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Tehran (or Teheran) (En-Tehran
Pronunciation.ogg tʰehˈɾɒn (help·info); Persian: تهران, UniPers:
Tehrân) is the capital and largest city of Iran, and the
administrative center of Tehran Province. Tehran is a sprawling city
at the foot of the Alborz mountain range (the highest point in the
Middle East (1,191 m, 3,900 ft)) with an immense network of highways
unparalleled in Western Asia. Tehran is famous for its numerous ski
resorts on the Alborz slopes, large museums, art centers, and palace
complexes. Tehran is the largest city in the Middle East and is the
most populated city in South Western Asia with a population of
7,404,515 and approximately 15 million in Greater Tehran. Most Iranian industries are headquartered in Tehran. The industries include the manufacturing of automobiles, electrical equipment, military weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products. It is also a leading center for the sale of carpets and furniture. There is also an oil refinery located in south of the city.[3] In the 20th century, Tehran faced a large migration of people from all around Iran. Today, the city contains various religious minorities, and has many historic mosques, churches, synagogues and Zoroastrian fire temples.  History Toopkhaneh Square, Tehran, in the early to mid-20th century. Iranian Foreign Ministry Green Palace at the Sadabad Palace complex. The origin of the name Tehran is unknown. Excavations place the existence of settlements in Tehran as far back as 6000 BCE.[citation needed] Tehran was well known as a village in the 9th century, but was less well-known than the city of Rhages (Ray) which was flourishing nearby in the early era. In the 13th century, following the destruction of Ray by Mongols, many of its inhabitants escaped to Tehran. In some sources of the early era, the city is mentioned as "Rhages's Tehran" . The city is later mentioned in Hamdollah Mostowfi's Nuz'hat al-Qulub (written in 1340) as a famous village. Don Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, a Castilian ambassador, was probably the first European to visit Tehran, stopping in July 1404, while on a journey to Samarkand (now in Uzbekistan) and the Mongol capital at the time. At this time, the city of Tehran was unwalled. Tehran became a residence of the Safavid rulers in the 17th century. Tahmasp I built a bazaar and a wall around the city, but it somewhat fell out of favor after Abbas I turned sick when he was passing the city to go to a war with the Uzbeks. In the early of 18th century, Karim Khan Zand ordered a palace, a harem[citation needed], and a government office to be built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital, but later moved his government to Shiraz. Tehran finally became the capital of Iran in 1795, when the Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan was crowned in the city. It remains the capital to this day. During World War II, British and Soviet troops entered the city. Tehran was the site of the Tehran Conference in 1943, attended by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. Following the war, the city's older landmarks suffered under the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah. The Shah believed that ancient buildings such as large parts of the Golestan Palace, Takieh-ye Dowlat, the Toopkhaneh Square (pictured to the right), the magnificent city fortifications and the old citadel among others should not be part of a modern city. They were systematically destroyed and modern 1950s and 1960s buildings were built in their place. Tehran bazar was divided in half and many historic buildings were destroyed in order to build wide straight avenues in the capital. Many excellent examples of Persian Gardens also became targets to new construction projects. The decision to carry these out is presently largely seen as a foolish mistake that hurt the visual fabric and the cultural identity of the city beyond repair. Apartment blocks are introduced in this period. During the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War, Tehran was the scene of repeated Scud missile attacks and air strikes against random residential and industrial targets within the city, resulting in thousands of civilian casualties. Material damage was repaired soon after each strike. Tehran attracted war refugees by the millions. After the war, cheap Soviet-style apartments multiplied throughout the city without any plan. At present, little is left of Tehran's old quarters. Instead, modern high-rise buildings dominate the city's skyline and new modern apartments have and are replacing the few remaining old houses at a rapid pace. Tehran-style home architecture has almost vanished completely. This is often referred to as "Tehran Identity Disaster".[citation needed] Tehran is also home to many grand mansions in the north of the city(Farmanieh, Zaferanieh, Niavaran, etc) and the Shahrak-e Gharb District. Tehran's climate is largely defined by its geographic location, with the towering Alborz Mountains to its North and the central desert to the South. It can be generally described as mild in the spring, hot and dry in the summer, cool and rainy in autumn and cold in the winter. As a large city with a significant differences in elevation among various districts, the weather is often cooler in the hilly north as compared to the flat southern part of Tehran. Summer is usually hot and dry with very little rain. The majority of precipitation occurs from mid-autumn to mid-spring. The hottest month is July (mean minimum temperature 23°C, mean maximum temperature 36°C) and the coldest is January (mean minimum temperature -1°C, mean maximum temperature 8°C)[4] Although compared to other parts of the country, Tehran enjoys a moderate climate, weather conditions can sometimes be unpredictably harsh. The record high temperature is 48°C and the record low is -20°C. On January 5 & 6, 2008, after years of relatively little snow, a wave of heavy snow and low temperatures shocked the city covering it in a thick layer of snow and ice, forcing the Council of Ministers to officially declare an state of emergency and calling the following two days (January 6th and 7th) off for the capital.[5] Demographics Population of Tehran The city of Tehran had a population of about 8 million people at the time of the last official census in 2006 [6]. With its cosmopolitan air, Tehran houses diverse ethnic and linguistics groups from all over the country and represents the ethnic/linguistic composition of Iran (though with a different percentage). More than 60 percent of Tehranis were born outside Tehran. Dictionary: http://www.ectaco.co.uk/English-Persian(Farsi)-Dictionary/
English - Persian dictionary (8180 words)
http://translate.eu/en/dictionaries/English_-_Persian_dictionary
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