Tehran, IRAN

Tehrân, Iran’s capital and largest city, lies at the foot of the Elburz Mountains in northern Iran. The capital of Iran since 1788, the city was built up and modernized during the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty, which lasted from 1925 until 1979.

Persian king Cyrus the Great founded the Persian Empire in 550 BC. Its capital was Persepolis, which is located in the mountainous region of southwestern Iran. The high, dry climate has preserved much of the architecture, and archaeologists have uncovered and restored many of the ruins.

From this facility on Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s oil is exported to countries around the world. Linked to mainland oilfields by pipelines, the terminal has an export capacity of about 5 million barrels per day. More than three-fourths of Iran’s export revenues come from foreign sales of oil.

Iranian women wearing the traditional garment known as the chador visit a cemetery for war dead in Tehrân. The chador has been worn by many Iranian women since before the Islamic Revolution (1978-1979). After the revolution it became mandatory for women to dress modestly by wearing either the chador or a long cloak called the manteau.

These Iranian women are weaving rugs using traditional methods. While a skilled weaver can tie about 12,000 knots per day, a high quality hand-woven carpet may have as many as one million knots per square yard. Thus, it can take a year or more to weave a single carpet. Persian rugs, as Iranian rugs are still known, are considered among the most valuable in the world.