Tabriz Ancient names: Davrezh, Tavrezh, Tavrez
Official seal of Tabriz Seal
Tabriz
Coordinates: 38°04′N 46°18′E / 38.067°N 46.3°E / 38.067; 46.3Coordinates: 38°04′N 46°18′E / 38.067°N 46.3°E / 38.067; 46.3
Country	Iran
Province	East Azerbaijan Province
County	Tabriz County
District	Central
Established date	N/A
Government
• Mayor	Alireza Navin
• City Council Chairwoman	Zahra Eftekhari
Area
• City	324 km2 (125 sq mi)
• Urban	2,356 km2 (910 sq mi)
Elevation	1,351.4 m (4,433.7 ft)
Population (2006)[1]
• City	1,378,935
• Density	4,300/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
• Metro	1,800,000
• Population Rank in Iran	4th
• Demonym	Tabrizian, Tabrizli, Tabrizi
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
• Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Postal code	51368
Area code(s)	0411
Website	Tabriz municipality

Tabriz (Persian/Azerbaijani:تبریز) ( pronunciation (help·info)) is the fifth largest city^[2] and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quru River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former capitals, and residence of the crown prince under the Qajar dynasty. The city has proven extremely influential in the country’s recent history. Tabriz is located in a valley to the north of the long ridge of the volcanic cone of Sahand, south of the Eynali mountain. The valley opens out into a plain that slopes gently down to the northern end of Lake Urmia, 60 km to the west. With cold winters and temperate summers the city is considered a summer resort.

The estimated population of the city is around 1,400,000^[3] based on results of the Iranian census bureau. Tabriz is the fourth most populous city in Iran after Tehran, Mashhad, and Esfahan, and is also a major Iranian heavy industrial and manufacturing center. Some of these industries include automobile, machine tools, oil and petrochemical and cement production.^[4]

With a rich history, Tabriz contains many historical monuments, but repeated devastating earthquakes and several invasions during frequent wars have substantially damaged many of them. Many monuments in the city date back to the Ilkhanid, Safavid, and Qajar periods,^[5][6][7] with the large Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex being named as a World Heritage Site in 2010.^[8] In addition to all of this there is an excavation site and museum in the city center with a history that dates back to 2500 years.

History[link]

16th century map of Tabriz by Matrakçı Nasuh

Early accounts[link]

The early history of Tabriz is not yet known very well. Some archeologist suggested that Garden of Eden must have been located in Tabriz.^[9] Mentioned for the first time in Assyrian King Sargon II's epigraph in 714 B.C.,^[10] Tabriz was the capital of several rulers starting with Atropates and his dynasty.

A recent excavation at site of the Iron Age museum in the northeastern part of the Blue Mosque connected the history of civilization in the city to the first millennium B.C.^[11] It is more likely that the city was destroyed several times either by natural disasters or by invaders.

The Cambridge History of Iran claims that current Tabriz was founded at the time of the early Sassanids in the 3rd or 4th century AD or, more probably, in the 7th century.^[12]

From the Muslim conquest to Qajars[link]

Blue Mosque is built during Kara Koyunlu dynasty.

After the conquest of Iran by Muslims, the Arabic Azd tribe from Yemen resided in Tabriz and development of post-Islamic Tabriz began as of this time. The Islamic geographer Yaqut says that Tabriz was a village before Rawwad from the tribe of Azd arrive at Tabriz.^[13] In 791 AD, Zubaidah, the wife of Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, rebuilt Tabriz after a devastating earthquake and beautified the city so much as to obtain the credit for having been its founder.^[5][14]

After the Mongol invasion, Tabriz came to eclipse Maragheh as the later Ilkhanid capital of Azerbaijan until it was sacked by Timur in 1392.^[15] Chosen as a capital by Abaqa Khan, fourth ruler of the Ilkhanate, for its favored location in the northwestern grasslands,^[16] in 1295, his successor Ghazan Khan made it the chief administrative center of an empire stretching from Anatolia to the Oxus River and from the Caucasus to the Indian Ocean. Under his rule new walls were built around the city, and numerous public buildings, educational facilities, and caravansarais were erected to serve traders traveling on the ancient Silk Road. The Byzantine Gregory Choniades is said to have served as the city's Orthodox bishop during this time.^{[citation needed]} Marco Polo who traveled though the silk road passed Tabriz about 1275 describe it as:

"...a great city surrounded by beautiful and pleasant gardens. It is excellently situated so the goods bring to here from many regions. Latin merchants specially Genevis go there to buy the goods that come from foreign lands..."^[17]

During the Middle Ages, a Jewish community existed in the town. In the 16th century a Jewish Yemenite traveler to the town described the deteriorating conditions of Jewish life there.^[18] From 1375 to 1468, Tabriz was the capital of Kara Koyunlu state in Azerbaijan,^[19] and from 1469to 1501 the capital of Ak Koyunlu state. Some of the existing historical monuments including Blue Mosque are belonged to Kara Koyunlu period.

In 1501, Shah Ismail I entered Tabriz and proclaimed it the capital of his Safavid state. In 1514, after the Battle of Chaldiran, Tabriz was temporarily occupied by the Ottomans, but remained the capital of Safavid Iranian empire until 1548, when Shah Tahmasp I transferred it to Qazvin.

Between 1585 and 1603, Tabriz was occupied by the Ottomans but was then returned to the Safavids after which it grew as a major commercial center, conducting trade with the Ottoman Empire, Russia, central Asia, and India. In 1724–1725 the city was again occupied by the Ottomans, and two hundred thousand of its inhabitants were massacared.^[20] The city was retaken later by the Iranian army. In 1780, a devastating earthquake near the city killed over 200,000 which is regarded as 25th most deadly disaster of all times.^[21] Between 1790 and 1797, Jews in Tabriz were accused of a blood libel and massacred.^[18] By 1828, the Jewish community in Tabriz had ceased to exist.^[18]

The city was captured by Russia in 1826 after a series of battles but the Iranian army retook Tabriz in 1828. Tabriz was the residence for the Crown Prince during the Qajar Dynasty.

During Qajar dynasty Tabriz was the residence of the crown prince of Iran who often served as governor of Azerbaijan province. In the early 19th century and after the Russo-Persian War, Abbas Mirza, a Qajar Prince and the governor of Azerbaijan, launched a modernization scheme from Tabriz. He introduced Western-style institutions, imported industrial machinery, installed the first regular postal service, and undertook military reforms. He rebuilt the city and established a modern taxation system.^[22]

Contemporary age[link]

Thanks to the closeness of the the west and to communications with nearby countries' enlightenment movements, Tabriz became the center of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution. This made Tabriz a major centre for Iranian Constitutional Revolutionary movements between 1905 and 1911, which led to the establishment of a parliament in Iran. Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan two Tabrizi reformists who led Tabriz people's solidarity had a great role in achievement of this revolution.

After World War II, with the aim of Soviets a Federalist local government called Azerbaijan People's Government was set up in north-west Iran having Tabriz as its capital. The new communist government, under the leadership of Ja'far Pishevari, held power for a year from 1946, giving more freedom to speech and education in local Azerbaijani language and admiring local heritages. After withdrawal of Soviet forces the federalist government is overtaken by the Imperial Iranian army and Iran's central government took control of the city. This movement itself was a result of formation of Azerbaijani identity which has been ceased for decades by Reza Shah. One of the major establishments in this period was the opening the University of Tabriz which played a major role in the later events in the region. ^{[23] [24]}

Tabriz enjoyed an almost stable conditions after the fall of the Azerbaijani federalist government till revolution on 1979. During this period the city enjoyed a lot of investment both by the government and private investors which turned the city to one of the major industrial hubs of the country. However with arrival of modern transportation and communication the city lost its historically dominance of being the gate for the west.

Starting with 1978 and with the heat of the revolution, Tabriz played a major role in revolution. After the revolution however the city was still unsatisfied mainly because of the demand for rights of the Azerbaijani minority and, on top of that, the city's support of the more liberal cleric grand Ayatollah Shariatmadari, who was basically resisting against most of the new government aim for combining of the religion and state. The resistance is collapsed in February 1980. ^[25]

Tabriz in recent years is much more stable and the new constructions in the city is rapidly changing the face of the city to a more modern one.

Zahhak's stucco in Hashtrud.

Capital of Iran[link]

Tabriz served as capital of several rulers starting with Atropates. It was capital of Ilkhanate dynasty since 1265, but it was during Ghazan Khan who came to power on 1295 the city reached to its highest splendour. The later realm stretched from Amu Darya in the East to the Egypt borders in the West and from the Caucasus in the North to the Indian ocean in the South.^[26] It was again capital of Iran during Kara Koyunlu dynasty from 1375 until 1468, then during Ak Koyunlu within 1468–1501. Finally, it was capital of the Iranian Empire within the Safavid period from 1501 until their defeat in 1514.^[27]

During the Qajar dynasty, Tabriz was residence of Iranian Crown Prince (1794–1925).

Excavation sites[link]

In 2002, during a construction project at the north side of the Blue Mosque (Part of Silk Road Project), an ancient graveyard was revealed. This was kept secret until a construction worker alerted the authorities. Radiocarbon analysis by Allameh Tabatabi University has shown the background of the graves to be more than 3800 years old. A museum of these excavations including the Blue Mosque was opened to public in 2006.

There is another excavation in Abbasi Street at site of Rab'-e Rashidi. This academic institution dates from more than 700 years ago and was established in Ilkhanid period.

Geography[link]

Topography[link]

Tabriz is located in northwest of Iran in East Azerbaijan province between Eynali and Sahand mountains in a fertile area in shore of Aji River and Ghuri River. The local area is earthquake-prone and during its history, the city has been devastated and rebuilt several times.

Climate[link]

Tabriz has a semi-arid climate climate with regular seasons (Köppen BSk). The annual precipitation is around 380 millimetres (15 in), a good deal of which falls as snow during the winter months and rain in spring and autumn. The city enjoys mild and fine climate in spring, dry and semi-hot in summer, humid and rainy in autumn and snowy cold in winter. The average annual temperature is 13 °C. Cool winds blow from east to west mostly in summer.^[28]

Air pollution[link]

Due to the emergence of vehicular traffic, and modern industries such as the Thermal Power Plant, Petrochemical Complex, and the Oil Refinery in the west of the city, air pollution levels have increased continuously, since the second half of the twentieth century. However, due to the efforts of local industries to comply with the new limits on pollution, as per the Environmental National Code, the level of industrial pollution has been reduced to 558,167 tons of pollutants per day. Although this is a significant improvement, air pollution remains a serious challenge.^{[citation needed]}

Governance[link]

Authority for the city, lies with the Mayor, who is elected by a municipal board. The municipal board is periodically elected by the city's residents. The Municipal central office is located at the Tabriz Municipality Palace.

Old districts[link]

Tabriz is divided into 10 municipal districts. Each municipal district retains a number of the older neighbourhoods that are of cultural and historical interest. Please refer to the following table, for further details.

Modern districts[link]

This is table of modern Tabriz districts.

Demographics[link]

According to official census of 2006, the population of Tabriz is about 1,400,000.^[29] The majority of the city's population are Iranian Azeris. Persians, Armenians and Assyrians form sizable minorities.

Language[link]

Today, the predominant language spoken in Tabriz is Azerbaijani Turkic, which belongs to the Turkic languages family. However, like every other part of Iran the lingua franca is Persian. Azeri is a member of Oghuz branch of Turkic language, and it is closely related to Turkish and Turkmeni. The modern Azeri language is evolved from the Eastern Oghuz dialect of Western (Oghuz) Turkic, which spread to Southwestern Asia during medieval Turkic migrations and was heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic. Classical literature in Azeri was formed in 14th century, based on the Tabrizi and Shirvani dialects, which were used by classical Azeri poets and writers such as Nasimi, Fuzuli and Khatai. Most inhabitants also speak the Persian language, which is the official language of Iran and the sole language of education.^[5]

Before the expansion of Turko-Mongol peoples in the area, Iranian languages were spoken in Tabriz, Azerbaijan. and pre-dominated till the 15th century.^[30][31][32] The 13th century manuscript Safina-yi Tabriz has poems in what its Tabriz-born author has called the Tabrizi language (Zabān-e-Tabrizi).^[33] Samples of the Tabrizi dialect of the wider Old Azari language include quatrains recorded in Tabrizi dialect by Abd al-Qadir Maraghi, phrases from Baba Faraji Tabrizi and poems in Tabrizi in the Safina-yi Tabriz, and poetry from Homam Tabrizi, Mama Esmat Tabrizi, Maghrebi Tabrizi and others. Before the Safavid revolution, Tabriz was predominantly a Shafi'ite and Sunni city.

Religion[link]

The majority of people are followers of Shia Islam. Some Assyrians live in Tabriz and have their own churches and organizations. There used to be a small Jewish community, but most of them have moved to Tehran.^[5]

Culture and art[link]

Orosey window of Amir Nezam House

Literature[link]

The music and folk songs of Tabriz are popular, and traditions have a long history. The prominent Iranian Azeri poet Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar was born in Tabriz. The handicrafts in the Bazaar of Tabriz, and in particular the Tabriz rug, are famous worldwide. The culture, social values, language and the music is a mixture of what exists in rest of Iran.

Tabriz also has a special place in Persian literature, as the following sample of verses from some of Iran's best poets and authors illustrates:

Music[link]

The professional music of Azeri people are divided into two "distinct types", the music of "ashyg" and the "mugam". Mugam "is not common" among Iranian Azeris, who "prefer the School of Tabriz".

Tabriz style in Iranian miniature.

On the other hand, the music of the ashyg is found in most places in northwestern Iran and particularly in Tabriz, Maraghe, Khoy, and Orumïye (Rezaye). In Iran, the primarily distinct styles of Mugam and the music of the ashyg "still share common characteristics" including "the initial range, which is restricted to a pentachord (jins), readily identifiable modes, melodic lines consisting predominantly of sequential notes, time signatures (4/4, 6/8, 3/4), brevity of compositions, arrangements of dance melodies, tone colour, the dragging of the voice and vocal techniques which are similar to those of popular singing and small instrumental ensembles (three or four musicians)."^[34] Ashighs are traveling bards, who sing and play the saz or qopuz, a form of lute. Their songs are partly improvised around a common base.^{[clarification needed]}

Painting[link]

One of the Iranian painting styles is called "Tabrizian style" which has been shaped in the era of Ilkhanids, Kara Koyunlu and the Safavids.^{[citation needed]}

Cuisine[link]

Some traditional Tabriz dishes are:

Ash is a kind of soup which are prepared with bouillon, various vegetables, carrot, noodle and spices.

Chelow Kabab is the national dish of Iran, prepared with Kebab and roasted tomatoes (and roasted hot peppers occasionally) on a plate of steamed rice. Tabriz is famous for its Chelow Kabab in Iran.

Sample of Tabrizi traditional foods.

Dolma is a traditional delicious Azerbaijani food. It is prepared with eggplant, capsicum, tomato or zucchini filled with a mixture of meat, split pea, onion and various spices.

Garniyarikh (meaning "the torn abdomen" in Azeri) is a kind of Dolma filled with meat, garlic, almonds and spices.

Kofta (Koufteh) Tabrizi is a special recipe from Tabriz with the appearance of big meatballs, which are prepared with a mixture of ground meat, rice, leeks and some other ingredients. The word kofta is derived from Persian kūfta: in Persian, kuftan (کوفتن) means "to beat" or "to grind".^[35]

There are also confections, biscuits and cookies, some of which are Tabriz specialities including Ghorabiye, Eris, Nugha, Tasbihi, Latifeh, Ahari, Lovadieh, Lokum and others.

Main sights[link]

Behnam House.

Saheb ol Amr Mosque.

Ordobadi house-Document Museum of Azerbaijan

Tabriz was devastated by several earthquakes during history (e.g., in 858, 1041, and 1721) and as a result, from numerous monuments only few of them or part of them have survived until now. Moreover, some of the historical monuments have been destroyed fully or partially within construction projects (e.g. Ark of Tabriz is in hazard of destruction now, because of ongoing construction project of "Mosal'laye Emam" close to it). Nonetheless, there are still numerous monuments remaining until now, which include:^{[citation needed]}

• Grand Bazaar of Tabriz, a world heritage site.
• Adventist churchArmenian.
• Aji Chay Bridge* Assyrian church
• Amir Nezam House (Qajar museum)
• Ark of Tabriz
• Azerbaijan Museum
• Baghmasha gate
• Behnam House (school of architecture)
• Blue Mosque (Goy Masjid)
• Boulourchian house
• Catholic church of Tabriz
• Constitutional Revolution House of Tabriz (Mashrouteh museum)
• Daneshsara (faculty of education)
• Document Museum
• East-Azerbaijan State Palace
• Ferdowsi street
• Ghadaki house
• Ghari bridge
• Haidarzadeh house
• Hariree house
• House of Seghat ol Islam
• Imamzadeh Hamzah, Tabriz
• Imamzadeh Ibrahim
• Iranian municipalities
• Iron Age museum
• Jamee mosque of Tabriz
• Madrasah Akbarieh
• Maqbaratoshoara (tomb of poets)
• Mansoor bridge
• Measure museum
• Muharram museum
• Municipality of Tabriz
• Bohtouni museum
• Nature museum
• Nobar bath
• On ibn Ali's shrine
• Ordobadi house
• Pahlavi street (Imam St.)
• Pol Sanghi (Stone bridge)
• Pottery museum
• Post museum
• Qur'an museum
• Roshdieh school
• Rug museum
• Ruins of Rabe Rashidi University
• Saheb ol Amr mosque
• Saint Mary Church of Tabriz (Armenian church of)
• Salmasi house Measure museum.
• Seyed Hamzeh shrine
• Shahnaz street
• Shahryar literature museum (house of Shahryar)
• Sharbatoglu house
• Shohada Mosque
• Sorkheh-i house
• Tabriz Art University (former Charmsazi Khosravi)
• Tabriz Fire Fighting Tower
• Tabriz Railway Station
• Tarbiyat street
• Two Kamals tomb

Parks and gardens[link]

Shah-goli Park

Tabriz has 132 parks, including 97 small parks, 31 regional and 4 city parks. According to 2005 statistics, area of parks in Tabriz is 2,595 km² also area of green spaces of Tabriz is 8,548 km², which means 5.6 sq.m per person. The oldest park in Tabriz, called Golestan Park, was established at first Pahlavi's era in city center. Tabriz has 8 traveller-parks with capacity of 10.000 travellers, as well.^{[citation needed]}

• Baghlarbaghi
• Khaqani Park
• Ghaem Magham
• Golestan Park
• Mashrouteh Park
• Saeb Tabrizi garden
• Shah Goli park
• Shams Tabrizi garden

Economy[link]

Industries[link]

It is claimed that Tabriz is the 2nd industrial city of Iran. Modern industries in this city include the manufacturing of machinary, vehicles, chemicals and petrochemical materials, refinery, cement, electrical and electronical equipment, home appliances, textiles and leather, nutrition and dairy factories and woodcraft.^[5]

There are numerous industrial complexes in Tabriz industrial area. Iran Tractor Manufacturing Co (ITMCO) is one of the biggest industrial complexes in the region. This complex has the highest foundry and forging capacity in middle east, the biggest manufacturer of tractor in Iran, which has some domestic & abroad branches too. Although initially the complex was established with the aim of producing tractor and agricultural machines as a starting point for modernization of traditional Iranian agricultural system, nowadays its products include a large variety from auto parts to machine tools and some domestic van and trucks. Behind ITMCO there are several other industrial complexes including Machine Sazi Tabriz Co, Iran Diesel Engine Manufacturing Co (IDEM), Pump Iran, Tabriz Petrochemical Complex, Tabriz Oil Refinery and couple of industrial regions which are including hundreds of small industries. Beside this Tabriz is a site for numerous food and some of the most famous chocolate factories in Iran which honored the city as chocolate city of Iran.Dadash Baradar Industrial Co. in SHONIZ brand is one of the biggest factories in middle-east which has above 3000 employees and produces more than 75 species of confectionery.

Small businesses[link]

A vast partition of the city's population are involved in small businesses like shoe making ateliers, stonecutting, furniture ateliers, confectionary, printing and dry nuts.

Handcrafts ateliers[link]

Ghalamzani, New Iranian Astrolabe,Made on 1991 in Tabriz

Tabriz is the major center for production of the famous Iranian Rugs. Their high quality is greatly valued in world markets. Tabrizi rugs and carpets usually have ivory backgrounds with blue, rose, and indigo motifs. They often have very symmetrical and balanced designs. They usually have a single medallion that is surrounded with vines and palmettos. One of the main quality characteristics of Tabriz rugs is the weaving style, using special ties that guarantee the durability of the rug in comparison for example with Kashan rugs.

Behind carpet the city is famous for couple of other handicrafts including silverwares, wood engraving, pottery and ceramics, Ghalamzani (toreutics), Moarraq, Monabbat, embroider.

Shopping[link]

Shopping centers are mostly located in city center, including Grand Bazaar of Tabriz, pedestrian malls on Tarbiyat street, Shahnaz street and Ferdowsi street. Also, there are some malls and a lot of elegant & luxurious boutiques of jewelry, rugs, clothes, handcrafts, confectionary and nuts, home appliances and so on in Abressan intersection, Roshdiyeh district and Kouy Valiasr.^[7]

The special feature of Tabriz malls is that most of them are designated to a particular order, such as home appliances, jewelry, shoes, clothes, wedding ceremonies, ladies/babies/men specialties, leather products, handcrafts, agricultural products, computers, electronic components, industrial equipment, piping equipment, chemical materials, agricultural machines, stationery, books, rugs, construction stuff and others.

Likewise, there are seasonal/occasional shopping fairs opened mainly in Tabriz International Exhibition Center too.

Tabriz International Exhibition Center[link]

Tabriz International Exhibition Center which is located in eastern part of the city holds tens of exhibition based on yearly schedule. The most famous fair is TEXPO^[36] which is a general trade fair and established on 1992 and normally holds on August 4–9 every year.

Schools and libraries[link]

Universities[link]

Danesh Sara (faculty of education)

Tabriz Art university

Tabriz is the site for 14 of Iran's most prominent universities. Established on 1947, University of Tabriz^[37] is the most prestigious university in north-western Iran. It is also considered one of five mother universities in the country. Beside this, there are couple of other public universities, operating primarily in the city: Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Sahand University of Technology, Tabriz Arts University, Payam-e Noor University of Tabriz, and Azarbaijan University of Tarbiat Moallem.

There are couple of private universities serving student as well, including: Islamic Azad University of Tabriz, Daneshvaran Higher Education Institute, Seraj Higher Education Institute, University College of Nabi Akram, Khajeh Rashid university.

There are few technical colleges, which serve the students as well: Elmi-Karbordi University of Tabriz, Tabriz College of Technology, Roshdiyeh Higher Education Institute of Tabriz, Jahad Daneshgahi (ACECR) Higher Education Institute, East Azerbaijan Branch, Azzahra College of Technology, State Organization of Technical and Vocational Training

There are a couple of research centers supported by Iranian government in the city including: East Azerbaijan Park of Science & Technology, Islamic Azad University – Science and Research branch of East Azerbaijan.^[38]

Furthermore, a couple of Iranian universities have branches in Tabriz, including: Imam Hossein University, Shahid Beheshti Training Teacher Center of Tabriz

Famous high schools[link]

Hundreds of public and private schools are serving students based on Iranian education system. Students are starting with primary school which is for five years, then three years in secondary and finally they are pursuing for three more years in high school. For those who are about entering to the university they have to fulfill one more year in college. Despite the common language in city is Azerbaijani, the entirety of the educational period in schools is in Persian. Some of the high schools are famous because of their history or higher educational quality. Here is a list of most famous high schools in the city:

• Memorial school (American School of Tabriz) was opened on 1891 and is one of the most famous schools of its type. After World War II, the school's name was changed to Parvin High School, under Iran education ministry's management. Currently, it is divided into three separate high schools, and the original building is under reconstruction. Howard Baskerville used to teach in Memorial school.

• Roshdieh school is the first modern Iranian school, which was established by Haji-Mirza Hassan Roshdieh. Currently, its building is used as the Tabriz branch of the National Iranian Documents and Library Office.

• Vahdat Technical College is another famous school in Tabriz. It was developed by the Germans during World War II. The main building is in the shape of an 'A'.

• Ferdowsi high school is one of the largest and most prominent academic high schools in Tabriz. The original building was constructed by German engineers before World War II (to serve as hospital). The building is in the shape of a letter 'H'.

• Mansoor High School (now divided into two high schools with new names) is one of the most highest-ranking schools in Tabriz, which was established about 50 years ago. One of the high schools is known as Taleqani and the other as Motahhari.

• Tiz'houshan School (Shahid Madani and Farzanegan) (SAMPAD/NODET) middle and high schools were established in 1989 for high I.Q. talented students. Students can attend in Tiz'houshan after successfully passing the entrance exam.

Religious schools[link]

Valiasr Religious School and Talebieh Islamic Science School are two major religious schools in the city which are used for teaching Islamic Science.

Libraries[link]

Tabriz National Library, also known as Central Library of Tabriz, is the most prestigious library in Tabriz, and its numerous unique handwriting old books made it a vulnerable source for researchers in Iranian literature. There are other libraries behind National library which are serving to public some of which are: Tarbiat library, library of Helal Ahmar, library of Shahid Motahhari, library of Shahriyar, library of Jafarieh and Farhangsara of Tabriz.

Infrastructure[link]

Health systems[link]

The government of Iran operates the public hospitals in the Tabriz metropolitan region, some of which are aligned with medical faculties. There are also a number of private hospitals and medical centers in the city.^[7]

By Tabriz University in Winter.

Tabriz Railway Station.

Transportation[link]

Most Tabriz residents travel by car through the system of roads and highways. Tabriz has also a taxi and public bus network. There are also some private groups, which provide services called phone-taxi.^[7]

Tabriz is the second city in Iran after Tehran that in which the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system has been established. It includes an 18 km line from Baseej Square in the east to the railway station in the west of the city. There are 50 bus stops along the route of the B.R.T.

The Tabriz subway train network is still under construction and six years behind schedule. ^[39] The government of Iran had planned to finish 6 km of line No.1 of the network in 2006, but this was not achieved due to financial problems ^[40] and currently only half of the track for the metro line has been laid. ^[41]

Tabriz is linked to Europe through Turkey's roads and Bazargan (Azerbaijani, Persian: بازرگان ) border, also Tehran-Tabriz freeway is almost complete except for the last 20 km between Tabriz and Bostan Abad.

The city is linked to Iran National Railways (IRIR, Persian: رجا ) also to Europe by Turkey's railways via Ghotour (Azerbaijani, Persian قطور) bridge in West Azerbaijan province of Iran. Tabriz was the first city in Iran to be served by railways with the construction of the Tabriz-Jolfa line in 1912–1914 (later converted to broad-gauge in 1916). Tabriz Railway Station is located in the western part of the city, at the end of Khomeyni Street.

Tabriz International Airport opened in 1950 and is the only international airport in East Azerbaijan (since 1991). Recently, it became the first Iranian airport to gain ISO9001-2000.

Sport[link]

Sport is an important part of Tabriz's culture. The most popular sport in Tabriz is soccer. Tabriz is home to four Iranian major Football teams: Tractor Sazi F.C., Machine Sazi Tabriz F.C., Shahrdari Tabriz F.C., Petrochimi Tabriz F.C.

Tabriz also has two stadiums for Football: Bagh Shomal Stadium, with capacity of 20,000 and Yadegar-e-Emam Stadium with 71,000.

Tractor Sazi F.C. or Tirakhtorsazi, as it called in the city, is an Iranian soccer club, based in Tabriz. They currently play in Iran's Pro League which is the highest domestic league in Iran.They also provided Iran with some of the most talented players during the nineties. In 2009, Trakhtorsazi, the most well-known team of the Azerbaijan province, was promoted to the first football division of Iran (the Iran Pro League.) And according to surverys, the team has got the most enthusiastic fans in the Iran Pro League.^{[citation needed]} The team is sponsored by Iran Tractor Manufacturing Co. (ITMCO).

Behind soccer they are few other sport events holds in Tabriz. The major one is Azerbaijan Cycling Tour. Azerbaijan Cyclibng Tour is a professional cycling tour held annually in part of Iranian Azerbaijan and Republic of Azerbaijan. Tabriz also has an UCI Continental cycling team that is competing in UCI-sanctioned competitions through Asian continents. The team is: Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team

The city has several swimming pools that are parts of sport complexes, both public and private: Takhti swimming pool, Tabriz Petrochemical Company's sports complex, Bargh swimming pool, Sahand swimming pool, Bagh Shomal swimming pool, Kargaran sports complex, Hotel Elgoli swimming pool, Hotel Shahryar swimming pool, Azarsatrup sports complex, Sauna Tabriz, Azaran sauna & pool, Zamzam swimming pool, Aseman residential complex swimming pool.^[7]

Media[link]

Sahand TV main building

Tabriz has one state television channel called "Sahand TV" that broadcasts in both Persian and Azerbaijani language. It broadcasts internationally through satellite Intelsat 902.^[42][43]

The city has one government-controlled radio channel broadcasting in both Persian and Azerbaijani languages.^[42]

14 weekly magazines and 8 main newspapers are published in the city including: Amin, Mahd Azadi, Asr Azadi,^[44] Fajr Azarbaijan, Saeb Tabriz, Peyam Noor, Navaye Misho and Saheb.^[45]

Notable people[link]

Within its long history Tabriz was always origin for many Iranian illumination and modernization movements. This is why the city was home town for numerous Iranian dominant figures including many Iranian politicians, revolutionaries, artists, and military leaders. Here a partial list of some of most notable people who born or lived in Tabriz.

For a complete list see: List of people from Tabriz

Sister cities and twin towns[link]

Tabriz is twinned with the following cities:

Consulates[link]

Azerbaijan and Turkey have consulate offices in Tabriz. Formerly the Soviet Union and the United States had consulate offices in Tabriz. The US consulate office closed after the 1979 Islamic revolution and the USSR's office closed after the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

Photo gallery[link]

Panoramic view of Tabriz from El Goli, August 2010

See also[link]