Iran’s cities of history and poetry Rey and Tabriz

The tomb of the Seljuk Emperor Tuğrul Bey is located in this city, which is also known as Shahr-e-Rey. It was also the most important medical and scientific center during the Seljuk era. Now that Tehran has grown, the city is very close to the capital.

As we travel from Tehran to Tabriz on a highway, a distance of 624 kilometers, we find it difficult to make progress as there are police checks because of the frequent traffic accidents. Unfortunately, Iran tops the list of countries having the most fatal traffic accidents. As we travel to Tabriz in the province of East Azerbaijan, we see agricultural fields, sometimes desert and sometimes brown mountains and hills.

The province of East Azerbaijan contains other important cities in addition to Tabriz, including Zanjan and Ardabil. West Azerbaijan province includes the cities of Urumieh, Maku and Salmas. Getting gas on our journey is a problem; some gas stations were out of gas, and there are almost no gas stations without queues in Iranian cities. Queues can sometimes be kilometers long. One of the cities we pass by, Zanjan, has a population of Azeri Turks. The city is famous for its kamas, a kind of weapon, and knives.

We overtake Turkish trucks, blowing the horn to interrupt their monotonous journey. They wave to us, blowing their horns back. They are on their way back to Turkey after delivering goods to Iran. The endless road becomes their companion.

After Zanjan, it’s another 270 kilometers to Tabriz. We pass by adobe village houses that have grass on their roofs for animals. People are preparing for winter and collecting food for their livestock.

The city of Tabriz

After a six-hour journey, we reach Tabriz. It is one of Iran’s most heavily industrialized cities. It has chocolate and biscuit factories and is famous for its carpets.

Azeri people who live in Iran reside in the provinces of East and West Azerbaijan. Tabriz has the largest Azeri population in the country. The city is even said to be second to İstanbul in terms of its population of Turks. When we take a look at the Iranian population, the Azeri residents number about 25 million. Tabriz, which has a population of about 6 million people, is surrounded by bare mountains and is about 300 kilometers from the Turkish border.

Tabriz is the city of poets. The monument to poets is one of the most important symbols of the city. It’s called the “Maqbaratol Shoara” -- the Poets’ Tomb. Under the monument are the tombs of 407 poets, including the famous Azeri poet Shahriar.

Tabriz is a rapidly growing city and has the appearance of a construction site. New buildings are going up all the time. The residents of Tabriz are friendly, and we mingle with some people who are having a picnic in a park. We speak Turkish and have a short chat; they invite us to share their meals. The Turkish language contains many Persian words: dürbün (binoculars) and the days of Çarşamba (Wednesday) and Perşembe (Thursday) are just a few examples.

The El-Goli Hotel is the most luxurious hotel in the city. It hosts many businessmen who come from Turkey. We overlook Tabriz from the hotel’s rooftop -- probably the best place to see the city. The park in front of the hotel is also named El-Goli. The park fills with people as evening approaches. Those who want to get some fresh air head straight to this park, which also has a large pool. A soft breeze blowing in the evening makes the atmosphere even better. People stay in the park as late as midnight. Smiling people and happy faces welcome this hour of the day as the sun slowly goes down, and Tabriz begins to enjoy another evening.

Zurkhaneh

The zurkhaneh, which literally means house of strength, is a structure that has a circular pit about one meter in depth with a floor of clay soil and is where one of Iran’s traditional sports, Varzesh-e Pahlavani, a type of freestyle wrestling, takes place. The sport is said to have been in existence for 1,000 years. Audiences follow the game from upper platforms. Athletes show their skills in these pits accompanied by a drum beat from a musical instrument called a zarb, a prerequisite for these events. Leading up to the wrestling, the athletes first train around the pit and move faster as the rhythms speed up and everybody gets excited by the tempo.

QUICK FACTS

Capital: Tehran

Official language: Farsi

Government: Theocratic republic

President: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Area: 1,648,195 square kilometers

Population: 66,429,284*

Gross domestic product (PPP): $841.7 billion**

Main religions: Shiite Islam (89 percent), Sunni Islam (9 percent)

*July 2009 estimate 

**2008 estimate