Zahedan
| Zahedan | |||
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_Mosque.jpg) |
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| Basic data | |||
| Country: |
 Iran
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| Province : | Sistan and Balochistan | ||
| Coordinates : | 29 ° 30 ′ N , 60 ° 52 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 1352 m | ||
| Residents : | 672,589 (2016 census) | ||
| Area code : | 054 | ||
| Time zone : | UTC +3: 30 | ||
| Website: | portalzahedan.ir | ||
Zahedan ( Persian زاهدان) is the capital of the Iranian province of Sistan and Balochistan .
geography
Zahedan is located between the Malek Siyah, Mirjaveh and Taftan mountains, which results in a pleasant climate. The city has over 672,000 inhabitants (2016). The majority of its residents are Baluch . The city is located at an altitude of 1352 m and is 1600 km from the Iranian capital Tehran .
history
The town's historical name was Dosdab (water thief ). In 1936, during the reign of Reza Shah , the city was renamed Zahedan (The Pious).
The population increased sixfold within 25 years to 590,000 in 2001, because many Baluch people from Afghanistan fled here before the Afghan civil war and the Soviet intervention and the subsequent Taliban rule .
On February 14, 2007, 18 Revolutionary Guards were killed here by a car bomb . The Jundollah (Army of God), a Sunni group in Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the attack .
traffic
The economic importance of Zahedan goes back to an old caravan route that connects Iran and Pakistan. Since the First World War , a railway line was built in parallel over several decades , which in Zahedan was divided into two railway lines for technical reasons :
- Coming from the east, from what was then British India , the Zahedan – Quetta railway was built in the broad gauge of 1676 mm customary there .
- From the Iranian railway network , the Qom – Zahedan line was driven in the normal gauge of 1435 mm. It has been in continuous operation since June 17, 2009.
Due to the different gauges, there are two train stations , one for each of the two systems and a common freight station where freight can be reloaded. There is no re- gauging facility - due to the lack of re-gauging vehicles. Freight traffic is therefore mainly carried out with containers .
Attractions
The Makki Mosque in Zahedan is the largest Sunni mosque in Iran.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Statistical Center of Iran: Population by age groups and sex and province, the 2016 Population and Housing Census. (xlsx) Retrieved July 21, 2017 (Excel file, can be downloaded from the website. (Excel; 21 KB)).
- ↑ a b Zahedan at the Iran Chamber Society (engl.)
- ↑ Zeit online, February 15, 2007 Great potential for unrest
- ↑ HaRakevet No. 88 (2010), p. 15.
Web links
- Zahedan on www.iranchamber.com (English)