Zanjan Provincee

Zanjan (زنجان in Persian) is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. It is in the north-west of the country, and its center is Zanjan. Zanjan province has an area of 36,400 km² and has a mostly rural, Azeri population of 1.7 million.
Zanjan is famous for its seedless grapes. The province lies 330 km northwest of Tehran, connected to it via a freeway.
Zanjan is known for its beautiful handcrafts such as knives, traditional sandals called charoogh and malileh. Malileh is a handcraft made with silver wires. Zanjanian artists make many things like various decorative dishes and their special covers as well as silver jewelry. In ancient times, Zanjan was known for its stainless and sharp knives. But this tradition is gradually becoming extinct by introduction of Chinese knives to the market which are cheaper and better made than these primitive industires. Many villagers today are traditional carpet weavers. This is perhaps Zanjan's most popular handcraft.
Zanjan also has an incredible cave called katala khor. It is near the Sultaniyeh.

Geography and climate

Zanjan has an area of 22,164 square kilometres, occupying 1.34% of the Iranian territory. The average population density in Zanjan is 4 1/4 people per kilometre. Located north west of Iran, Zanjan covers joint borders with seven provinces- Eastern Azarbaijan, Western Azarbaijan, Hamadan, Kordestan, Gilan, Ghazvin and Ardabil.
Zanjan has a Mediterranean climate characterised by cold snowy weather in the mountains and moderate climate in the plains in wintertime. In the summers, the weather is warm. The average maximum temperature of Zanjan is around 27.1 degrees Celsius, whereas the average minimum temperature stands at -19.5 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the temperature rises to 32 degrees Celsius on hot days, whereas it drops to 27 degrees Celsius below zero on icy days. The average annual rainfall in the first month of spring stands at 72 millimetres, while in the second month of summer, it slips to a meagre 3.6 millimetres. The rate of humidity in the morning stands by average at 74% and at noon at 43%.

History

In Ptolemy's Geography, the city is referred to as Aganzana. It is said that the Sassanid king Ardashir I of Persia, reconstructed the city and called it Shahin but later it was renamed to Zangan, of which the present name is the arabicized form of.
In past times Zanjan's name was Khamseh, which means "province with five tribes".

Zanjan Attractions:

1. Sultaniya Dome

The mausoleum of Oljeitu Khudabanda was built in Sultaniya in 1304-13 (A.H. 703-13). The basic structure is an octagon about 80 feet (24.5 m.) across on the inside.
At the base the walls are almost 23 feet (7 m.) thick, giving a total width of approximately 126 feet (39 m.).
The interior height of the single dome is about 175 feet (about 53 m.). Andre Godard has described this monument as (... the skillful, confident work of a great builder, a consummate technician who was at the same times an artist. Here is a dome with a span of 80 feet built solely of bricks, without any buttresses, pinnacles, or shoulders of any kind, which stands simply by virtue of a perfectly conceived and constructed profile.)
Glazed tile and carved stucco
Details of the original glazed tile and fine, carved stucco in the main chamber evoke speculation as to why blue was so much preferred by the early Iranian artists. Did a superstitious belief in the power of blue as protection against the evil eye have any significance? Many beads and amulets were-and still are- in that cooler for magic reasons. Might the selection have been determined by some association with the sky and the heavens? Or did it stem from something more mundane, such as the availability of copper compound with which to make the glaze?
Cornice on the east side
This is the earliest major monument in Iran in which color has been used for massive effects. The dome was covered with tiles of turquoise, while the facade was decorated in shades of deep blue. Stalactites adorn the cornice and increase the play of light and shadow. Through the arch the elaborate patterns on the walls of the upper galleries can be seen. The construction of the splendid capital in little more than a decade appears an incredible achievement. At this time, however, artisans were protected and greatly valued by the Eastern warlords. The capture of a town often meant the massacre of the inhabitants - with the exception of the craftsmen. These artisans were promptly conscripted and sent to work in the conqueror`s cities. A vast number of men elaborated on the monuments of Sultaniya. As late as the Safavid period, the skill of its artisans was still regarded as an inestimable wealth of a kingdom. At that time some traders paid a tax into the royal treasury, but craftsmen, especially in the building field, owed their tribute in labor. The chief architect of a monument was not only highly respected but was also well remunerated, receiving as salary up to twenty percent of the assessed value of the work.
The Upper Galleries
The upper galleries of the mausoleum of Oljeitu present vistas of painted and carved stucco designs which glow in shades of red. The brick walls were covered with a smooth surface of hard plaster into which the patterns were cut to a depth of about three-eighths of an inch (about a centimeter) and then painted with distemper. It is extremely likely that decorative details from illuminated manuscripts were used in the ornamentation of buildings. A Koran in the National Assembly Library, Cairo, which was written in Hamadan for Oljeitu, contains patterns almost identical with the stucco decoration in the galleries shown here.
Height of the Dome
From the outside the height of the dome of the Oljeitu mausoleum is partially concealed by the bulk of the octagon. From inside, however, where the height at the center of the dome is 175 feet, the silent majesty of space is overwhelming. Fragments of the original decoration of glazed tile and stucco can be seen on the arch leading to the sanctuary.