Urmia

Urmia’s Lake is Iran’s largest inland lake, the largest saltwater lake in the Middle East & the 6th largest saltwater lake in Entire world. In the past, many species of migratory birds such as flamingos, Ducks, Pelicans & Herons were attracted to this area. This lake is a house of unique shrimp species called “Artemia”. Urmia’s lake, in addition to its wetlands, also has a high habitat that includes other species includes reptiles, amphibians and mammals.

The plain of the lake has a great agricultural importance, due to the lives of about 4.6 million people dependent on it. But over the 2 past decades, Urmia’s lake has been drying up significantly. The southern part of the lake is almost dried & decreased about 2000 square kilometers in size. The lake’s water content has also been reduced by 95%.

The three domes of Urmia is a monument with the tall platform that is made in a cylindrical and circular form. It’s diameter is 5M & the height is 13M also. The current building is double-deck & there are gates on the four sides. The first floor is called the crypt, which has an arched cover & thus separated from the second floor.

Small first floor door has 1M high & 70cm height. The second floor, called “Tomb Room”, has a door with 2.5M height. In other words, the circular & cylindrical structure has a cellar which the upper part is made of brick chamber, and its entrance is embedded in a high-profile architectural form inscribed in the cylindrical body of the tower.

Ansari’s House is one of the most beautiful and historic houses in entire Urmia that was built on two floors at the QAJAR era & later refurbished. The exterior of the house is decorated with seven-colored tiles and turquoise glazed bricks which make it more attractive. The house is now owned by the education’s ministry of Urmia. Ansari’s house belonged to Babak Jafar – who later entrusted the building to his daughter (Badr Al Muluk), the wife of Seyfullah Khan Ansari – & the reason for naming the house is the same.

From the shape of the building and the inscriptions on the decorative tiles of the house, it can be seen that this house was built between 1330 till 1334. The Ansari’s house was registered (Registered Doc no 1851) as one of iran’s national monuments on 25, Esfand 1375 (March 1, 2009).

Dalampar Lake is located on a mountain with the same name in the southwest of Urmia and northwest of the Oshnavieh city. The Dalampar Mountains has approximately 3500M height & distanced about 35km from Urmia and 35 km from Oshnavieh. This mountain is located on the border between the three countries including Iran/Iraq & Turkey & if you climb you can observe soil of all three countries at the same time.

At the far end of the mountain lies a very beautiful lake called Dalampar Lake that is an ideal destination for tourists in springs. For reaching to dalampar lake, You can move in Urmia to Oshnavieh road & then you will reach Dizaj village in front of Agh Balagh by a three-way road. Note that, due to the high altitude of the lake, You will need an off-road vehicle (mountain and suburban) for this travel.

Fakhrigah’s Stone crypt belongs to the Medes and is located next to the village of Agrighash near Mahabad city. With two floors, this cellar has 4 stone pillars and 3 empty graves & is one of the most important tombs –  in terms of carving and pillaging – of the Medieval epoch. This work in Azar 29th 1316 (with registration no 288) was registered as one of iran’s national monuments.

The Background of Fakhrigahis very ancient & many historians have attributed it to Farrathis (father of Diacos) the first king. It is strategically and religiously built in the middle of the mountain, and its name means the place of glory and fortune. It is also thought as the crypt in the village of Agrighash means the ever-blazing fire, it has been one of the large fireplaces at that time.

Shams Tabrizi’s tomb is a burial ground of  famous and mighty mystic who was in love with the great Iranian poet & mystic, Rumi (Molana). Next to this burial ground, there is a large minaret which covered with wild ram horn known as the Tabrizi’s Minaret or Shams Tower. Shams Tabrizi’s Minaret is one of the unique monuments of the district &  attracts many tourists annually. In the past, Countless amount of the mystics gathered in Azar (December) near the minaret every year to conduct ceremony & today the Shams Tabrizi International Congress is held every year in Khoy.

The minaret of the tomb is caved in and the spiral staircase that leads to the entrance of the minaret & lower part of it & goes further to the muezzin part of the minaret. This work was registered on 14th, Bahman 1352 (January 20, 2009) with register no 966 as one of Iran’s national monuments.

Ghareh Church &, also known as the Church of the Holy Thaddeus is located in the Chaldoran’s mountain range which is the highest area of ​​West Azerbaijan Province. The particular geographical location of the church is, such that, it’s surrounded & covered by mountains on every side & it is also located next to the Kilisa (Church) river. Thick walls with small doors protect the church. Inside the enclosure, there are plenty of rooms for Caliphs, monks, oiling, mills, kitchens, groceries, animal forage & other facilities.

The main church has a flat roof with visible a pyramidal dome which has twelve forms (mode). The base of the dome is covered with black and white stone strips which give unique sight to the building. The existence of two similar dome brings into mind the 2 peaks of Ararat’s mountains. The magnificent stone inscriptions and carvings distinguishes this church from many of its contemporaries. This historic church was registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.

Soleiman’s Prison, also known as Dave Soleiman or Dave Prison, is the name of a hollow cone-shaped mountain which is located 3 kilometers west of Takhte Soleiman in Takab city of West Azerbaijan Province. This mountain was created thousands of years ago by the sedimentation of it’s lake water minerals.

The height of the mountain is estimated to be 97 to 107M higher than from it’s adjacent land & above it there is a deep pit with about 65M diameter. There are many thermal springs around Soleiman’s Prison Mountain that are also medicinal for bedrid people.

This mountain is a mountain which is located in 22 kilometers west of the Bukan city. The mountain is made of calcareous and burnt rock & it’s height is 2224M & placed in the core line of the Zagros Mountains. This mountain is one of the highest mountains in the south of West Azerbaijan province & many region and country’s mountaineers use it to climb.

In addition of 2 resting-place for mountaineers, it has many carved stone monuments & lot’s of them dating back to the Mongols and Ilkhanids epoch.

Saholan Cave is located in the village of Saholan & about 42 kilometers southeast of Mahabad city. The height of the cave’s ceiling to the lake’s surface is up to 50M & in some places of the cave the water depth is up to 30M. The temperature difference between the inside and outside of the cave is estimated to be between 10 to 15 degrees.

Saholan in kurdish language means frozen & natives named it “Pigeons nest”. The reason behind for naming it in this way is the presence of many pigeon nests in the cave.

Sheikh Shams Alddin Borhani’s convent, dating back to the Qajar era, is one of the most visited historical sights of Mahabad city in West Azerbaijan Province. Shams Alddin Borhani was a famous Sheikh of engraving who lived in the 14th century (Solar Calendar). This great learned & wiseman built a large house in the Makrian region of Sharafkand village of Bukan – in 1277 till 1280 Solar Calendar – that in which he taught and trained disciples.

He died in 1325 (Solar Calendar) & was buried in his own monastery. His tomb, also known as the Sheikh Borhan’s Khanghah, is located in the village of Borhan & in 35 KM from Bukan to Mahabad city.

Sheikh Salmas Bath is one of the other monuments in Salmas city which is located in downtown. This ancient residence was built – with benefiting from traditional iranian architecture – during the first Pahlavi epoch. Mohammad Tasuji was the founder of the monument which (with his efforts) lasted 3 years from 1309 to 1312.

The bath’s shape is geometrically rectangular & covers an area equal to 860 square meters & it height is 3.5M lower than the ground surface & it used the 2 southern and western water creeks of the city to provide the incumbent water.