GHARDESHGARAN SHIRAZ TOURS & TRAVEL AGENCY

West Azarbaijan or West Azerbaijan (Persian: آذربایجان غربی Āzarbāijān-e Gharbī; Kurdish: Azerbaycanî Rojawa; Azeri: Qərbi Azərbaycan) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran.
The province of West Azarbaijan covers an area of 39,487 km², or 43,660 km² including Lake Urmia. In 2006 the province had a population of 3015361. The capital city of the province is Urmia.

History

The name "Azarbaijan" comes from the ancient Old Persian name Atro Patikan and Middle Persian "Adur Paiyigan." The name means "The Guardians of Fire"—a reference to the holy Zoroastrian fire that burned in the grand fire temple at Ganzak/Ganzaca (modern Takab) —the first capital of Azarbaijan/Media Minor.
According to various sources cited in Encyclopedia Iranica, the current province of West Azarbaijan was part of the Sassanid Azarbadegan satrap as far back as the 3rd century. The current ruins of Takht-i Suleiman in today’s West Azarbaijan was the capital of the Azarbaijan Satrapy.
Excavation sites such as Teppe Hasanlu establish permanent settlement in the province to the 6th millennium BCE. In Hasanlu, a famous Golden Vase was found in 1958. The province is also the location of Teppe Hajifiruz, site of some of the world’s earliest evidence of wine production. Gooy Teppe is another significant site. A metal plaque dating from 800 BCE depicts a scene from the epic of Gilgamesh. Islamic researchers proclaim that the birth of the prophet Zoroaster was in this area, in the vicinity of Lake Orumieh (Chichesht), Konzak City.
Ruins such as these and the UNESCO world heritage site at the Sassanid compound of Takht-i-Suleiman illustrate the strategic importance and tumultuous history of the province through the millennia. Overall, the province enjoys a wealth of historical attractions, with 169 sites registered by the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran.
The province continued to experience many wars over the centuries. Numerous Azeris arrived in the region, including to the west of Lake Urmia beginning around the 13th century.
The first monarch of Iran's Qajar dynasty, Agha Muhammad Khan, was coronated in Urmia in 1795.
Significant events in 19th and 20th century that took place are:

Shaikh Ubeidullah Revolts, west and south of Lake Urmia in 1880;
Simko Insurrections, west of Lake Urmia from 1918 to 1922;
the Soviet occupation in 1946;
the foundation and destruction of the Republic of Mahabad in 1946; and
periodic severe fighting from 1979 until 1990s (and even to the present, but on a smaller scale) between Kurdish (nationalist and communist) forces and the Iranian government. At times, large parts of the province were without government control.

These separatist movements however can visibly trace their origins back to the colonialist policies of the Soviet Union and Imperial Russia. In a cable sent on July 6th 1945 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the local Soviet commander in Russian (northern) held Azerbaijan was instructed as such:
"Begin preparatory work to form a national autonomous Azerbaijan district with broad powers within the Iranian state and simultaneously develop separatist movements in the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, Gorgan, and Khorasan".

Orumieh, the county town of the province, is located 951 km north-west of Tehran and 18 km west of Orumieh lake in a luxuriant plain. The heights of this province separates it from Iraq and Turkey. The weather in Orumieh is cold in winters and moderate in the summers. The latest archeological discoveries indicate that the history of the region dates back to 2000 BC. Some historians believe that Orumieh is the birth place of Zoroaster, the most famous Persian prophet in the 3rd century AH. Geographers named the town as the third largest town in Azarbaijan territory after Ardabil and Maragheh . There had been many historical sight-seeings and monuments in Orumieh which were unfortunately destroyed because of some historical events and invasions of different tribes and clans.

Orumieh Lake with its unique salty bitter water is situated some 21 km east of Orumieh. It consists of 102 beautiful islands, which support a variety of animals and plantations. Dissolved chemical elements and natural salts, makes this lake very important to patients with skin problems and boneache. A large number of rare and colorful birds, makes this lake something distractive among all the parks in Iran and even in the world. This lake with its coastal areas and islands, is introduced and recorded by UNESCO as one of the 59 International Natural Parks in the world. Orumieh Lake was called "Rima" (sea of sunset) in Assyria and Medes period. For people, interested in swimming, water therapy, water sports and boating, this is the right spot.