Tabriz

TABRIZ

Tabriz city is capital of East Azerbaijan Province, Iran located in northwestern of Iran. It’s the 6th largest city of Iran with 1.6 million inhabitants. Kandovan is a rock village near Tabriz (60 km) is one of the Iranian top tourist attraction.

Brief Introduction

Tabriz is one of the important cities in Iran. In 2015, Tabriz was named the World Carpet Weaving City by the World Crafts Council. Many major heavy industries can be found in Tabriz such as automobile factories, refineries, petrochemicals, textiles and cement production industries. With cold winters and temperate summers, Tabriz is considered a summer resort. Tabriz has a rich history with numerous historical buildings, mosques, bridges, houses (serve as museum now) mostly back to Ilkhanid, Safavid and Qajar era. The most popular souvenirs from Tabriz are chocolate, dried nuts, hand-woven rugs and jewelry.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

TABRIZ HISTORIC BAZAAR

In 2010, Bazaar of Tabriz was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites of Iran by UNESCO as it is the biggest roofed and interconnected bazaar in the world covering an area of more than 10 hectares. The Carpet Bazaar is the most famous part of this magnificent historical complex.

KABOUD MOSQUE

Kaboud or Blue Mosque was built in 1465 by the order the daughter of Sultan Jahanshah, the most powerful king of Qaraqoyonlu dynasty. Because of the delicacy of tile works and various calligraphic styles used in the building and especially the azure mosaic tiles, Blue Mosque is also called “The Turquoise of Islam”. In 1779, an earthquake damaged the mosque a lot, but after the reconstructions between 1939 to 1979, most parts of the mosque were saved.

THE ST. STEPHANOS CATHEDRAL

230 kilometers away from city of Tabriz, in Jolfa district, there is an ancient monastery surrounded by high mountains and beautiful nature. St. Stephanos Cathedral is the second most important cathedral of Armenians of Iran after the St. Thaddeus Monastery in west Azerbaijan province. This Cathedral was inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites of Iran by UNESCO in 2007.

KANDOVAN ROCK VILLAGE

In southwest of Tabriz, on the green slopes of mount Sahand, there is a unique historical village with buildings carved in the heart of the hard rocks. Kandovan is one of the three rock villages in the world, but the only inhabited one. The third international reef hotel in the world is located in the center of the village with spa equipment.