Astara (Iran)
Astara | ||
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Basic data | ||
Country: | Iran | |
Province : | Gilan | |
Coordinates : | 38 ° 25 ' N , 48 ° 52' E | |
Height : | 29 m below sea level | |
Residents : | 45,935 (2012) | |
Time zone : | UTC +3: 30 |
Astara ( Persian آستارا Āstārā ) is the northernmost city of the Iranian province of Gilan and lies on the border with Azerbaijan .
Astara is a port city and lies on the Iran-Azerbaijani border river Astara . The city has almost 46,000 inhabitants .
geography
climate
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Astara
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population
In 1976 Astara had 14,150 inhabitants.
history
The earliest surviving mention of Astara dates from the end of the 10th century.
Due to the peace of Gulistan in 1813, Astara was divided by the Astarachai, which became a border river . The area south of the river belonged to Iran, the northern part to Russia . As a result, the two cities developed into the starting point of trade between Russia and north-west Iran. In 1922, the newly founded Soviet Union closed the inner-city border and the Iranian part, which previously handled 16,000 tons of goods annually, almost completely lost its economic importance by 1940.
traffic
The city is to receive a railway connection to Qazvin on the Tehran – Tabriz railway line . The southern section of this Qazvin – Astara line is under construction, but is still a long way from reaching Astara. A cross-border rail link to Azerbaijan, on the other hand, is already under construction.
literature
- M. Bazin: ĀSTĀRĀ . In: Ehsan Yarshater (Ed.): Encyclopædia Iranica , as of December 15, 1987, accessed on June 8, 2011 (English, including references)
Web links
- University of Astara (Persian)