Lahijan
Encyclopedia
Lahijan is a city in and the capital of Lahijan County
, Gilan Province
, Iran
. At the 2006 census, its population was 71,871, in 21,518 families.
Lahijan hasboth traditional and modern architecture. The city, which has an Iranian-European urban structure, is in the southern slope of the Alborz
. Its culture and the good condition of the city have made Lahijan a major tourist hub in northern Iran
. The city is basically founded on the sediments remaining from big rivers in Gilan, including the Sefid-Rud (White River). Historically, the city was the major business center and of course the capital of East Gilan during the time of special rulers. Lahijan has also been a tourism hub of the Islamic world during different eras in Iran's history.
The word "Lahijan" is originated from the economic stance the city had during its historical periods. "Lahijan" is formed by two words: Lah, means silk
and "Jan or Gan" means a place where something is done. Therefore, by compounding these two parts, the word "Lahijan or lahigan" was made, which means "a place to obtain silk fiber".
Professor Bahram Farah'vashi who is an Iranian expert in ancient languages says that in the Middle Persian Language; Lah refers to silk, and in Decisive Argument; Lah means the red silk. Therefore, Lahygan (today, Lahijan) is an area where silk is obtained.
language groups, namely Gilaki, Rudbari, and Taleshi, and pockets of two other groups, Tati
and Kurdish
. The non-Iranian languages include Azeri Turkish and some speakers of Gypsy (Romany, of Indic origin).
Gilaki is spoken by possibly three million people as a first or second language, and has had a budding literature and fledgling prose publications, including newspapers.
The five Iranian languages in Gilan belong to the Northwestern branch of Iranian. Gilaki, which has two main dialect
types, eastern and western, with the Safid-rud River as the general border, is a member of the Caspian
subgroup. Tati and Taleshi (Talyshi) together make up the larger dialect chains which together make up the larger Tatic family (not to be confused with Tat-Persian spoken in pockets north of the Baku area).
Among these, the two Tati pockets in Gilan, Kalasi and Kabataʾī, have their closest relatives in Upper Tarom in Zanjan
province. Taleshi is a dialect chain of three main types, southern, central, and northern; and southern Taleshi is closer in type and mutual comprehension to some forms of Tati than it is to central or northern Taleshi. Rudbari may originally have been a subgroup of Tatic that has largely adapted structurally to Gilaki.
There are many subdialects of Gilaki, and, progressing to the east, it gradually blends into Mazandarani (Tabarestan). The intermediate dialects of the area between Tonokabon and Kalardasht serve as a transition between Gilaki and Mazandarani. The differences in forms and vocabulary lead to a low mutual intelligibility with either Gilaki or Mazandarani, and so these dialects should probably be considered a third separate language group of the Caspian area.
Since the time depth between southwestern Iranian and northwestern Iranian is greater than that of, for example, English
and Swedish
within the Germanic languages
, Gilaki and Persian
differ on almost all grammar points. Time depth within western Iranian, however, is not an absolute measure of distance, since northwestern Iranian and south¬western Iranian have coexisted within the same cultural zone for millennia, during which Persian has consistently been by far culturally dominant. All Caspian languages
contain many lexical items (e.g., dan- “to know,” xast “to want,” guft- “to say,” tanest “can”) and certain grammatical features (the loss of the conjugation of transitive verbs and the use of ra) that most likely show quite early influence of Persian.
More recently, however, due to both the economic importance of the Caspian and the Gilān’s proximity to Tehran
, Gilaki has been under¬going a massive, indelible Persian imprint: heavy influx of vocabulary (e.g., Pers. pəsər, duxtər, damad, negah kudən have replaced the native rey, kor, zama, fəndərəstən), significant syntactic interference (e.g., eżāfa), changes in vowel pronunciation, and even morpheme borrowings. One thus gets the erroneous impression that Gilaki is merely a dialect of Persian. Yet it is a mixed language, and is becoming even more mixed. Virtual one-to-one correspondences between Gilaki and Persian are commonplace, and often unavoidable: Gil. məšγul-ə taayi kudən durust kudə́n-əšåm-u γəzå bid and Pers. mašḡūl e tahīya kardan dorost kardan e šām o ḡaḏā būdand “they were busy providing and making dinner.”
Gilan includes the northwestern end of the Alborz chain and the western part of the Caspian lowlands of Persia. The mountainous belt is cut through by the deep transversal valley of the Sefid-Rud between Manjil
and Eemamzadeh Hashem near Rasht, the capital of Gilan Province. To the northwest, the Talesh highlands stretch a continuous watershed separating Gilan and Azerbaijan.
Except at their northern end, where the Heyran pass at the top of the Āstārāčāy valley does not exceed 1600 m, they are over 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft) high, with three spots over 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft) including the Baqrow Daḡ, the Ajam Daḡ, and the Shah Moʿallem or Masouleh
Daḡ. Their eastern and northeastern side is deeply carved by parallel streams flowing down towards the Caspian, resulting in a comb-shaped pattern. The western Alborz itself, to the east of the Safid-rud valley, is wider and more intricate, with three parallel (WNW-ESE) ranges; the southernmost and lowest one is represented in Gilan by the Asman-sara Kuh in the Ammarlu district; the medium one is the most continuous, from the Kuh-e-Dalfak to the Keram Kuh, whereas the transversal valley of Polrud clearly divides the northern range into Kuh-e-Natesh and Kuh-e-Somam or Somamus, the highest spot of Gilan.
All these mountains have a very complicated geological structure and tectonic history which connects them to the structural complex of central Persia.
Though all those mountains cover a greater area than the plains, these are the most specific feature of the province, and locally, the word Gilan often refers to the plain areas or particularly to the central plain.
This large parallelogram of lowlands is heterogeneous and can be divided into two main parts: the delta
of the Safid-rud in the east and the Fumanat plain in the west. The former has been entirely built by the Safid-rud, a river with a high discharge and a high alluvial content. The higher part is made out of coarse ancient alluvial material, whereas in the lower part, north of Astaneh-e Ashrafiyyeh
, the river often changed its course through thin silty and clayey material; it has thus abandoned its former northeastward course, which flowed into the sea at the prominent angle of the plain near Dastak
, and presently flows northwards and builds a smaller living delta jutting out into the Caspian between Zibakenar and Bandar kiashahr.
The Fumanat plain to the west intermingles marine alluvial deposits and former sandy beach-lines with abundant alluvial deposits from the numerous rivers draining the southern part of Talesh highlands. They do not reach directly the sea, but converge into the lagoon
of Anzali with a single outlet to the Caspian through the dune-covered sandy coastline. The lagoon is constantly getting smaller and shallower under the effect of silting. On the contrary, the streams of northern Talesh and eastern Gilan, even the more abundant Polrud, do not bring alluvium enough to counterbalance the action of a coastal current going eastward, and thus could not build more than a narrow ribbon of lowlands, only a few kilometers wide between Astara
and Safid-rud and to the east of Qasemabad
, and some 10 km wide at the mouth of the Polrud around kelachay.
Mean annual rainfall varies between 1200 and 1800 mm along the shoreline, decreases towards a sub-humid area in the southwestern corner of the, and reaches again very high amounts in the lower part of the mountain, up to 1500–1800 m. Along the Safid-rud valley, swept every afternoon in summer by the violent northerly Manjil wind (Tholozan), a very rapid transition leads to the Mediterranean-like semi-arid area of Rudbar and Manjil.
The climatic privilege of Gilan explains its luxuriant natural vegetation.
According to altitude, three forest levels can be distinguished: the Hyrcanian mixed forests, the mountain beech forest, and the High Mountain oak and hornbeam forest. The Hyrcanian forest stricto sensu once covered the plains, where only residual patches remain on coarse alluvial terraces between cultivated areas, and still covers the greater part of the first slopes of the mountains up to about 1000 m.
It is a stratified forest, with a layer of very tall trees such as the endemic chestnut-leaved oak (boland-mazu; Quercus castaneaefolia), Siberian elm (derakht-e-azad; Zelkova crenata) and iron tree (anjili; Parrotia persica) and more common elms, maples, and hornbeams (ulas); a layer of smaller trees like the endemic Gleditchia caspica (lilaki), Diospyros lotus (kalhu), and Albizzia julibrissin (shabkhosb), boxwood (shemshad) in shady spots and all kinds of wild fruit trees; and an underwood with evergreen bushes such as Prunus laurocerasus (jal) and holly (khas), moss, wild vine, ivy, and other creeping plants. Medium altitude mountains are the realm of the lofty oriental beech (rash; Fagus orientalis), associated with oaks (balut), lime-trees (namdar), maples (afra), and elms (narvan; qq.v.). The upper mountain level, between 1800 and 2200 m, has remnants of a quite poorer forest of stunted oaks (uri; Quercus macranthera) and hornbeams (Carpinus orientalis). Alpine meadows, climacic at higher altitudes, have often replaced these upper mountain forests, some of them, on highest ridges or sheltered slopes, show distinctly xerophytic features.
The so-called Mediterranean island around Rudbar and Manjil is conspicuous through its specific vegetation, natural as well as cultivated, i.e., its very sparse cypress (q.v.) forests and its olive-groves.
The weather system in Lahijan is more favorable than the other points in the Gilan. It has warmer winters and cooler summers. Freezing temperatures are seldom reported in the coastal areas; however it is not odd for Lahijan to experience periods of near blizzard conditions during the winter. The amount of rainfall in Lahijan depends on the winds bearing vapor that blow from the North West in winter, from the East in spring and from the West in summer and autumn. These winds carry the vapor and humidity towards the plains causing heavy and prolonged rainfalls.
", and the shipping of tea was much easier. That was a main reason why tea became much popular in Iran. As a result, the demand for tea grew, and more tea needed to be imported to match Iran's consumption.
Iran failed in their first attempt to cultivate tea in their own country in 1882 with seeds from India. In 1899 Prince Mohammad Mirza known as "Kashef Al Saltaneh" who was born in Lahijan, imported Indian tea and started its cultivation in Lahijan. Kashef, who was the first mayor of Tehran and an Iranian ambassador to India under British rule, knew that the British would not allow him to learn about the secrets of tea production, as it was their biggest business in India at the time. So being fluent in French, the prince pretended to be a French laborer and started to work in the tea plantations and factories to learn how to produce tea. Ultimately his plan was to take back some samples of this tea to Iran to cultivate. He was successful in this endeavor only because of his diplomatic immunity
which stopped the British from searching his secretly stashed sample. At the time, Kashef brought 3000 saplings into his country from the Northern part of India, Kangra. He started the cultivation in the region Gilan, south of the Caspian Sea. The climate there was well suited for tea cultivation, and the tea industry quickly expanded in Gilan and Mazanderan region. Kashef’s mausoleum in Lahijan is now part of the "Iran's National Tea Museum".
In 1934 the first modern style tea factory was built. Now there are up to 107 tea factories and a total of 32,000 hectare of tea farms.
Most of the farms are located the hillsides of Iran like the farms in Darjeeling. These farms produce an orthodox style of black tea. The color of Iranian tea is red and taste is fairly light, and it is delicious without adding any milk or sugar.
The total production of black tea in 2009 was approximately 60’000 tons.
plantations. With its mild weather, soil quality and fresh spring water, Lahijan stands to have the largest area of tea cultivation in Iran
.
But today the country's tea industry is deep in trouble and the verdant gardens that once sustained millions of farmers and their workers are used only for grazing sheep and other personal purposes. Despite having one of the world's most avid tea drinking populations, the Iranian tea economy is reeling from an influx of foreign imports and smugglers who, local traders complain, often have close family ties to powerful figures in the Islamic government
. The consequences are plain to see. In Lahijan, the historic capital of Iran's tea industry, land that was once a lush vista of tea bushes is now occupied by houses and flats, built by tea factory owners who have moved into the building trade in response to their industry's decline. Several of the town's tea mills are derelict. Others are at a stand-still or operating at half capacity. Some 40% of the half-million tea farmers in tea-rich Gilan province have gone out of business, because the factories are no longer buying their crops. Hundreds of thousands of pickers have been forced out of work.
Prince Mohammad Mirza known as "Kashef-ol-Saltaneh" who was born in Lahijan was the first mayor of Tehran
. As the Iranian ambassador to India
under British rule, he knew the British would not allow him to learn about the secrets of tea production, as it was their biggest business in India at the time. So being fluent in French, the prince pretended to be a French laborer and started to work in the tea plantations and factories to learn how to produce tea. Ultimately his plan was to take back some samples of this tea to Iran to cultivate. He was successful in this endeavor only because of his diplomatic immunity which stopped the British from searching his secretly stashed sample. His mausoleum in Lahijan is now part of the "Iran Tea Museum".
The foundation of Lahijan is attributed to 'Lahij Ebne Saam'. Oljaito, the Mongol ruler conquered Lahijan in 705 AH. Then Amir Teimoor attacked this region. Finally, Shah Abbas I defeated 'Khan Ahmad' and thereafter the Safavid governors ruled this city. Amongst the unpleasant events in the history of this city were the outbreak of plague in 703 AH., the conflagration of 850 AH. and the conquest of it by the Russian army in 1725 AD. Lahijan was one of the main bases of the Jungle Movement.
_4.jpg)
Karb (Kareb or cymbal) Karb is made of two pieces of thick stick which are held by the player's two hands through a leather belt. This apparently replaces the dangerous stone beating. Karb is normally played in groups through special rhythm and is popular in Aran, Kashan, some districts in Semnan as well as Sabzevar and Lahijan. Stone (karb) beating is symbolic rite which is popular in several parts of the country accompanied by special melodies. Normally two pieces of stone are beaten on the sides of the mourner by special manners and movements accompanied by lamentation song. Apparently as a result of the physical damage caused by stones on the body, wood stick is gradually replacing stone. Lately instead of stone beating other terms such as Karbzani or Karebzani, playing cymbals and ratchets are used. In Mazandaran and some other regions like Komesh, south of Alborz mountain, the term Kareb and in Gilan the term Karb and in Aran (Kashan), cymbal is customary. This ceremony needs considerable physical strength by the performers and is popular in Lahijan and Aran, a district in Kashan, as well as Semnan and Sabzevar. karna nawazi: Karna (trumpet or horn) At certain villages in Gilan such as Mashk, Lasht, and Rudbeneh in Lahijan long Karnas (trumpets or horns) are used in Ashura ceremony. The main body of the trumpet or horn is made of reed at the end of which it has a bend like a staff made of squash. It has a wooden mouthpiece at the other end of the trumpet to blow into the pipe. This special trumpet is used both in passion play and other Ashurayi ceremonies and is called martyrdom song. At certain rituals one of the two singers and a group of Karna players play alternately.
Kat'schel is a small village in eastern Lahijan. It is the nearest village to Soustan.
Bijar Booneh - Kuh Bijar - Abas Abad - Amir Kalayeh - Bijar Bagh - Satle Sar - Bakhshi Sara - Chelayeh - Sar Choshmeh - Zomeidan - Alisorood - Shin Nesa - Kuroe - Doongahi - Aseyyed Hosseini - Gombol - Kobaneh - Bejayeh - Laliman - Loleman - Ahandan - Nakhjir Kelayeh - Sareshkeh - . . .
- Baam-e-Sabz - Lahijan Pool (Estakhr) - the Tomb of the Four king (Char Padeshahan) - Golshan Bath - Sheikh Zahed Gilani Tomb - Shen Chal & Sustan Pool - Lahijan Daily Markets No.1 and No.2 - Iran National Tea Museum - Brick Bridge (pole Kheshti) - Amjadossoltan (Tomb of Farah Pahlavi(Diba)'s ancestor - National Library) - Lahidjan gondola - At'ah Kuh - Bulvar . . .
Mirza'ghasemi, Torshe'tare, Bademjan'khoroush, Sir'vabichke Morgh-e-Lako, Baghale Ghatogh, Torshe Tare, koii Khorosh, Sir ghalieh, Alo Mosama, Naz Khatoon, Chaghar Tameh, Anarbij, Shesh Andaz, Shirin Tare, Sirabij, Khali Ovei, Chakhartameh, Motonjen, Loongi, Ghorabij, Mahi Febij, Vavishkah, Torshe Shami, Shami
State Universities
Hazrat Zeinab School of Nursing and Midwifery, East Gilan
Lahijan Payam-Noor University
Tarbiat Modarres College, Lahijan
Non-state Universities
Islamic Azad University, Lahijan
Deylaman Institute of Higher Education
Andishmand, the nonprofit institution of higher education
Rajai Vocational College
For many centuries a hallmark of the people of Lahijan was their endorsement of for the advancement of literacy
and science
. The Islamic Azad University of Lahijan
brings this endorsement into the modern age. Islamic Azad University of Lahijan (also known as Azad University of Lahijan, formerly known as Islamic Azad University of East of Gilan) is a campus of Islamic Azad University system in Iran. The university was established in 1988 by some outstanding members of Tehran University of Medical Sciences including Dr. Mir Mozafar Masoumi who was also the first President of the university. So far up to 16000 students graduated from university.
Lahijan County
Lahijan County is a county in Gilan Province in Iran. The capital of the county is Lahijan. At the 2006 census, the county's population was 161,491, in 48,075 families. The county is subdivided into two districts: the Central District and Rudboneh District. The county has two cities: Lahijan and...
, Gilan Province
Gilan Province
Gilan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It lies along the Caspian Sea, just west of the province of Mazandaran, east of the province of Ardabil, north of the provinces of Zanjan and Qazvin....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. At the 2006 census, its population was 71,871, in 21,518 families.
Lahijan hasboth traditional and modern architecture. The city, which has an Iranian-European urban structure, is in the southern slope of the Alborz
Alborz
Alborz , also written as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan...
. Its culture and the good condition of the city have made Lahijan a major tourist hub in northern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. The city is basically founded on the sediments remaining from big rivers in Gilan, including the Sefid-Rud (White River). Historically, the city was the major business center and of course the capital of East Gilan during the time of special rulers. Lahijan has also been a tourism hub of the Islamic world during different eras in Iran's history.
Etymology
Lahijan: the silk cityThe word "Lahijan" is originated from the economic stance the city had during its historical periods. "Lahijan" is formed by two words: Lah, means silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
and "Jan or Gan" means a place where something is done. Therefore, by compounding these two parts, the word "Lahijan or lahigan" was made, which means "a place to obtain silk fiber".
Professor Bahram Farah'vashi who is an Iranian expert in ancient languages says that in the Middle Persian Language; Lah refers to silk, and in Decisive Argument; Lah means the red silk. Therefore, Lahygan (today, Lahijan) is an area where silk is obtained.
Lahijan and languages
In Gilan there are three major IranianIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
language groups, namely Gilaki, Rudbari, and Taleshi, and pockets of two other groups, Tati
Tati
Tati can refer to:* Tati Concessions Land, in present Botswana* Tati language, a disambiguation page* Tats, an Iranian people* Tati , a stringed instrument used in traditional folk music by the Naga people in North Eastern India and north-western Myanmar* Tati a 2005 album by Italian trumpeter...
and Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
. The non-Iranian languages include Azeri Turkish and some speakers of Gypsy (Romany, of Indic origin).
Gilaki is spoken by possibly three million people as a first or second language, and has had a budding literature and fledgling prose publications, including newspapers.
The five Iranian languages in Gilan belong to the Northwestern branch of Iranian. Gilaki, which has two main dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
types, eastern and western, with the Safid-rud River as the general border, is a member of the Caspian
Caspian languages
Caspian languages are a branch of Northwestern Iranian languages spoken in northern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea.Caspian languages include:* Deilami* Gilaki * Mazanderani * Shahmirzadi-External links:*...
subgroup. Tati and Taleshi (Talyshi) together make up the larger dialect chains which together make up the larger Tatic family (not to be confused with Tat-Persian spoken in pockets north of the Baku area).
Among these, the two Tati pockets in Gilan, Kalasi and Kabataʾī, have their closest relatives in Upper Tarom in Zanjan
Zanjan
Zanjan may refer to:* Zanjan Province, Iran* Zanjan County, an area within Zanjan Province* Zanjan, Iran, the capital of Zanjan County and Zanjan Province* Zanjan University, located in the city of Zanjan* Senjan, a city in Markazi Province, Iran...
province. Taleshi is a dialect chain of three main types, southern, central, and northern; and southern Taleshi is closer in type and mutual comprehension to some forms of Tati than it is to central or northern Taleshi. Rudbari may originally have been a subgroup of Tatic that has largely adapted structurally to Gilaki.
There are many subdialects of Gilaki, and, progressing to the east, it gradually blends into Mazandarani (Tabarestan). The intermediate dialects of the area between Tonokabon and Kalardasht serve as a transition between Gilaki and Mazandarani. The differences in forms and vocabulary lead to a low mutual intelligibility with either Gilaki or Mazandarani, and so these dialects should probably be considered a third separate language group of the Caspian area.
Since the time depth between southwestern Iranian and northwestern Iranian is greater than that of, for example, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
within the Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, Gilaki and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
differ on almost all grammar points. Time depth within western Iranian, however, is not an absolute measure of distance, since northwestern Iranian and south¬western Iranian have coexisted within the same cultural zone for millennia, during which Persian has consistently been by far culturally dominant. All Caspian languages
Caspian languages
Caspian languages are a branch of Northwestern Iranian languages spoken in northern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea.Caspian languages include:* Deilami* Gilaki * Mazanderani * Shahmirzadi-External links:*...
contain many lexical items (e.g., dan- “to know,” xast “to want,” guft- “to say,” tanest “can”) and certain grammatical features (the loss of the conjugation of transitive verbs and the use of ra) that most likely show quite early influence of Persian.
More recently, however, due to both the economic importance of the Caspian and the Gilān’s proximity to Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Gilaki has been under¬going a massive, indelible Persian imprint: heavy influx of vocabulary (e.g., Pers. pəsər, duxtər, damad, negah kudən have replaced the native rey, kor, zama, fəndərəstən), significant syntactic interference (e.g., eżāfa), changes in vowel pronunciation, and even morpheme borrowings. One thus gets the erroneous impression that Gilaki is merely a dialect of Persian. Yet it is a mixed language, and is becoming even more mixed. Virtual one-to-one correspondences between Gilaki and Persian are commonplace, and often unavoidable: Gil. məšγul-ə taayi kudən durust kudə́n-əšåm-u γəzå bid and Pers. mašḡūl e tahīya kardan dorost kardan e šām o ḡaḏā būdand “they were busy providing and making dinner.”
Geography
Lahijan enjoys a climate known as "moderate Caspian”. This weather pattern emerged from the influence of the currents of both the Alborz Mountain slopes and the Caspian Sea. But before knowing about this weather pattern, we should discuss the model of climate system and of course Gilan's spacial geo system.Gilan includes the northwestern end of the Alborz chain and the western part of the Caspian lowlands of Persia. The mountainous belt is cut through by the deep transversal valley of the Sefid-Rud between Manjil
Manjil
Manjil is a city in the Central District of Rudbar County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,028, in 4,447 families.-History and Geography:Manjil is located between N36º45´18˝-N36º41´42˝ and E49º23´6˝ and E49º31´ 48˝...
and Eemamzadeh Hashem near Rasht, the capital of Gilan Province. To the northwest, the Talesh highlands stretch a continuous watershed separating Gilan and Azerbaijan.
Except at their northern end, where the Heyran pass at the top of the Āstārāčāy valley does not exceed 1600 m, they are over 2000 metres (6,561.7 ft) high, with three spots over 3000 metres (9,842.5 ft) including the Baqrow Daḡ, the Ajam Daḡ, and the Shah Moʿallem or Masouleh
Masouleh
Masuleh is a city in and the capital of Sardar-e Jangal District, in Fuman County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 554, in 180 families....
Daḡ. Their eastern and northeastern side is deeply carved by parallel streams flowing down towards the Caspian, resulting in a comb-shaped pattern. The western Alborz itself, to the east of the Safid-rud valley, is wider and more intricate, with three parallel (WNW-ESE) ranges; the southernmost and lowest one is represented in Gilan by the Asman-sara Kuh in the Ammarlu district; the medium one is the most continuous, from the Kuh-e-Dalfak to the Keram Kuh, whereas the transversal valley of Polrud clearly divides the northern range into Kuh-e-Natesh and Kuh-e-Somam or Somamus, the highest spot of Gilan.
All these mountains have a very complicated geological structure and tectonic history which connects them to the structural complex of central Persia.
Though all those mountains cover a greater area than the plains, these are the most specific feature of the province, and locally, the word Gilan often refers to the plain areas or particularly to the central plain.
This large parallelogram of lowlands is heterogeneous and can be divided into two main parts: the delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
of the Safid-rud in the east and the Fumanat plain in the west. The former has been entirely built by the Safid-rud, a river with a high discharge and a high alluvial content. The higher part is made out of coarse ancient alluvial material, whereas in the lower part, north of Astaneh-e Ashrafiyyeh
Astaneh-e Ashrafiyyeh
Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh is a city in and the capital of Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 36,298, in 10,558 families....
, the river often changed its course through thin silty and clayey material; it has thus abandoned its former northeastward course, which flowed into the sea at the prominent angle of the plain near Dastak
Dastak
Dastak is a classic Hindi film made in 1970, it was written and directed by Rajinder Singh Bedi, and was his directorial debut....
, and presently flows northwards and builds a smaller living delta jutting out into the Caspian between Zibakenar and Bandar kiashahr.
The Fumanat plain to the west intermingles marine alluvial deposits and former sandy beach-lines with abundant alluvial deposits from the numerous rivers draining the southern part of Talesh highlands. They do not reach directly the sea, but converge into the lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
of Anzali with a single outlet to the Caspian through the dune-covered sandy coastline. The lagoon is constantly getting smaller and shallower under the effect of silting. On the contrary, the streams of northern Talesh and eastern Gilan, even the more abundant Polrud, do not bring alluvium enough to counterbalance the action of a coastal current going eastward, and thus could not build more than a narrow ribbon of lowlands, only a few kilometers wide between Astara
Astara
Astara may refer to:* Astara * Astara, Iran* Astara, Azerbaijansee also: Astana...
and Safid-rud and to the east of Qasemabad
Qasemabad
Qasemabad is a city in Jolgeh Zozan District, in Khvaf County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 4,022, in 850 families....
, and some 10 km wide at the mouth of the Polrud around kelachay.
Climate and weather
The topographic position of the Caspian lowlands results in a very characteristic Hyrcanian climate, and the whole province of Gilan belongs to this exceptionally humid and green area. Prevailing north-south atmospheric currents, humidified over the Caspian, are forced to a vigorous ascendancy by the mighty barrier of Alborz and thus pour all around the year abundant rainfall on both the plain and the northwestern slope of the mountains. The precipitation regime shows a sharp maximum in autumn (September to December), when atmospheric instability is at its highest point, medium values in winter and early spring, and lowest values from May to August.Mean annual rainfall varies between 1200 and 1800 mm along the shoreline, decreases towards a sub-humid area in the southwestern corner of the, and reaches again very high amounts in the lower part of the mountain, up to 1500–1800 m. Along the Safid-rud valley, swept every afternoon in summer by the violent northerly Manjil wind (Tholozan), a very rapid transition leads to the Mediterranean-like semi-arid area of Rudbar and Manjil.
The climatic privilege of Gilan explains its luxuriant natural vegetation.
According to altitude, three forest levels can be distinguished: the Hyrcanian mixed forests, the mountain beech forest, and the High Mountain oak and hornbeam forest. The Hyrcanian forest stricto sensu once covered the plains, where only residual patches remain on coarse alluvial terraces between cultivated areas, and still covers the greater part of the first slopes of the mountains up to about 1000 m.
It is a stratified forest, with a layer of very tall trees such as the endemic chestnut-leaved oak (boland-mazu; Quercus castaneaefolia), Siberian elm (derakht-e-azad; Zelkova crenata) and iron tree (anjili; Parrotia persica) and more common elms, maples, and hornbeams (ulas); a layer of smaller trees like the endemic Gleditchia caspica (lilaki), Diospyros lotus (kalhu), and Albizzia julibrissin (shabkhosb), boxwood (shemshad) in shady spots and all kinds of wild fruit trees; and an underwood with evergreen bushes such as Prunus laurocerasus (jal) and holly (khas), moss, wild vine, ivy, and other creeping plants. Medium altitude mountains are the realm of the lofty oriental beech (rash; Fagus orientalis), associated with oaks (balut), lime-trees (namdar), maples (afra), and elms (narvan; qq.v.). The upper mountain level, between 1800 and 2200 m, has remnants of a quite poorer forest of stunted oaks (uri; Quercus macranthera) and hornbeams (Carpinus orientalis). Alpine meadows, climacic at higher altitudes, have often replaced these upper mountain forests, some of them, on highest ridges or sheltered slopes, show distinctly xerophytic features.
The so-called Mediterranean island around Rudbar and Manjil is conspicuous through its specific vegetation, natural as well as cultivated, i.e., its very sparse cypress (q.v.) forests and its olive-groves.
The weather system in Lahijan is more favorable than the other points in the Gilan. It has warmer winters and cooler summers. Freezing temperatures are seldom reported in the coastal areas; however it is not odd for Lahijan to experience periods of near blizzard conditions during the winter. The amount of rainfall in Lahijan depends on the winds bearing vapor that blow from the North West in winter, from the East in spring and from the West in summer and autumn. These winds carry the vapor and humidity towards the plains causing heavy and prolonged rainfalls.
Tea in Iran
The history of tea culture in Iran started at the end of the 15th century. Before that coffee was the main beverage in Iran. However, most of the coffee producing countries were located far from Iran, making shipping very difficult. With a major tea producing country, China, located on a nearby trading path, "the silk roadSilk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
", and the shipping of tea was much easier. That was a main reason why tea became much popular in Iran. As a result, the demand for tea grew, and more tea needed to be imported to match Iran's consumption.
Iran failed in their first attempt to cultivate tea in their own country in 1882 with seeds from India. In 1899 Prince Mohammad Mirza known as "Kashef Al Saltaneh" who was born in Lahijan, imported Indian tea and started its cultivation in Lahijan. Kashef, who was the first mayor of Tehran and an Iranian ambassador to India under British rule, knew that the British would not allow him to learn about the secrets of tea production, as it was their biggest business in India at the time. So being fluent in French, the prince pretended to be a French laborer and started to work in the tea plantations and factories to learn how to produce tea. Ultimately his plan was to take back some samples of this tea to Iran to cultivate. He was successful in this endeavor only because of his diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host country's laws...
which stopped the British from searching his secretly stashed sample. At the time, Kashef brought 3000 saplings into his country from the Northern part of India, Kangra. He started the cultivation in the region Gilan, south of the Caspian Sea. The climate there was well suited for tea cultivation, and the tea industry quickly expanded in Gilan and Mazanderan region. Kashef’s mausoleum in Lahijan is now part of the "Iran's National Tea Museum".
Most of the farms are located the hillsides of Iran like the farms in Darjeeling. These farms produce an orthodox style of black tea. The color of Iranian tea is red and taste is fairly light, and it is delicious without adding any milk or sugar.
The total production of black tea in 2009 was approximately 60’000 tons.
Tea in Lahijan
Historically, Lahijan is the first town in Iran to have teaTea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
plantations. With its mild weather, soil quality and fresh spring water, Lahijan stands to have the largest area of tea cultivation in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
But today the country's tea industry is deep in trouble and the verdant gardens that once sustained millions of farmers and their workers are used only for grazing sheep and other personal purposes. Despite having one of the world's most avid tea drinking populations, the Iranian tea economy is reeling from an influx of foreign imports and smugglers who, local traders complain, often have close family ties to powerful figures in the Islamic government
Islamic government
*For the states which call themselves Islamic republics, see Islamic Republic*For the book by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called Islamic Government, or Islamic Government: Guardianship of the Jurist, see Hokumat-e Islami : Velayat-e faqih ...
. The consequences are plain to see. In Lahijan, the historic capital of Iran's tea industry, land that was once a lush vista of tea bushes is now occupied by houses and flats, built by tea factory owners who have moved into the building trade in response to their industry's decline. Several of the town's tea mills are derelict. Others are at a stand-still or operating at half capacity. Some 40% of the half-million tea farmers in tea-rich Gilan province have gone out of business, because the factories are no longer buying their crops. Hundreds of thousands of pickers have been forced out of work.
Cookies (Kulucheh)
Lahijan's cookies (Kulucheh) are well-known and sold all across the world. Culucheh is a traditional Persian-style filled cookie. It has a shell that encrusts a soft filling. The filling comes in different variety of flavors like cocoa, walnut, or coconut. For centuries, using traditional methods, these types of cookies have been produced in Gilan. Noosheen, Naderi, Nadi and Peyman brands are four famous cookie producers in Lahijan.Notable people from Lahijan
- Dr. Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi Gilani - Founder of Sharif University of TechnologySharif University of TechnologySharif University of Technology is a university of higher education in technology, engineering and physical sciences in Tehran. Sharif University of Technology is one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and is considered Iran's MIT...
and Director of Alborz High School. - Dr. Reza Radmanesh - Previous Head of Tudeh Party fraction in Iran National Assembly and Physics Professor, University of LeipzigUniversity of LeipzigThe University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
- Dr. Ebrahim Hishmat - Governor of Lahian in Persian Socialist Soviet RepublicPersian Socialist Soviet RepublicThe Persian Socialist Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet republic in the Iranian province of Gilan that lasted from June 1920 until September 1921...
- Mohammad Kashef-al-Saltaneh - Also known as Prince Mohammad Mirza, the man who introduced tea to IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. - Hazin LahijiHazin LahijiHazīn Lāhījī , is the pen-name of Mohammad Ali ibn Abi Tāleb ibn Abd Āllah, also known as Mohammad Ali ibn Abi Tāleb Hazin Lāhiji, Mohammad ibn Abi Tāleb Gilāni and Sheikh Mohammad Ali Hazin Lāhiji. He was an Iranian poet and scholar, born into an eminent family in Esfahan...
- Iranian Poet and Scholar - Sheikh Zahed Gilani - Grandmaster of the famed Zahediyeh Sufi Order at Lahijan
- Hassan Zia-ZarifiHassan Zia-ZarifiHassan Zia-Zarifi was an Iranian intellectual and one of the ideological founders of the communist guerrilla movement in Iran.Hassan Zia-Zarifi was executed extrajudicially along with eight others while in prison in Tehran on April 18, 1975...
- Iranian intellectual and one of the founders of the communist guerrilla movement in Iran - Bijan NajdiBijan NajdiBijan Najdi was an Iranian writer and poet. Najdi is most famous for his short story collection "The leopards who have run with me" .-Life and career:...
- Poet and Writer - Mehdi Mahdavi Saeidi - Iranian Marja'
- Zin-al-Abedin Qorbani - Lahijan's Former Friday Prayer Leader
- Abdullah Lahiji - Political Figure in Iranian Constitutional Era
- Mohammad Ali Fith al-Lahiji - Former head of Iranian Administrative Justice Court
- Aboul Hassan Sa'adatmand - Iranian Intelligence Ministry
- Reza Qotbi - Head of Iranian National TV
- Hassan Karimi Pour - a well known judge before Islamic Revolution in Iran
- Mohammad Ali Saffar - Iranian Lawmaker
- Mohammad Ali Khan Ami Divan Lahiji - A great feudal in Gilan
- Hassan Mahjoubi - Architect
- Mohammad Qassim Lahiji Haeri - Calligrapher
- Ali Lahiji - Historian
- Kamel Kheirkhah - Former Iranian PM 1998
- Abdullah Deljoo Sabeti - Poet and Writer
History
In ancient times, Gilan region was divided to `the Caspian' and `the Golha' (flowers) subregions. Before the Iran's provincial divisions into the current state, Gilan was divided by the Sefid-Rud River into eastern and western regions. The river's eastern side called Biehpish and the western side Biehpas. At some point in time, Lahijan became the capital of Biehpish. This region has been one of Iran's major silk-producing centers as well as the country's first area for the tea-plantation set out by Prince Mohammad Mirza.Prince Mohammad Mirza known as "Kashef-ol-Saltaneh" who was born in Lahijan was the first mayor of Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
. As the Iranian ambassador to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
under British rule, he knew the British would not allow him to learn about the secrets of tea production, as it was their biggest business in India at the time. So being fluent in French, the prince pretended to be a French laborer and started to work in the tea plantations and factories to learn how to produce tea. Ultimately his plan was to take back some samples of this tea to Iran to cultivate. He was successful in this endeavor only because of his diplomatic immunity which stopped the British from searching his secretly stashed sample. His mausoleum in Lahijan is now part of the "Iran Tea Museum".
The foundation of Lahijan is attributed to 'Lahij Ebne Saam'. Oljaito, the Mongol ruler conquered Lahijan in 705 AH. Then Amir Teimoor attacked this region. Finally, Shah Abbas I defeated 'Khan Ahmad' and thereafter the Safavid governors ruled this city. Amongst the unpleasant events in the history of this city were the outbreak of plague in 703 AH., the conflagration of 850 AH. and the conquest of it by the Russian army in 1725 AD. Lahijan was one of the main bases of the Jungle Movement.
Special ceremony
Neighborhoods and districts
District
Keshavarzi - Khamir Kalaye - Gharib Abad - Amir Shahid - Pordesar - Shishe Garan - Ordubazar - Khazar St. - Karegar (Shahid Rajayi)- Andisheh - Shahrake Salman - Shahrake Janbazan - Yousef Abad - Chahar Padeshahan - Sardare Jangal - Shoron Maleh - Khoramshahr - Ghiam St. - Bolvar St. - Nima St. - Jire Sar - Koucheh Bargh - Malek-e-Ashtar - Bazkia Gorab - Shaghayegh St. - East & West Kashef St. - Hazin St. - Sheikh Zahed Village - 22 Aban - Shahid Karimi St. - Bazar Rooz 1 2 3 4 - Shahrake Tarbiat Mo'allem - Shahrake Farhangian - Kamarbandi - Pomp Benzin - Golestan Alleies - Azadegan St. - Taleghani St. - Sher Bafan - Ghasab Mohaleh - Lashidan-e-Hokomati - Lashidan - Tarbiat Mo'allem St. - Assyed Yamani Alley - Abshar & Damaneh - Gabaneh - Karvan Sara Bar - Fayath St. - Hassan Bigdesht - Haji Abad - Asour Meli - Javaher Poshteh - Kord-e-Mahaleh - Namak Abi - Koi Zamani - . . .Neighborhoods
Soustan or Sustan is a small village in southern Lahijan which is divided into two districts, Soustan, the up . . . Soustan, the down. In the southeast of the village, there is a natural pool which locals call it, Soustan'sal. There is also a natural island coverd with old trees at the middle of the pool. The pool can be regarded as a major tourist hub in the area. The pool is used for irrigating tea fields and paddy lands across the village. There is also a sand mine (open mine) near the pool, Shin'chal. Contractors extract tens of thousands tones of sand, annually, from the area.Kat'schel is a small village in eastern Lahijan. It is the nearest village to Soustan.
Bijar Booneh - Kuh Bijar - Abas Abad - Amir Kalayeh - Bijar Bagh - Satle Sar - Bakhshi Sara - Chelayeh - Sar Choshmeh - Zomeidan - Alisorood - Shin Nesa - Kuroe - Doongahi - Aseyyed Hosseini - Gombol - Kobaneh - Bejayeh - Laliman - Loleman - Ahandan - Nakhjir Kelayeh - Sareshkeh - . . .
Tourist Hubs
Sheitan Koh (Satan's Hill) and its waterfall - SareshkeSareshke
Sareshke is a village in Iran's North-Western Gilan province, South of Lahijan and North of Siahkal County. The nearest Caspian beach to Sareshke is "Chamkhaleh Beach". The other name of Sareshke is Sereshke. Sareshke is said to be one of the most beautiful villages in Iran.-People and culture:The...
- Baam-e-Sabz - Lahijan Pool (Estakhr) - the Tomb of the Four king (Char Padeshahan) - Golshan Bath - Sheikh Zahed Gilani Tomb - Shen Chal & Sustan Pool - Lahijan Daily Markets No.1 and No.2 - Iran National Tea Museum - Brick Bridge (pole Kheshti) - Amjadossoltan (Tomb of Farah Pahlavi(Diba)'s ancestor - National Library) - Lahidjan gondola - At'ah Kuh - Bulvar . . .
Traditional foods
You can enjoy a verity of traditional foods in Lahijan including:Mirza'ghasemi, Torshe'tare, Bademjan'khoroush, Sir'vabichke Morgh-e-Lako, Baghale Ghatogh, Torshe Tare, koii Khorosh, Sir ghalieh, Alo Mosama, Naz Khatoon, Chaghar Tameh, Anarbij, Shesh Andaz, Shirin Tare, Sirabij, Khali Ovei, Chakhartameh, Motonjen, Loongi, Ghorabij, Mahi Febij, Vavishkah, Torshe Shami, Shami
Cinema and theater centers
There were two movie centers in Lahijan, be'that and Shahr-e-Sabz (which both are currently closed). Once, it was so important to Lahijaniese to go to there to enjoy their free times. But, during 10 years ago, because of economic meltdown in the city, both movie centers were bankrupted. At the moment, there is no movie center in the city.Universities and Schools
There are two kinds of university in Lahijan, state and non-state (semi-private) universities.State Universities
Hazrat Zeinab School of Nursing and Midwifery, East Gilan
Lahijan Payam-Noor University
Tarbiat Modarres College, Lahijan
Non-state Universities
Islamic Azad University, Lahijan
Deylaman Institute of Higher Education
Andishmand, the nonprofit institution of higher education
Rajai Vocational College
For many centuries a hallmark of the people of Lahijan was their endorsement of for the advancement of literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. The Islamic Azad University of Lahijan
Islamic Azad University of Lahijan
Islamic Azad University of Lahijan is a campus of Islamic Azad University system in Iran....
brings this endorsement into the modern age. Islamic Azad University of Lahijan (also known as Azad University of Lahijan, formerly known as Islamic Azad University of East of Gilan) is a campus of Islamic Azad University system in Iran. The university was established in 1988 by some outstanding members of Tehran University of Medical Sciences including Dr. Mir Mozafar Masoumi who was also the first President of the university. So far up to 16000 students graduated from university.