With many historical monuments such as Kandovan, a village of cliff dwellings
Tabriz is the most populated city in the northwest of Iran, one of the historical capitals of Iran. It is a major heavy industry hub for automobile, machine tools, refineries and petrochemical, textile, and cement production industries. The city is famous for its handicrafts including handmade rugs and jewelries. It is also known for local confectioneries, chocolates, dried nuts, and traditional food. The city has a long and turbulent history with its oldest civilization sites dated back to 1,500 B.C. It contains many historical monuments representing the transition of Iranian architecture in its long historical timelines. Most of the preserved historical sites in the city are belong to Ilkhanid (of Mongol Empire),Safavid, and Qajar area, among them is the grand Bazaar of Tabriz which is inscribed as a World Heritage Site.
Kandovan is a touristic village located 55 km from Tabriz. Current residents of Kandovan claim that their village is more than 700 years old. This village exemplifies manmade cliff dwellings which are still inhabited. The troglodyte homes, excavated inside volcanic rocks and tuffs similar to dwellings in the Turkish region of Cappadocia, are locally called "Karaan". Karaans were cut into the Lahars (volcanic mudflow or debris flow) of Mount Sahand. The cone form of the houses is the result of lahar flow consisting of porous round and angular pumice together with other volcanic particles that were positioned in a grey acidic matrix. After the eruption of Sahand these materials were naturally moved and formed the rocks of Kandovan. Around the village the thickness of this formation exceeds 100 m and with time due to water erosion the cone shaped cliffs were formed. Read more
Tabriz Bazaar is a historical market located along one of the most frequented east-west trade routes in Tabriz. It is one of the oldest bazaars in the Middle East and the largest covered bazaar in the world.Tabriz Bazaar which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, consists of a series of enclosed spaces for a variety of commercial and trade-related activities, social gatherings, educational and religious practices. Also it comprises of several sub-bazaars, such as Amir Bazaar for gold and jewelry, Mozzafarieh in which you can find the most beautiful and luxurious carpets in Iran and even world, a shoe bazaar, and many other ones for various goods. Read more
The small exquisite Azerbaijan Museum is the major archaeological and historical museum in Tabriz. The museum consists of three major halls, a side yard, office rooms and a library. It mostly contains objects discovered from excavations in Iranian Azerbaijan, also some artworks and sculptures of artists.
Iron Age museum is a museum in Tabriz, north-western Iran, which covers an area of 28,290 m². It is located on the north, northwest and northeast of the Blue Mosque, Tabriz, situated under the several sediments and geological strata from the floor of the existing mosque. The most important remains of Blue Mosque site are graves belong to the 1st millennium BC (during the Iron Age).
El-Gölü Park also known as Shah Guli is the name of a large park in Tabriz. It has a square artificial lake surrounded by side walk in four sides. There is also a building in the middle of the lake, with traditional architecture of Iranian Azerbaijan. Early history of the El-Gölü is not clear. However, it seems that the lake originally was used as a water resource for agricultural purposes. In old times there was an artificial island with a small palace in the middle of the lake which was used as royal summer palace during the Qajar dynasty (when Tabriz was the official residence of Prince of Iran). During 2nd Pahlavi's the palace was reconstructed and a pass-way is built to connect the island to the side walks around the lake.
Jolfa is one of the most important border towns for the Iran. Customs facilities in the city and the Caucasus-Jolfa railway have been designed to accommodate custom duties, warehousing, cargo releasing and transportation of three million tons of commodities per year. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, all imports and exports of Iran with the USSR, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia were primarily carried out through Jolfa.
Saint Stepanos Monastery is about 15 km northwest of Jolfa city, East Azarbaijan Province . It is situated in a deep canyon along the Arax River on the Iranian side of the border between Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Iran. It was built in the 9th century and rebuilt in the Safavid era after several earthquakes damaged it. Read more