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Iran |
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Iran belongs to the US State Department's list of the
seven countries of the "axis of evil". Indeed, Iran is not free from
criticisms, far from it.
But Iranians are famous for their kindness and their
hospitality. After the first fears related to an intransigent
Islamism, one feels safe in Iran.
A passage area between the lands of the fertile Greco-Roman crescent and
in the west and the steppes of Central Asia in the
east, Iran underwent civilizing invasions from the west and
the south and the devastating conquests from the east.
The western part of the Silk Road passed under the south of
the Caspian Sea.
The history of Iran is not the topic of these pages. It is outlined
briefly to try to understand the characteristics of this captivating
country.
The geography of Iran is presented in broad maps to locate
the journey.
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History |
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Geography |
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The protohistory of
Persia
is obscure. Sites have been excavated: Tappeh Sialk, Tappeh Giyan and
Tappeh Hissar.
In the 6th millennium BC under the Sumer influence, Cities-States
appeared in Shushian which fell under rule of
Sargon about 2300 BC. Elam became independent towards 2000 BC and took Shush
as capital.
In the 2d and 1st millennium BC, Indo-European tribes arrived either through
Caucasus or Transoxian. One of them, the Persians, settled in Fars, another, the Medes
in the plain of Hamadan with Ekbatana as its capital. The latter ruled the Middle
East after the seizure of Nineveh from the Assyrians in 612 BC.
The history of Iran is presented in large periods.
Ancient Iran (560BC-642AD), king Achaemenes set up his kingdom in Fars
which became Parsa and founded the Achaemenian dynasty.
His territory was divided between his sons then reunified by Cyrus II
in 558 BC. In 539, the conquest of Babylon and the return from exile of
all the people held in slavery by the Assyrians gave him the title of
Cyrus the Great. After many vicissitudes, Darius Ist
(522-486 BC) consolidated the empire and organized it in 23 satrapies.
After his death, the Persian empire broke up and ended in 338
by the conquest of Alexander the Great and the death of Darius.
After the death of Alexander, the territory fell under rule of the one of his
lieutenants Seleucos who founded the Seleucid dynasty. It
maintained its rule until the Magnesia battle in 190 BC won by
the Romans. The Parthians took advantage of it to seize power. The Parthian
dynasty reigned until 224 AD. During the Seleucid
and Parthian period, a family from Fars maintained the Achaemenian tradition,
seized power and founded the Sassanian dynasty (224-641) which
ruled until the arrival of the Arabs.
Arab Iran (642-1050), the Sassanian capital Ctesiphon fell under the
attack of the Arab armies in 637 and the Nahavand battle in 642
put an end to the Persian dynasty. The Arabs brought their
writings and religion to Persia. But the Persian language and culture still
exist. From the 9th century the decline of the power of the
Caliphate allowed the Iranian satrapy governors to consolidate
their powers.
Turkish Iran (1050-1722), a clan of the Oghuz Turk tribe seized
power and founded the dynasty of Seljuk (1050-1258). Then the
Mongols arrived, devastated the land and reigned until 1502. The
power fell to the Safavid dynasty.
Ghajar Iran (1794-1925), Nader Shah, a gang leader seized
power and founded the Ghajar dynasty in Khorassan. The Prime
Minister of the last Ghajar Shah proclaimed Shah himself in 1925!
Pahlavi Iran (1925-1979), the kingdom took the name of Iran in
1934. The repressive power, economic difficulties put an end to this
dynasty of common birth in spite of the support of the USA.
Islamist Iran (1979-?), the Islamic regime was set up
when Ayatollah Khomeini came back on February 1, 1979. The Iran-Iraq War,
recurring economic difficulties, an endemic repression, students
demonstrations raise doubt about the longevity of this obscurantist
religious regime. |
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Iran has a complex shape. The surface is equal +300% that of France
and one fifth that of the USA. It has borders with Armenia,
Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan in the north, with
Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east, with the Gulf of Oman and the
Persian Gulf in the south and with Iraq and Turkey in the west.
Iran is a plateau +1,000m high bordered by
mountain ranges and beyond, of liquid masses with deserts.
It can be presented in four large areas:
In the centre, the plateau consists of Dasht-e-Kavir, a salt
desert in the north and of Dasht-e-Lut, a sand desert in the south,
it is 22% of the territory. The dwellings are located around the oases.
In the north, the Alborz mountain range is a fold between the
central plateau and the fertile plain south of the Caspian Sea. It has several
summits +4,000 m high and the extinct Damavand volcano 5,670 m high.
In the west, the Zagros range is directed North-South from the
Van Lake to the Persian Gulf. It has summit +4,000 m high. The
Khuzestan plain lies in the south-west, piece of the Mesopotamia plain
bordering Arvand-rud (Shatt-el-Arab).
In the south-east, the Makran range is in edge of the Gulf of
Oman. Finally at the Pakistan border, a North-South mountain range has
as top Taftan 4,042 m high.
This geographical configuration has consequences on the climatic level:
The summer is very hot everywhere and particularly at the edge of the
Persian Gulf. The winter is cold on the plateau and mild near the
liquid masses.
The mountainous strips of the plateau stop rainfalls and increase the
aridity of the plateau. None of the rivers directed towards the plateau
ends into the sea. They end up in marshy, sandy grounds.
The water supply was one of the Medes and Persian concerns.
Due to the plateau dryness, rare rainfalls, rare rivers, agriculture
was not possible without a clever irrigation system.
As early as ancient Iran, underground channels were built:
A qanat collects water in the piedmonts of the plateau,
in the ground water and distributes it in cultivated plains.
This underground net of water conveyance is visible from the access
shafts allowing the maintenance of the channels. Some oases are
completely dependent on this irrigation system reaching several
hundred kilometres.
Likewise the bridge-dams appeared as early as the Sassanian
dynasty in the 3d century AD. The Khadju bridge in Esfahan shows
evidence of the high technique of these farmers. |
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The vegetal carpet is also the consequence of the geographical
localisation and the climatic system. The forest is present in the
mountainous ranges at the edge of the Iranian plateau: A wet forest on
Caspian Alborz slopes, a dry forest in the other mountainous ranges.
Everywhere else, the steppe is the common landscape of the
Iranian plateau. It can be planted with trees in the areas of rainfalls higher
than 150 mm a year. Consequently the agricultural landscape is
concentrated in the valleys, the coastal areas with strong
rainfall. The irrigated plateau has sugar beet and potato culture.
The steppe areas has date palms, jujube tree and tamarisk plantations.
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Economic facts |
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Civilisation |
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Iran's economy is rather developed. However, since the return of the
Ayatollah rule, the economy has degraded by the deceleration of foreign
investments.
Agriculture is 24.8% of the GDP with 26% of the working population.
Iran is one of the first cereal importers in the world, with one third of
its food needs. Stock breeding is practised by wandering and seminomad
tribes. Fishing is at the origin of the ones of the best known exports of
Iran: caviar.
Mineral resources are appreciable. Oil 13.7%, the third world producer
and second world producer of gas.
Industry is in fad state, 22.3% of the GDP with 38% of the working population,
due to Iran's policy. Handicraft is a traditional activity:
Iranian carpets are among the most beautiful in the Middle East.
Trade is represented by oil exports. Tourism is developing, but it depends
on the international climate and tensions.
The Iranian currency is the Iranian Rial. |
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The official name is Islamic Republic of Iran whose capital is Tehran.
The word Iran is the corruption of Aryana.
The population is +68 million inhabitants. The official language of
Iran is Persian (Farsi). The population is 65%
Persian, the rest is Azeri and minorities.
Iran is an Islamic republic with a single party, Koran.
Iranians are 89% Moslem Shiites, 10% Moslem Sunnites, and Zoroastrians,
Christians, Jews. Islam has the same origin as Judaism and Christianity. The
faithful of these three religions belong to "the people of the Book" to
which Zoroastrianism was added.
It is common to say that hospitality is the corner stone of Arab culture.
This tradition is the consequence of the hardness of the life in the desert
and the habits of the tribes. Tourists, in general and in particular in Iran,
must adapt to the local clothing requirements especially for women themselves.
The GNP is US$5,000 per capita. |
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As this short historic overview tried to show, modern Iran is a
various ancestral culture synthesis rooted in Indo-European
tribes. For this reason it shares an Aryan culture background with India:
Similarities have been shown between Avesta of Zoroastrianism and Veda
of Hinduism. Pre and post Islamic Persia gave many scientists and doctors
who coming from the Iranian plateau or from Transoxian borders. Last but not least,
literature and more particularly Persian poetry has left unforgettable
pages to the posterity .
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Information of the
traveller |
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Sights |
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All tourists need visas, available at the consulates. They can be
prolonged rather easily.
On the health plan it is recommended to consult specialized websites, in
France the website of the Foreign Office. No particular precaution is
required, it is necessary to be up to date with their usual vaccinations.
The budget of the traveller depends on his choices, Iran offers opportunities for
small budgets. |
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The geographical situation of Iran, the climatic variety offer
travellers multiple possibilities of activities in the archaeological sites
as well as in the Alborz mountains.
They offer all opportunities to sportsmen. Sports activities are possible in
all the areas of Iran, excursions, skiing, climbing.
In spring 1993, I went to Iran on a package tour. |
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| Neuilly, le 2003/12/07 |
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