Ferdows

For other uses, see Ferdows (disambiguation).
Ferdows
فردوس
Ferdows
Coordinates: 34°01′07″N 58°10′20″E / 34.01861°N 58.17222°E / 34.01861; 58.17222Coordinates: 34°01′07″N 58°10′20″E / 34.01861°N 58.17222°E / 34.01861; 58.17222
Country  Iran
Province South Khorasan
County Ferdows
Bakhsh Central
Elevation 1,293 m (4,242 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 25,968[1]
  Census
Time zone IRST (UTC+3:30)
 • Summer (DST) IDST (UTC+4:30)
Website http://E-Ferdows.ir
Ferdows at GEOnet Names Server

Ferdows (Persian: فردوس‎‎, also Romanized as Ferdos, Ferdous, and Firdaus; named Toon or Tūn until 1929)[2] is a city in and the capital of Ferdows County, located in the northwest of South Khorasan Province in Iran. It is about 345 kilometres (214 mi) south of Mashhad and 200 km northwest of Birjand. At the 2011 census, its population was 25,968, in 7,316 families.[1]

After dividing the Khorasan province into 3 provinces, Ferdows County was initially a part of Razavi Khorasan province, but was incorporated within the borders of South Khorasan Province in March 2007.[3]

History

Founded by the Medes, Ferdows is currently a small town. It was a large and famous city in ancient days. There is an unproven theory that the town's name in ancient days was "Taban" (or shining; تابان in Persian). In Islamic times it became known as Toon or Tūn, a name retained until 1929, when it was changed to Ferdows.

The first people to inhabit Ferdows were traditionally a group of Sagartians. Toon was a famous and thriving city both before and during the Islamic era, until the raid of the Mongols. It was one of the most prominent cities of Ghohestan, along with Qaen; Nasir Khusraw mentioned Toon as a large city in the 11th century. Toon was plundered and destroyed by the Mongols in 1239. After the Mongol invasion, Toon eventually recovered and became one of the major cities of Ghohestan again. Marco Polo mentioned the south Khorasan region as Toonoqaen, apparently in reference to the two largest cities, Toon and Qaen.[4][5]

Ferdows was still a famous and prosperous city in Khorasan at the beginning of the 20th century and the Municipality of Ferdows, originally formed in 1925 (under the name of Toon), was one of the first Municipalities of Khorasan province.[6] But the city was devastated in a huge earthquake in 1968 and significantly declined thereafter.

Geography

Ferdows is located on the Plateau of Iran, between a desert region (mainly to the south and west) and a mountainous region (especially to the north and east). Most of villages around Ferdows are situated in the mountainous region to the north and northeast. The nearest town, Eslamieh, lies just 3 km northeast. The city lies on the main route from Kerman, Yazd, Bandar Abbas and other southern cities to Mashhad and hosts more than 6 million pilgrims annually on their way to Mashhad.[7] It is also a nexus of several roads converging from different areas of Iran.

The Religious School of Ferdos, once belonging to Safavid Dynasty.

Climate

The climate is mild in the spring, hot in the summer, cool and rainy in autumn, and cold in the winter. Being located near deserts, the temperature difference between day and night, and also between summer and winter, is relatively high. The majority of precipitation occurs from mid-autumn to mid-spring. The hottest month is July (mean minimum temperature 21.8 °C, mean maximum temperature 36.6 °C) and the coldest is January (mean minimum temperature -1 °C, mean maximum temperature 10.3 °C)[8]

Climate data for Ferdows, Iran
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 10.3
(50.5)		 12.7
(54.9)		 17.3
(63.1)		 24.7
(76.5)		 30.3
(86.5)		 35.7
(96.3)		 36.6
(97.9)		 35.2
(95.4)		 32.3
(90.1)		 25.8
(78.4)		 18.9
(66)		 12.9
(55.2)		 24.4
(75.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.2
(41.4)		 7.5
(45.5)		 12.1
(53.8)		 19.3
(66.7)		 24.9
(76.8)		 30.3
(86.5)		 31.4
(88.5)		 29.5
(85.1)		 25.8
(78.4)		 19.3
(66.7)		 12.7
(54.9)		 7.3
(45.1)		 18.8
(65.8)
Average low °C (°F) −1.0
(30.2)		 0.7
(33.3)		 4.7
(40.5)		 10.5
(50.9)		 14.9
(58.8)		 19.7
(67.5)		 21.8
(71.2)		 19.2
(66.6)		 14.5
(58.1)		 9.3
(48.7)		 4.3
(39.7)		 0.9
(33.6)		 10.0
(50)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 26.0
(1.024)		 28.0
(1.102)		 34.6
(1.362)		 18.2
(0.717)		 5.1
(0.201)		 0.4
(0.016)		 0.1
(0.004)		 0.4
(0.016)		 0.1
(0.004)		 2.4
(0.094)		 6.5
(0.256)		 26.0
(1.024)		 147.8
(5.819)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 mm) 7.0 6.9 8.3 5.2 2.5 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.2 2.6 6.1 40.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours 184 198 223 261 321 358 370 366 322 279 230 185 3,297
Source: Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO)[9]


Main sights

Ferdows Religious School interior
Ferdows Congregation Mosque
Mountain fortress
Kushk Historical Complex

Major visitor attractions of Ferdows are:

Products

Ferdows is famous for its high quality Saffron and pomegranate.[10][11]

Notable people

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 نتایج سرشماری سال ۱۳۹۰ (in Persian). Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  2. ↑ Ferdows can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3062926" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
  3. ↑ تصویب‌نامه در مورد تقسیمات کشوری راجع به شهرستان فردوس از استان خراسان رضوی‌ (in Persian).
  4. ↑ "Ferdows Municipality‌ Website" (in Persian).
  5. ↑ "Ferdows Governorship" (in Persian).
  6. ↑ "Ferdows Municipality History Website" (in Persian).
  7. ↑ فردوس در حوزه گردشگری باید به صورت ویژه دیده شود (in Persian).
  8. ↑ "Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO), Ferdous Station".
  9. ↑ "Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO), Ferdous Station".
  10. ↑ "Ferdows, Iran's eastern heaven". PRESS TV. 21 June 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  11. ↑ "Ferdows an Eastern Heaven". Iran Daily. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.

External links

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