Zanjan Province

Iran / Zanjan /
 province, first-level administrative division, draw only border

Zanjan (Persian: زنجان, Azari: Zəncan) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran, located in the Northwestern part of the country. Its center is the city of Zanjan. Zanjan province has an area of 36,400 km², about 1.34% of the total area of Iran, and has a mostly rural, population of 1.7 million. It borders the provinces of East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Hamadan, Kordestan, Gilan, Ghazvin and Ardabil.

Zanjan has a Mediterranean climate characterized by cold snowy weather in the mountains and moderate climate in the plains in wintertime. In the summers, the weather is warm. The average maximum temperature of Zanjan is around 27 °C, whereas the average minimum temperature stands at -19 °C. Meanwhile, the temperature rises to 32 °C on hot days, whereas it drops to -27 °C below zero on icy days. The average annual rainfall in the first month of spring stands at 72 millimeters, while in the second month of summer, it slips to a mere 3.6 mm.

Zanjan is known for its beautiful handcrafts such as knives, traditional sandals called charoogh and malileh, a handcraft made with silver wires. In ancient times, Zanjan was known for its stainless and sharp knives. But this tradition is gradually becoming extinct by introduction of Chinese knives to the market which are cheaper and better made. Many villagers today are traditional carpet weavers. This is perhaps Zanjan's most popular handcraft.

The Dome of Soltaniyeh, the Mausoleum of Il-khan Öljeitü (Persian اولجايتو) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in Soltaniyeh, southeast of the city of Zanjan in this Province.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   36°24'35"N   48°19'24"E

Comments

  • Polygon by shbn.
  • Double-lined polygon corrected by shbn.
  • Photos from Wikipedia by: 1) Babak Hendizadeh 2) User:Nightryder84 3) Ali Majdfar 4) User:Nightryder84 5) Ali Majdfar
  • nice one You may view my images of Iran here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kombizz/sets/72157618485512975/