Tehran Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran . It covers on area of 18,909 square kilometres (7,301 sq mi) and is located to the north of the central plateau of Iran .

The province was put as part of First Region with its secretariat located in its capital city , Tehran , upon the division of the provinces into 5 regions solely for coordination and development purposes on June 22, 2014 .

Tehran Province is the richest province of Iran as it contributes approximately 29% of the country's GDP . Furthermore , it houses approximately 18% of the country's population . Tehran Province is the most industrialized province in Iran ; 86.5% of its population resides in urban areas and 13.5% of its population resides in rural areas .

The province gained importance when Tehran was claimed the capital by the Qajar dynasty in 1778 . Today , Tehran , with a population of more than 7 million , is ranked amongst the 20 most populous metropolitan cities of the world .

Geography

The province of Tehran has over 12 million inhabitants and is Iran's most densely populated region . Approximately 86.5 percent reside in urban areas and 13.5 percent in rural areas of the province .

The largest rivers of this province are Karaj River and Jajrud River .

Mountain ranges such as The Alborz span the north ; Savad Kooh and Firooz Kooh are located in the north east ; Lavasanat , Qarah Daq , Shemiranat , Hassan Abad and Namak Mountains are in the southern areas ; Bibi Shahr Banoo and Alqadr are situated in the south east and the heights of Qasr-e-Firoozeh being located to the east of the province .

Environmentally , the climate of Tehran province in the southern areas is warm and dry , but in the mountain vicinity is cold and semi-humid , and in the higher regions is cold with long winters . The hottest months of the year are from mid-July to mid-September when temperatures range from 28 °C (82 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) and the coldest months experience 1 °C (34 °F) around December–January , but at certain times in winter it can reach −15 °C (5 °F) . Tehran city has moderate winters and hot summers . Average annual rainfall is approximately 200 millimetres (7.9 in) , the maximum being during the winter season . On the whole , the province has a semi arid , steppe climate in the south and an alpine climate in the north .

History

Tehran Province has several archeological sites indicating settlements dating back several thousand years . Until 300 years ago , Rey was the most prominent of the cities of the province . However , the city of Tehran rose to become the larger city and capital of Iran by 1778 , and since then has been the political , cultural , economic , and commercial nucleus of Iran .

Tehran has over 1500 historical sites of cultural significance registered with the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran . The oldest of these in Tehran province are the remains of two sites in Firuzkuh County that date back to the 4th millennium BCE .

Divisions

Tehran Province is sub-divided into fourteen Counties (shahrestan) , listed below with their populations at the 2011 Census :

·         Tehran shahrestan

·         Damavand shahrestan

·         Rey shahrestan

·         Shemiranat shahrestan

·         Varamin shahrestan

·         Shahriar shahrestan

·         Eslamshahr shahrestan

·         Robatkarim shahrestan

·         Pakdasht shahrestan

·         Firuzkuh shahrestan

·         Qods shahrestan

·         Malard shahrestan

·         Pishva shahrestan

·         Baharestan shahrestan

The counties comprise a number of municipalities :

·         Municipalities : Absard , Andisheh , Baghershahr , Baghestan , Boumehen , Chahardangeh , Damavand , Eshtehard , Eslamshahr , Ferdowsieh , Firouzkouh , Garmdarreh , Gharchak , Ghods , Golestan , Shahriar , Javadabad , Hassan Abad , Kahrizak , Kilan , Lavasan , Malard , Nasimshahr , Owshan Fasham Meygoun , Pakdasht , Pardis , Pishva , Robat Karim , Roudehen , Sabashahr , Safadasht , Shahedshahr , Shahriar , Sharifabad , Tehran , Vahidieh , Varamin

Tehran province today

Tehran is the commercial heart of Iran . Tehran province has over 17,000 industrial units employing 390,000 people , 26% of all units in Iran . The province contains 30% of Iran's economy , and comprises 40% of Iran's consumer market . The province has three hydro dams namely Latiyan , Lar , and Amir Kabir as well as two natural lakes , providing the water supply of Tehran and the province .

The province contains 170 mines , over 330 square kilometres of forests , and over 12800 square kilometres of pasture .

Generally speaking , year round , regions such as the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountains , especially in the mountains , valleys , and rivers and artificial lakes formed behind the great dams of Amir Kabir , Latiyan and Lar along with natural lakes of Jaban and Tarr provide considerable recreation for the province .

Moreover , due to excessive snowfall in the northern areas of the province during the winter season , the Alborz mountains form an excellent environment for winter sports such as skiing . Dizin , Shemshak , and Tochal are the most popular skiing resorts .

National Rail Network

The city of Tehran is connected to the North , South , West and East with railway . It has weekly trains for Istanbul . Tehran is the headquarters of RAJA (Iran national railway) . There maybe plans to build high speed railway lines from Tehran to Mashhad and Esfahan .

Tehran Metro

Tehran is served by a system of metro of 3 urban lines (1, 2, 4) and one suburban line (5) serving Karaj and Tehran western suburbs . There are plans to extend the system to 8 urban lines and 4 express suburban lines .

Airports

Tehran Province has two main passenger airports :

·         Mehrabad Airport

·         Imam Khomeini Airport

It also has numbers of air force bases .

Parks , recreation and other attractions

·         Darband hiking trail

·         Chitgar Park

·         Mellat Park

·         Laleh Park

·         Jamshidieh Park

·         Niavaran Park

·         Sa'ei Park

·         Shatranj Park

·         Tangeh Savashi

·         Police Park

·         Darabad hiking trail

·         Darakeh hiking trail

·         Jahan-e Kudak Park

·         Azadi Sports complex

·         Enghelab Sports Complex and Golf course

·         Several caves , springs , and waterfalls outside Tehran

·         Latyan Lake

·         Lavizan Forest Park

·         Vard-Avard Forest Park

·         Khajeer National Park

·         Kaveer National Park

·         Tar Lake

·         Amir Kabir Lake

·         Lar Protected Natural Habitat

·         Varjeen Protected Natural Habitat

Religious centers

Mosques , shrines , mausoleums , and tombs :

·         Soltani Mosque , built by Fath Ali Shah

·         Atiq Mosque , built in 1663

·         Mo'ezz o-dowleh mosque , built by Fath Ali Shah

·         Haj Seyd Azizollah mosque , built by Fath Ali Shah

·         Al-javad mosque , Iran's first modernist design mosque

·         The Old Sepahsalar mosque , another prominent Qajar era mosque

·         The new Sepahsalar mosque (Madreseh e Motahari)

·         Filsuf o-dowleh Mosque , Qajar era

·         Moshir ol-Saltaneh Mosque , Qajar era

·         Mo'ayyer ol-Mamalik Mosque , Qajar era

·         Shahr Banu Mausopleum

·         Javan-mard Qassab Mausoleum , a pre-Islamic semi-mythical hero

·         Dozens of Imam-zadeh shrines , hundreds of years old , including that of Imam Zadeh Saleh

·         Dozens of Saqa Khanehs : traditional places of prayer

·         Several Tekyehs : traditional places for mourning Muharram ceremonies for Husayn ibn Ali

·         Ebn-e Babooyeh cemetery , where numerous Iranian figures , such as Takhti and Ali Akbar Dehkhoda , are buried

·         Zahir o-dowleh cemetery , housing the tombs of art and cultural figures such as Iraj Mirza , Mohammad Taghi Bahar , Forough Farrokhzad , Abolhasan Saba , Ruhollah Khaleghi , and Darvish-khan are buried

·         Kordan Tomb , Seljuqi era , Karaj

·         Maydanak Tomb , 13th century , Karaj

·         The Polish cemetery north of Tehran , where numerous Western Allied soldiers of World War II are buried

Religious centers

Mosques , shrines , mausoleums , and tombs :

·         Soltani Mosque , built by Fath Ali Shah

·         Atiq Mosque , built in 1663

·         Mo'ezz o-dowleh mosque , built by Fath Ali Shah

·         Haj Seyd Azizollah mosque , built by Fath Ali Shah

·         Al-javad mosque , Iran's first modernist design mosque

·         The Old Sepahsalar mosque , another prominent Qajar era mosque

·         The new Sepahsalar mosque (Madreseh e Motahari)

·         Filsuf o-dowleh Mosque , Qajar era

·         Moshir ol-Saltaneh Mosque , Qajar era

·         Mo'ayyer ol-Mamalik Mosque , Qajar era

·         Shahr Banu Mausopleum

·         Javan-mard Qassab Mausoleum , a pre-Islamic semi-mythical hero

·         Dozens of Imam-zadeh shrines , hundreds of years old , including that of Imam Zadeh Saleh

·         Dozens of Saqa Khanehs : traditional places of prayer

·         Several Tekyehs : traditional places for mourning Muharram ceremonies for Husayn ibn Ali

·         Ebn-e Babooyeh cemetery , where numerous Iranian figures , such as Takhti and Ali Akbar Dehkhoda , are buried

·         Zahir o-dowleh cemetery , housing the tombs of art and cultural figures such as Iraj Mirza , Mohammad Taghi Bahar , Forough Farrokhzad , Abolhasan Saba , Ruhollah Khaleghi , and Darvish-khan are buried

·         Kordan Tomb , Seljuqi era , Karaj

·         Maydanak Tomb , 13th century , Karaj

·         The Polish cemetery north of Tehran , where numerous Western Allied soldiers of World War II are buried