Urmia Urmu Uroumiye
-  City  -
Urmia municipality square
Seal
Nickname(s): Cradle of Water
Urmia
Coordinates: 37�32′58″N 45�4′11″E / 37.54944�N 45.06972�E / 37.54944; 45.06972
Country	Iran
Province	West Azarbaijan Province
County	Urmia
Government
- Mayor	Ebrahim Bazian
Elevation	1,332 m (4,370 ft)
Population (2006)
- Total	871,204
- Population Rank in Iran	10th
	Population Data from 2006 Census.[1]
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
- Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Area code(s)	0441, 0443
Website	www.urmia.ir

Lake Urmia near Urmia city.

Urmia or Oroumieh (Persian: ارومیه; Azerbaijani: اورمو / اورمیه - Urumiyə / Urmu; Kurdish: ورمێ - Urmiye; Syriac: ܐܘܪܡܝܐ), during the majority of the Pahlavi Dynasty [1925-1979] called Persian: رضائیه, Rezaiyeh), is a city in Northwestern Iran and the capital of West Azerbaijan Province. The city lies on an altitude of 1,330 m above sea level on the Shahar Chay river (City River). Urmia is the 10th most populated city in Iran with a population of about 600,000.^[2] The population is mainly Azeri, with Kurdish, Assyrian, and Armenian minorities.^[3]

Urmia is situated on a fertile plain called Urmia Plain, on western side of Lake Urmia ; and eastern side of Turkish border and marginal range of mountains.

Urmia is the trade center for a fertile agricultural region where fruit (especially Apple and Grape) and Tobacco are grown. An important town by the 9th cent., Urmia was seized by the Seljuk Turks (1184), and later occupied a number of times by the Ottoman Turks. Urmia was the seat of the first U.S. Christian mission in Iran (1835). Around 1900 Christians made up more than 40% of the city's population, however, most of the Christians fled in 1918.^[4]

Etymology

The name Urmia is thought to have come from Sumerian tongue, the earliest known civilization in the world located in southern Mesopotamia. Ur was a principal Sumerian city. Some believe the name is derived from Syriac. Ur, meaning "cradle," and mia, meaning "water." Hence, Urmia, situated by a lake and surrounded by rivers, would be the cradle of water. Some have claimed connections to other languages. There is, however, no generally accepted etymology.

History

Prehistory

The city of Urmia (Orumiyeh), in northwest of Iran, is considered one of the ancient cities of the country and a Cradle of civilization.

The diggings in the ancient ruins around Urmia led to the discovery of utensils, some of which date back to some 2000 years B.C.

Also research by Professor Minorski shows that there have been villages in the Urmia plain some 2000 years B.C., with their civilization under the influence of Van nation.

In the ancient times, the west bank of Urmia lake was called Gilzan, and in the ninth century B.C. an independent government ruled there which later joined the Urartu or Mana empire; in the eight century B.C., the area was a vassal of the Asuzh government until it joined the Median Empire after its formation.

All and all, according to historical documents, the western part of the Urmia Lake has been a center of attention of the prehistoric nations, the evidence of which are the numerous ancient hills in the area, such as Gouy Tapeh, 6 kilometers southeast of the lake which competes with the oldest hills of Mesopotamia, Asia the Minor, and the Iranian Plateau.

Many old Islamic historians have acknowledged Urmia as the birthplace of prophet Zoroaster, but this has been rejected by Iranologists and linguists.

The claim that the area was the birthplace of Zoroaster, or even the burial site of one or two of the Zoroastrian priests who allegedly traveled to Bethlehem for Christ's birth indicate that the city has been one of the largest religious and scientific centers of the ancient times. ^[5]

Urmia, according to some historians, is believed to be the birthplace of the prophet Zarathustra, the founder of Zoroastrianism.^[6] The Columbia Encyclopedia mentions that Urmia was an important town in the region during the 9th century.^[7] In 950's the ruler of Urmia was Jastan bin Sharmazan, a devoted general of Daisam al-Kurdi, and the area was scene of power shift between Kurds and Dailamis. In 1040's, ruler of Urmia, Abu Hidja bin Rabib al-Dawla, chief of Hadhabani Kurds, defeated Ghuz tribes who tried to invade Urmia and killed thousands of Ghuz invaders.^[8] Eventually the city was reportedly sacked and destroyed by the Seljuk Turks in 1184.

The Ottoman Turks made several incursions into the city, but the Safavids were soon able to regain control over the area. The first monarch of Iran's Qajar dynasty, Agha Muhammad Khan, was crowned in Urmia in 1795. Due to Urmia's relatively large Christian population growth by the end of the 19th century, Urmia also became the seat of the first American Christian mission in Iran in 1835. Another mission soon became operational in nearby Tabriz as well. The Catholic Encyclopedia mentions Urmia as the seat of a Chaldean diocese.^[9]

Geography

Climate

Urmia's climate is semi-arid (K��ppen BSk) with moderately cold winters, mild springs, hot, dry summers (though mild for Iran) and crisp autumns. Precipitation is heavily concentrated in late autumn, winter, and especially spring, while summer precipitation is very scarce.

Demographics

According to official census of 2006, the population of Urmia is about 871,204 ^[10].

Language

According to study of households and ethnic composition in the city of Urmia, which took place around the year 2000 shows that 75.7% of the city are speakers of Azeri and the rest are speakers of Kurdish and other groups. The percentage for Assyrians, Persians and Armenians are 1.7, 1.6 and 0.5 respectively. The Kurds of Urmia speak the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish.

Religion

The majority of people are followers of Shia Islam. Also, some Sunni Muslims, Armenians and Assyrians live in Urmia.

Sport

Sport is an important part of Urmia's culture. The most popular sport in Urmia is volleyball. Urmia is Iran's volleyball capital ,its because of ranks that Heyat Volleyball Urmia VC got in Iranian Volleyball Super League and for the great volleyball players that are in Iran men's national volleyball team and first class coaches in Iran.

2010 Asian Men's Cup Volleyball Championship is going to be held in Ghadir Arena.and eight countries is in this championship and they are: The teams are seeded based on their final ranking at the 2009 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship.

 Iran (Host & 2nd)
 China (4th)
 Chinese Taipei
 India
 Japan (1st)
 South Korea (3rd)
 Australia
 Kazakhstan

Consulates

Flag	Country	Address
	Turkey	Beheshti ave., Urmia, Iran

Ethnography

Azeri Turks ^[11][12] (86%^[13] - over 90%^[14]) are the main ethnic group in the city followed by Kurds, Assyrian and Armenian minorities.

The city has been home to various ethnic groups during its long history. For this reason, the demographics of the city have undergone numerous changes. Some historical documents show that at the beginning of the 20th century, the city's population had a significant Christian minority (Assyrians and Armenians).^[15] According to Macuch, and Ishaya, the city was the spiritual capital of the Assyrians from 1830 to the end of World War I by the influence of four Christian missions.^[16] Some of the Assyrians and Armenians left the region in 1914 after battles between the Russian and Ottoman armies which led to a shift in the city's demographics.^[16] During the era of Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iranian Assyrians were invited to return to the region and several thousand did return. Allegedly a Russian author would have called these findings "ludicrous".^[17]

Culture

Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (April 2009)

Museums

• Natural History Museum - Displays the animals native to the vicinity of Urmia.
• Urmia Museum - Archaeological museum affiliated with the faculty of Shahid Beheshti University.

Education

Urmia University's entrance

Urmia University's hall

Higher education

Urmia was an important center for higher education approximately a century ago, indeed, medical faculty of Urmia which was built by Joseph Cochran and a team of American medical associates in 1878, is the first University of Iran. Unfortunately the faculty became shut down even before establishment of first official university of Iran, University of Tehran.
Nowadays Urmia has become a considerable educational city. The city owns state and private universities and institutes listed below.

Universities in Urmia:

Libraries

• Central Library of Urmia
• Shahid Bahonar Library
• Library of I.R.Iran Education Ministry
• Library of Urmia Cultural and Artistical Center
• Allame Tabatabayee Library
• Library of Khane-ye-Javan

Media

Television

Urmia has one state television channel called "Azerbaijan TV" that broadcasts in both Persian and Azerbaijani language. It broadcasts internationally through satellite Intelsat 902.^[18][19]

Radio

Urmia has one government-controlled radio channel broadcasting in both Persian and Azerbaijani languages.^[18]

Press

Infrastructure

Health systems

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

Transportation

Inner City:

Most Urmia residents travel by car through the system of roads and highways. Urmia is also served by taxi and bus.

• Taxi and Public Bus

Urmia has taxi and public bus network. There are also some private groups, which provide services called Phone-taxi.

International:

• Roads

Urmia is linked to Europe through Turkey's roads and Sero border.

• Railways

The city is going to link to Iran National Railways (IRIR, Persian: رجا ).

• Airport

Urmia Airport opened in 1964 and is the only international airport in West Azerbaijan . Its international air routes are to the following cities^[20]:

• Arbil

Domestic air routes to:Tehran, Mashhad, Kish Island, Shiraz.^[20]

Celebrities

• Gholamreza Hassani (غلامرضا حسنی): Supreme leader's representative in province.
• Dada Katyb (دده کاتیب): poet
• Parviz Fattah (سید پرویز فتاح) : Energy Minister in the ninth government
• Sadeg Mahsouli (صادق محصولی) : prime minister ninth government
• Ali abdol alizadeh (علی عبدالعلی زاده): Minister of Housing and Urban Development in the government of Mr. Khatami
• Masoud Pezeshkyan (مسعود پزشکیان): Minister of Health and Medical Education in the government of Mr. Mohammad Khatami
• Eskandar Neemati (اسکندر نعمتی): To deliver victory in the Islamic Revolution and the role in war, and developed many students.^[21]
• Reza Moridi (رضا مریدی): second iranian who is Canadian politician and is in legislative assembly of this country.
• Heydarkhan amu-oghlu (حیدرخان عمواوغلی): founder of the Communist Party of Iran and the first Secretary of the Communist Party of Iran and effective activist movement Constitutional.
• Safi al-Din al-Urmawi (صفی الدین اورموی): music teacher
• Habib Mohebian (حبیب محبیان): known as Habib and pop music singer in America
• Nasrin moganlu (نسرین مقانلو): is an Iranian actress.
• Bijan Kamkar (بیژن کامکار): singer and composer Iranian Daf player.
• Homa Nateg (هما ناطق): writer, researcher and professor in the field of history. Who in 1359 returned to France to research and teaching at the Sorbonne payment.

See also

• Urmia County
• Lake Urmia
• West Azarbaijan Province
• Tabriz
• Ardabil
• Zanjan
• Azerbaijanis
• Azerbaijani

Photo Gallery of Urmia

Urmia University library.

a picture of lake Urmia.

References

External links

• www.urmia.ir
• The Governor of West Azarbaijan Province
• Urmia Branch of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance
• Urmia Branch of Ministry of Internal Affairs
• Urmia Road and Transportation Office
• Urmiya, By V. Minorsky and C.E. Bosworth, in Encyclopaedia of Islam.
• Columbia Free Dictionary: Urmia

Coordinates: 37�33′N 45�06′E / 37.55�N 45.1�E / 37.55; 45.1

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v - d - e West Azarbaijan Province Capital Urmia Counties (shahrestan) Bukan  - Chaipareh  - Chaldoran  - Khoy  - Mahabad  - Maku  - Miandoab  - Naqadeh  - Oshnavieh  - Piranshahr  - Poldasht  - Salmas  - Sardasht  - Shahindej  - Showt  - Takab  - Urmia  - Cities Avajiq  - Baruq  - Bazargan  - Bukan  - Chahar Borj  - Chaldoran  - Firuraq  - Gordkeshkhaneh  - Ivughli  - Keshawarz  - Khoy  - Maku  - Mahabad  - Mohhamadyar  - Mahmudabad  - Miandoab  - Mirabad  - Naghadeh  - Nalous  - Noshinshar  - Oshnavieh  - Piranshahr  - Poldasht  - Qaraziadin  - Qushchi  - Rabbat  - Salmas  - Sardasht  - Serow  - Shahindej  - Showt  - Silvaneh  - Simineh  - Takab  - Tazehshehr  - Urmia Villages List of cities, towns and villages in West Azarbaijan Province Sights Shalmash Waterfall  - Old bazaar of Khoy  - Ghoutour Bridge  - Khoshku ski resort  - Teppe Hasanlu  - Takht-i-Suleiman  - Farhad's rock grave(Dakhmeh)  - Lake Urmia  - Bastam Citadel  - Zarrineh River dam  - Sahulan cave  - Fakhrigah cave  - Faghrgah  - Saint Thaddeus Monastery  - Baghchejogh museum and palace  - Koleshin Inscription  - Nanehmaryam monastery  - Baand park  - Sir park  - Sardar mosque  - Urmia museum  - Salmas Sassanid relief  - Segonbad  -