Damavand () is a city in the Central District of

Damavand County Damavand County () is in Tehran province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Damavand Mount Damavand ( ) is a dormant stratovolcano and is the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia, the highest volcano in Asia, and the 3 ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, serving as capital of both the county and the district.

Demographics

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 36,433 in 10,279 households. The following census in 2011 counted 37,315 people in 11,455 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 48,380 people in 15,267 households.

Overview

Damavand is an ancient and historic city. The name Damavand appears in

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

texts (as ''Dunbawand''), and

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

n remains have been found there. The city fell to

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

Muslim invaders in 651 CE during the

Muslim conquest of Iran As part of the early Muslim conquests, which were initiated by Muhammad in 622, the Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Sasanian Empire between 632 and 654. This event led to the decline of Zoroastrianism, which had been the official religion of ...

. It is close to Iran's tallest peak

Mount Damavand Mount Damavand ( ) is a Volcano#Dormant, dormant stratovolcano and is the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia, the List of volcanoes by elevation, highest volcano in Asia, and the 3rd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after Mount K ...

, which

Ferdowsi Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...

mentions abundantly in the

Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' (, ), also transliterated ''Shahnama'', is a long epic poem written by the Persian literature, Persian poet Ferdowsi between and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,000 distichs or couple ...

. The city has relatively cool weather year-round.

Climate

Damavand has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

with hot summers, very cold snowy winters and cool rainy springs and autumns (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Dsa''). The average annual temperature is 9.6°C in Damavand.

Economy

Damavand is an agricultural city and due to its streams, rivers, springs and temperate climate, it has numerous gardens and fields. An important part of the city's economy is provided by the export of tree products. Apples, pears, cherries, apricots, walnuts, apricots, tomatoes, wheat, potatoes, beans and cucumbers are some of the products of this city, some of which, like apples and pears, are famous and distinguished in terms of type. In recent years, beekeeping has become one of the sources of income for the people of this city and Damavand honey competes with the best honey in Iran in terms of quality and constitutes a significant part of the city's exports. New style livestock has been developed in Damavand for several years and the obtained products are exported to Tehran in addition to meeting the needs of the region.Mahdi Alamdari, فرهنگ عامیانه دماوند, Damavand folk culture, rshad 379(2000)/ref>

Transportation

Damavand can be reached by road from

Firuzkuh Firuzkuh () is a city in the Central District of Firuzkuh County, Tehran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 15 ...

via Gilavand and from Haraz road, via Mosha.

Historical attractions

Damavand contains 37 historical tombs (Imamzadeh), 27 castle ruins, 23 traditional houses of architectural significance, 18 traditional bath houses, 6 caves, 5 historical bridges, 3 historical mosques, and 3

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

s. The main landmarks are the Friday Mosque (15th century) and the Sheikh Shebli Mausoleum and Tower, dating to the

Seljuq Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

era. Damavand shahr.jpg, View of Damavand and the

Alborz The Alborz ( ) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merge ...

Mountains Damavand's Apple and pomegranate.jpg, Damavand's pomegranate and apple Damavand-city-2 (cropped).jpg,

Notes

References

External links

Photo from Saha Air 707
at

Airliners.net Airliners.net is a Canadian-owned, Australian-based global aviation website that includes an extensive photo database of aircraft and airports, as well as a forum catering to aviation enthusiasts. Inititally Swedish-based, created by Swede Joh ...

Cities in Tehran province Populated places in Damavand County Sasanian cities {{Damavand-geo-stub