with its northern and western neighbors Turkey and Armenia, as many ethnic Armenians live in Iran, and strengthen the great historical, cultural, and ethnic relations this urge among countries. With the countries on its eastern borders Afghanistan and Pakistan are some tensions on the Afghan drug trafficking, refugees, and the fundamentalist Sunni Muslims living in Pakistan and sometimes carry out attacks in the south-eastern Iran.

Iran also maintains relations with other countries in the Persian Gulf are, but those relationships are tensions about the dominance of the Gulf. Although Iran and Saudi Arabia have long maintained relations, hasSaudi King Abdullah in 2008 United States asked to attack Iran. [22]

Iran has close ties with Russia (which among other things builds nuclear power plant and has already built in Iran) and China. Russia and Iran are strategic allies, [23] [24] [25] and form a strong alliance in the Caucasuswith Armenia. The country has the world stage also some striking relationships, such as with the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (now deceased), which Iran aversion to the United States shares.

The conservative and very religious president Ahmadinejad, in office since August 2005, has been in the news by strongly criticized the US government, and by rejecting the existence of the State of Israel as the 'the (Zionist) regime Jerusalem and occupying Palestine. Iran even calls openly for the destruction of Israel. [26] [27] [28] [29] Israeli leaders, in turn, have never ruled out that they will attack Iran and Iran feels threatened by Israel and the United States. Israel said the Cabinet in 2011, openly attack the nuclear facilities of the country. [30] [31]

The Iranian nuclear program, according to the Iranian government for peaceful purposes, but especially as Western critics also intended for the production of nuclear weapons , also leads to constant criticism from the West and from the UN. As a result of the controversy over the nuclear program of Iran is a trade boycott against Iran set to which join the Western countries. Other countries, such as Russia, China, India and some Arab countries do not join the boycott and criticize it. By the United Nations Security Council are up to six times announced sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear controversy. [32]

The Iranian Parliament itself has adopted laws that relations with the West, and particularly the United Kingdom, limit. [33] Shortly after protesters stormed the British embassy in Tehran. [34]

In 2012 Iran pulled its ambassador from Azerbaijan because when the Eurovision Song Contest was held there. Norway sent an artist who came of descent from Iran and that Iran saw itself as a "shame point.

Human rights situation
Lawyer Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 .

The human rights are regularly violated in Iran. Women according to the Iranian vision of sharia, Islamic law, subordinated. Because the country's regime, a strict separation of the sexes persists, there are many female doctors and lawyers. They handle than women exclusively. A well-known lawyer, the human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who in 2003the Nobel Peace Prize won.

Some religious minorities are persecuted in Iran, [35] but others enjoy (limited) protection and freedom. See further under Religion .

Iran carries out the death penalty and is so criticized by Human Rights Watch . This does the country not only for adults but also children of 15 or older can receive the death penalty. Nowhere in the world so many children are punishable by the death penalty in Iran. [36] Executions are also sometimes performed in public.

The existence of homosexuality is denied in Iran and homosexuality is forbidden. The provision of sodomy is the death penalty . People who have a gender identity disorderhave indeed be recognized and supported by the Islamic law transsexual surgeries performed.

Iran has no right to free Internet access, the country controls its citizens in the use of the internet. [37]

Drug Problems
Iran is estimated by the United Nations some 1.2 million people (2.2% of adults) who are dependent on drugs. [38] Traditionally, going back to the time of Avicenna, the opium used in Iran as a relaxation agent. [39]Iran is the 'drug route between the producer Afghanistan and customers in Europe. In Iran, the drug trade is tightly controlled by police and army. In the past three decades, this approximately 3,700 officers and soldiers died. [38]

Physical characteristics
Geography Iran

The Damavand is the highest mountain in the country.

The landscape of Iran is generally dry, mountainous area. The Highland Iran poses the greatest and central part of the country. The main mountain ranges are the Zagros andAlborz . The Alborz is also Iran's highest mountain, the volcano the Damavand at 5607 meters. The west of the country is the most densely populated, while in the east big almost uninhabited desert areas are like the Great Salt Desert (Dasht-e Kavir).

Geology
Iran lies on the southern part of the Eurasian Plate . The southern coast of the Persian Gulf is roughly equivalent to the fault line between the Eurasian and Arabian Plate .Around the eastern border of Iran is the fault line between the Eurasian and the Indian Plate . The slow movements of these plates provide many earthquakes in Iran. A recent major quake was the earthquake in Bam in 2003, when an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter scale, large parts of the historic city of Bam destroyed and claimed more than 25,000 lives.

Iran is mainly sedimentary rock, often rich in minerals. The country has huge reserves crude oil and natural gas . They are mainly located in the province of Khuzestan and thePersian Gulf . Too much is copper found, especially in the central part of the country between the cities of Yazd and Kermān Amol . In this region also include bauxite , coal ,iron ore , lead and zinc won. In the Alborz, near Zanjan and near Mashhad come coal mines for. Also, in Iran chromite , gold , manganese , silver , tin, and tungstenrecovered. In addition, precious stones like amber , agate , lapis lazuli and turquoise common. In February 2003 was 200 kilometers from the city of Yazd uranium found. There once was a factory built to win the uranium. [source?]

Climate
Two-thirds of Iran consists of high mountains and has extremely cold winters and hot summers. The bulk of Iran has a dry climate, but the northwestern part of the country has a temperate to sub-tropical climate with lush vegetation and vast rice fields.

The central highlands of Iran has a pronounced desert climate . Temperatures there in summer up to 50 ° C.

In the Alborz and Zagros Mountains is winter snow and many peaks in the high part of Alborz have eternal snow . In the summer it can be up to 50 degrees but it is usually 35/45 degrees.

Flora, fauna and environment
Iran has by its vastness and mountain ranges on different biomes and habitats, including a three jungles , and different types of flora and fauna . The country has sixteen national parks as well as several nature reserves, wildlife parks and protected areas. [40] The largest national park is Urumiyeh National Park in the northwest of the country.

Some species occur in Iran are the manoel, the gazelle , the onager and the cheetah . The Caspian Sea was famous for its caviar but the sturgeon is seriously threatened. It is also known domesticated Persian cat .

Like many other countries, Iran is facing a strong environmental problems. Tehran has to do with a strong air pollution . In addition, concerns deforestation , desertification , water pollution and contamination by leaking oil to serious problems for public health .

Towns
The capital Tehran is the largest city in the country. Other major cities are Mashhad , Tabriz , Shiraz , Abadan , Kerman , Zahedan , Karaj , Rasht , Yazd , Hamadan , Khorramshahr , Ahvaz , Urmia , Arak, the religious city of Qom and the old capital Isfahan .

Demographics
Population growth of Iran

Ethnic composition of Iran

The population in Iran has grown rapidly in the twentieth century. In 1900 there were ten million Iranians, now there are 65.9 million Iranians. [41] The increase was particularly strong after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 . From 1995 to 2005 the population increased by 8.4 million. Characteristic for this rapid growth is the fact that the majority of the population is younger than 30 years. In recent years, the birth rate has dropped. On average, women in their lives less than two children. [42] The quantities for the number of ethnic Azerbaijanen, the largest minority in Iran, has greatly influenced politics and many sources argue that any claim less than 24% is entirely based on certain sociopolitical agendas by different parties. [43] [44] Many sources argue therefore that the number Azerbaijanen in Iran is actually between 24% -40%.

Emigration
Since the Islamic Revolution, hundreds of thousands of Iranians have fled their country. Particularly in the United States live many Iranian immigrants. Also in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states are home to many Iranians. In the Netherlands, about 30,000 people lived in 2009 with an Iranian background.

It is especially the educated Iranians who want to escape their country.

Many expatriate Iranians still hold Iranian citizenship, and they have so often a dual nationality . Iran recognizes dual nationality, but tolerates it in practice. If Iranians with a double passport in Iran, their second passport is not recognized and then they have no right to consular assistance .

Languages
Iran has a wide variety of languages. The official language of Iran is Persian, the mother tongue of about half of the population. Persian is one of the Iranian language within the Indo-European language family and thus, in the distance, also related to the Dutch .

The other half of the population is not Persian as their mother tongue but the Persian, the language of education and the media, it is understood and spoken by the entire population. The main language family is theAltaic, further is spoken in Iran several smaller Iranian languages ​​and Semitic languages ​​.

Widely spoken languages ​​are Azeri ( Turkish language with great Persian influence) and related to the Persian Kurdish and Luri . Another, smaller language is Azari.

Religion
The Shrine of Imam Reza inMashhad is an important pilgrimage forShia

The state religion of Iran is the Twelver Shiism, but there are other religions practiced and recognized. Islam is an all-determining influence on life in Iran. The Constitution provides that the Supreme Leader of Iran always be an Islamic cleric and all bills are reviewed by Muslim clerics before they can take effect. The religious police checks on the street or women do stick to the clothing requirements of Islam. They also check for other "immoral" behavior. During Friday prayers, according to the Islamic tradition a khutbahor political speech often held where the Western culture as "depraved and immoral" is depicted and the US and Israel as "the Great Satan and the Little Satan "be called.

The government of Iran holds the percentage of Muslims at 89% Shi'a and 9% percent Sunnis, but according to human rights organizations, the percentage Sunnis would stand at 16%. [1] The Sunnis are mainly Kurds in the northwest, Circassian in the southeast and Turkmen in northeast of the country. Officially, the Sunnis have freedom of religion, but they are often persecuted in practice and suppressed. Sunni mosques and books are banned in Iran. On Wahhabism is punishable by death. Converting to sjiiesme is allowed in Iran, but to a different religion or no flow.

Across the country live many followers of Sufism, but this movement is banned in Iran and its supporters are prosecuted.

The Bahai, a 19th-century offshoot of Islam, prosecuted.

The Armenian St. Stephen's Churchin the northwest of the country is on the World Heritage List

Besides Muslims, there are relatively small recognized communities Christians (about 300,000), Jews (20 to 30,000), Zoroastrians (35 to 60,000) and Hindus . The majority of Christians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church . There are also Assyrians (non-geünieerde Nestorians) and Protestants (mainly Anglicans and Presbyterians ). Most of the Catholics following the Chaldean rite (geünieerde Nestorians). There are Catholics of the Armenian rite and the Latin rite . These recognized and protected minorities also have a few seats in the Majlis of Iran .

In addition to the recognized Christian communities, there are also Christians who have recently converted and in house churchesmeet. Although this is in accordance with the Islamic law is prohibited, these Christians to be left alone if they keep a low profile. Christians who others turn are indeed prosecuted. [47] [48] In 2011, Iran was in the top three of the Dutch Christian organization Open Doors published list of countries where Christians are most persecuted.

Norms and values
Iran is largely a traditional society, with a strong emphasis on family. So do women and men separated and to give each other hand . Although a chador for women has no obligation traditional clothing is often worn, especially in the lower classes of the population.

Originating from the Shiite law, Iran has its own ethics developed to cope with the modern age. Thus, research on stem cell therapy using embryonic 's allowed. [49] In addition, abortion in Iran allowed if the life of the mother or the child is at risk. [50] The cloning of animals is permitted by the clergy. [ 51] Plastic surgery for beautification of noses is common among the rich. [52]

Culture
Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan

The tomb of the fourteenth-century poet Hafiz in Shiraz

Iran has a particularly rich culture of ancient and modern elements are combined. Within the country is said that Iran must try to combine three elements. Those three are the classic Iranian culture of the Persian Empire of antiquity, the Islam and Islamic culture that brought the Arabs and the modern Western culture .

Archeology and monuments
With a history going back some 2,500 years, Iran has a large variety of monuments and archaeological sites. On the World Heritage list of UNESCO are fifteen Iranian monuments. These are Chogha Zanbil , Persepolis , Takht-e Soleyman , Pasargadae, the Behistun Inscription and Shushtar archaeological world from antiquity . The WorldNaqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan , Bam , Soltaniyeh, the Armenian monastic ensembles in Iran , the sanctuary of Safi al-din , the Friday Mosque of Isfahan and the towerGonbad-e Qabus are after the Arab conquest of Iran. Several Persian gardens (some in India and Pakistan) are included on the World Heritage List.

Besides these monuments every town has a historic mosque and other historical buildings such as bazaars , palaces and caravanserais .

Iran is to protect the cultural heritage topic of (religious) discussion. The clergy cares little for the restoration of historic buildings, so many monuments be in poor condition.

Architecture
Iran has developed its own architectural style in the course of centuries. The Iranian architecture is not only spread throughout the country, but also in neighboring countries left its mark. Iranian buildings ranging from small cottages to large mosques, palaces, bazaars and caravanserais . Iran has its own style of landscaping, the Persian Garden .There are some buildings that are specific to Iran, as the wind catcher and Yakhchal ie icehouse.

Calendar and Holidays
Iran has its own calendar, the Iranian calendar . The beginning of the era is the Hijrah, the flight of the prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 . The Iranian calendar is a solar calendar, in contrast to the Islamic calendar , which is a lunar calendar is.

The Iranian year begins on the first day of spring ( March 21 ) and then they celebrate Norouz, the Iranian New Year. On 21 March 2011, the year 1390 began Anno Persarum, as the Iranian year in Latin is called. Next Iranian calendar are also in the country Islamic calendar and the Western Gregorian calendar used.

In Iran, a distinction is made ​​between national holidays and Islamic holidays. The national holidays are the Norouz mentioned above, the day of the Islamic republic, nature day, the anniversary of Khomeini, the day of the revolution, the victory of the revolution and Day of the nationalization of the oil industry. There are seventeen Islamic holidays, including the famous Islamic holidays such as Eid and the Feast of Sacrifice .There are also public holidays in Iran to commemorate one of the twelve Imams .

Literature and poetry
Also king Solomon, who could talk to the animals, according to the myth, plays a role in the Shahnameh .

Iranian poetry has always had a very high level. The Shahnameh or Book of Kings by Ferdowsi is the national epic of Iran and has 60,000 verses. The book is the most important work on the Persian mythology recounts the emergence of Iran until the period of the conquest by the Arabs.

Besides his Ferdowsi, Hafiz , Khayyam , Nezami and Rumi other famous poets of Iranian history.

In modern times applies Buf-e Kur (translation: " Blind Owl "), written in 1937 by Sadegh Hedayat ., as an important literary work Marjane Satrapi is a well known writer of comic books, such as her autobiographical comic book Persepolis . The writer fled to the Netherlands Kader Abdollah has written several books about his homeland, such as " The House of the Mosque .

Fine Arts
Although Islam has a tradition of Aniconism but within Shiism one goes here less strict with care. Therefore it is figurative painting made ​​in Iran. Famous paintings can be found in the palace Chehel Sotoon in Isfahan.

The Persian miniatures, small paintings, the main Iranian form of painting. Reza Abbasi from the seventeenth century is the most famous Iranian miniaturist.

Cinematography
In Iran, many feature films and television series. Known directors include Abbas Kiarostami , Jafar Panahi and Asghar Farhadi . Iranian film A Separation won the 2012 Oscarfor Best Foreign Film. All films and television in Iran are censored and some films are prohibited. Some directors are put in prison for their work.

In the Netherlands the annual Iranian Film Festival organized, where Iranian films are shown.

Music
The musical tradition of Iran is closely related to other musical traditions of the Middle East and Central Asia, and this tradition goes back several millennia. Several Persian scholars such as Avicenna and Farabi, have with music theory occupied and studied the Dastgah , the Persian modality . Some traditional musical instruments are the tar, the dutar the Ghaychak and tanbur .Nowadays among the young Iranian pop, rock and rap popular.

Sport
The Azadi Stadium in Tehran .

Two worldwide played sports originated in Persia: Chess (the word is derived from the Persian shah which means king) and polo .

Azadi stadium Voleibol

Nowadays struggling the most popular sport in Iran. Wrestling has long been the most popular sport in Iran and Iranian athletes often won medals. The same goes for Greco-Roman wrestling . The most famous wrestler was Gholamreza Takhti, who still has a hero status in Iran. The country also has its own traditional wrestling style: Varzesh-e Bastani .

Also, football is widely played. There eighteen teams play in the Iranian professional league, the Iran Pro League . The Iran national football team took part in the 2006 World Cup . Iranian teams also participate in the Asian Champions League and Team Zob Ahanfrom Isfahan won the 2010 final. Not just football for men is popular, but also women's football is very popular among Iranian women. In stadiums than there is strict segregation of the sexes and women are not welcome in men competitions and vice versa. [53] The Iranian women playing with headgear to meet Iran's religious laws. Until recently this was at odds with the clothing requirements of FIFA, [54]but in the summer of 2012, FIFA has launched a trial with specially designed sports headscarves [55] .

Zurkhaneh or 'Power House' is a traditional Iranian form of strength training . It has a mythical origin and the exercises are based on mythical stories from the Shahnameh .The martyrdom of being Imam Ali called. Men participate Zurkhaneh only.

Ski Dizin north of Tehran.

Iran has sixteen modern ski resorts, including Dizin north of Tehran is the best known.

Cycling is becoming increasingly popular in Iran. The country has in 2011, four semi-professional teams participating in the UCI Asia Tour . The last six years the UCI Asia Tour had an Iranian winner: Ghader Mizbani (2006 and 2009), Hossein Askari (2007 and 2008) and Mehdi Sohrabi (2010 and 2011).

Other popular sports include basketball , weightlifting and taekwondo .

Iran took several times in the Olympic Games . The country adopted in 1900 for the first time in the Summer Olympics . At the Summer Olympics of 2012 conquered the country several medals . Paykan Tehran honorable club volleyball in Asia.

Daily life
The Iranian cuisine is a very well-stocked kitchen and consists of hundreds of dishes from all regions of the country. In the kitchen is used mainly rice and meat, but there are also many sweets. Traditionally seated during meals on a carpet or a raise. Nowadays, the modern dining table is just as usual.

A Persian carpet .

Known all over the world are Persian carpets . These rugs are still handcrafted and often traditional motifs, which are centuries passed down within families. Each region has its own distinctive style. The various ethnic bevolkingssgroepen have their own style.

The windmill and the domestication of the tulip probably come from ancient Persia. The oldest wine jars excavated by archaeologists found in Iran.

Education and science
The medicine the Canon ofAvicenna in the 11th century was in Europe for centuries the medical textbook.

Iran has a long scientific tradition. Known from antiquity, the Academy of Gondishapur . During the Middle Ages had the Iranian science its heyday. Known scientists, the doctor / philosopher Avicenna, the astronomer / poet Omar Khayyam , the astronomer / philosopher Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and philosopher al-Ghazali . The Nezamiyeh is a medieval institution of higher education.

Iran is going to school compulsory for all children. The illiteracy rate is 23% of the population. [56]

In 2008, Iran has dozens of universities annually deliver 750,000 students. There study more women than men off. [57] The country has the ambition to be the scientific leader of the Islamic world and partly because of the research programs, including the nuclear program of Iran, widely supported. [58] military research programs are executed, see below Defense . Recently explained the conservative clergy restrictions and strict censorship on some social studies such as feminism and human rights . [59]

In February 2007 launched the Iranian Space Agency its first space rocket . [60] In February 2009, Iran launched its first home-made satellite, called Omid. In June 2011 a second satellite was launched, called Rassad. [61] For the foreseeable future Iran will launch more satellites and possibly a satellite navigation system . [62]

Between 1996 and 2008 the number of scientific publications was eighteen fold Iran and thereby increased the world's fastest growth in the number of international scientific publications. [63]

Economy
Tehran skyline.

Iran used the Iranian rial as currency . One rial consists of one hundred dinars. In daily life is also much in tomans counted, the old currency of Iran. 10 rial corresponds to 1 toman.

The Gross National Product of Iran in 2006 amounted to 203 billion in absolute dollars and converted to purchasing power parity was 735 billion. [64] The GDP per person is thus $ 2,905 $ 10,478 respectively (in terms of purchasing power).

The inflation rate is around 17%. [65] The Iranian economy is dependent on exports of oil and natural gas . Total exports to Iran amounted to about $ 79 billion (2010). Total imports amounted to $ 59 billion (2010).

Iran has to do with an economic boycott that the United States has imposed on the country. Many multinational companies with operations in the US to participate in the boycott. The country suffers economic damage. By brokering through other countries such as Turkey and Dubai can buy a lot of foreign products in Iran.

On the Tehran Stock Exchange listed some four hundred companies. It is the main market of Iran.

On the island of Kish in the Persian Gulf is a free trade area landscaped. On this island is the Iranian Oil Bourse, which opened in 2008. [66] This is the only oil stock exchange in the world where the oil is not indollars but in euros and rubles is traded.

Transport
A highway in Tehran.

Iran has an extensive network of roads and highways . Between different cities run on a very regular basis buses of various commercial companies.

There are several railway lines in Iran, both for freight and passenger use. The first railway line was the Trans-Iranian Railway . There are few railways, however, that traverse the entire country. Iran is through the Trans-Caspian railway with countries in Central Asia linked. The railways are operated by the railway company of the Islamic Republic of Iran .

Most cities have some form of public transport, especially buses . Besides buses, they are also underground . The Tehran Metro has three lines. Mashhad also has a subway system and in Isfahan this under construction. Men and women sit in public transport often separated.

Iran Air is the national airline of Iran. Besides Iran Air has a dozen other companies active, especially for regional flights. The national airport is Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport . Most large cities have an airport but these are mainly used for domestic flights. Because of the international boycott against Iran, the country has a lack of spare parts for aircraft, leaving a relatively large plane accidents in Iran.

Iran has its own aircraft factory, which licensed some types Antonov (and spare parts) are produced.

Iran has several ports on the Persian Gulf, which Bandar Abbas is the best known and largest. Also on the Caspian Sea are ports.

The company Iran Khodro makes Samand and Paykan, the most famous cars made ​​in Iran. Also, Peugeot and Renault have factories in Iran.

Energy
Iran is the world's second largest exporter of petroleum and also the second largest exporter of natural gas . In 2011 the daily oil production is about 4.2 million barrels of oil per day, [67] or about 5% of world production. The total Iranian oil reserve is approximately 150 billion barrels of oil. [67] Iran's oil exports are mainly to Asian countries such as China , India and Japan . To the establishment of the Iranian exports to the European Union in 2012, was about 20% of the oil exported to the EU.

In addition to energy from oil and gas, Iran also has hydroelectric , wind turbines and in 2009 the first is solar plant opened. In addition, Iran is engaged in the nuclear program of Iran to with Russian help nucleardevelopment. In the coastal city of Bushehr is a nuclear power plant that supplies electricity since 2011.

A field with saffron crocuses.

Agriculture
Agricultural areas in Iran

Due to the size and regional climatic differences, Iran has various types of agriculture. In the wet north (province of Mazandaran ), among other cultivated rice . In the south are cultivated Mediterranean products, such as oranges .

Known Iranian products are the pistachio, the pomegranate and the date . Also saffron is widely produced in Iran. The watercress is originally from Iran.

Part of the agricultural production is exported. Iran must, however, other products such as rice, import from other countries.

Media
Iran has both public and private media. Both are under the control and censorship of the government . Censorship is one of the strictest in the world and is carried out by a special government agency. The country has two news agencies : Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the official Iranian news agency and Fars News Agency is a semi-independent agency.

Most newspapers are published in Persian but there are also newspapers in other languages, including English. Press TV is a government established by the Iranian international news network that broadcasts in English.

Defense
Iran has two branches of the military: the regular branch (containing army, air force and navy) and an elite corps, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards . In total, the army consists of 545,000 recruits. Additionally, it has some 350,000 reservists . The Basij are a paramilitary component of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. This section consists of 90,000 full-time members, but about 11 million men and women be called.

Iran has a military service of two years for young men.

Since the Iranian Revolution, there is an embargo on supplying military equipment to Iran. The country has it own military industry developed. Some weapons that it has developed the Fajr-3, the Shahab-3 missileand several unmanned aircraft . In 2005, Iran gave 3.3% of gross domestic product on defense.

The Iranian army also has a department that with cyber defense deals.