Zarrinshahr

Infobox Settlement
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longd=51|longm=23|longs=18|longEW=E
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Zarrinshahr (Zarrin Shahr), also known as Riz-e Lenjan, is a city in Isfahan Province, Iran. It is located in southwest of Isfahan and is the capital of Lenjan County.

Name

Until the 1970s Zarrinshahr was known as Riz-e Lenjan (or simply Riz for the locals). The name changed to Zarrinshahr as a result of what seems to be merely bureaucratic decision making. [Ghaderi, Sasan 1378 Lenjan. Isfahan: Range-Ab, p17] It is not known to what extent, if any, the local population was consulted on this matter. Not many seemed to mind anyway, because 'riz' means small in Persian.

Geography and climate

Zarrinshahr is located in the lush plain of the Zayandeh Rood (or Zayandeh River), not too far from the Zagros mountain range. The climate is temperate, the four seasons occur regularly and are clearly differentiated. It experiences a few snowfalls a year but not much rain. Summer is hot and temperatures can hit 36 on some days. Summer however is quite pleasant due to lack of humidity and low temperatures at night. The locals often hit the riverside at night for dinner or after dinner tea.

People

Zarrin Shahr has a population of about 55,000. [ibid: 27] Expatriate Zohreh Bayatrizi describes the city as multi-cultural. The two main groups are Fars (Pars) (who speaks Persian and have lived in the area at least since 12th century AD), and Turks who were forcibly settle in Riz in the 17th century by the Safavid rulers. [ibid] In the past 30 years people from all across Iran have moved to Zarrin Shahr to work in the nearby steel mill factory (zobe ahan). The single largest ethnic immigrant group is the Bakhtiaris from the nearby province of Chahar Mahal Va Bakhtiari. [ ibid ] The second largest group came from the Southern province of Khusestan after the onset of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. Most of the latter were placed in camps just outside the city and most have returned home after the ceasefire.

Zarrinshahr has Greco-Roman wrestling and martial arts teams that are competitive nationally (names will be added soon). In 1991 Zohreh Bayatrizi ranked number one in the national university entrance exams (the dreaded Concours), competing against 200,000 other high school graduates from across Iran. She was the first woman from a small town in Iran to achieve this distinction. Zohreh went on to obtain a doctorate degree in Sociology. A few years later Maryam Verdian, another high school student, ranked one rationally in the Mathematics Olympiad and then went on to rank number two in the International Olympiad of Mathematics. Both Zohreh and Maryam now live in Canada.

References