Qazvin provincial map            Qazvin city map         Tehran map

Qazvin in    Wikitravel                                  Google Map

World Weather Information Service (3 days)                                Weather Microsoft Network (10 days)

Understand

Qazvin was an ancient capital in the Persian Empire and today continues to be a vibrant city. Qazvin can perhaps be said to be a moderate city, in relation to its adherence to Islamic religious and cultural values. Many people, women in particular, dress modestly but are not limited to the a black hejab, and many women can be seen wearing thin, brightly coloured scarves to cover their hair. However, many women wear an enveloping headress, designed to completely cover all hair. It is advised to dress respectfully in this context, by all means express yourself through a nature of hejab materials and colours, but be mindful of social and religious values at play.

Try to learn Persian, and use it while in Iran. Iranians are noted for their hospitality, and would greatly appreciate a tourist's attempts to communicate via Persian. Qazvin is an historical city, try and broaden your historical knowldege by sampling the historical sites.

As Indo-European languages, English and Persian have many words of common Proto-Indo-European origin, and many of these cognate words often have similar forms. Examples of these include: English (Mother) and Persian (Mādar), English (Father) and Persian (Pedar), English (Daughter) and Persian (Dokhtar), English (Sister) and Persian (Khwāhar), English (Brother) and Persian (Barādar) and English (Bad) and Persian (Bad). However, this article will be concerned with loanwords, that is, words in English that derive from Persian, either directly, or more often, via one or more intermediary languages.

Many words of Persian origin have made their way into the English language through different, often circuitous, routes. Some of them, such as "paradise", date to cultural contacts between the Persians and the ancient Greeks or Romans and through Greek and Latin found their way to English. Persian as the second important language of Islam has influenced many languages in the Muslim world, and its words have found their way beyond the Muslim world.

Persia remained largely impenetrable to English-speaking travelers well into the 19th century. Persia was protected from Europe by overland trade routes that passed through territory inhospitable to foreigners, while trade at Persian ports in the Persian Gulf was in the hands of locals. In contrast, intrepid English traders operated in Mediterranean seaports of the Levant from the 1570s, and some vocabulary describing features of Ottoman culture found their way into the English language. Thus many words in the list below, though originally from Persian, arrived in English through the intermediary of Ottoman Turkish language.

Many words also came into English through Hindustani during the British Raj. Persian was the lingua franca of India before British rule.

Other words of Persian origin found their way into European languages— and eventually reached English at second-hand— through the Moorish-Christian cultural interface in the Iberian peninsula during the Middle Ages thus being transmitted through Arabic.

By plane

The nearest international airport is Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) located in southern Tehran. Mehrabad International Airport is servicing the domestic flights since 2 year ago. Arriving at either airports you can easily hire a taxi to take you to Qazvin. Make sure to hire a registered taxi and agree on payment before you actually set off. Your taxi fare to Qazvin from IKIA is around $ 20-25 and from MIA is around $ 15-20. You travel all the way through an straight highway taking your time at most 2 hours and in the meantime you may enjoy watching beautifull sightseeings and two giant plants of the country, Abeyek Cement and Shahid Rajaee Gass Power plants.

By car

Qazvin is linked to Tehran and other major cities via a series of motorways, These are not usually too busy, though attempt to avoid times where workers are commuting to and from work. Cars can be hired at Tehran International Airport. Taxi's are usually the most easiest means of travelling to Qazvin by car. You have a choice of private taxi's, or travelling via official taxi ranks. The main difference between the two is the state of the actual cars, however do not be put off by the sight of an elderly, slightly unconventioanl car, these are usually perfectly safe to travel in.

About Qazvin

Qazvin, an ancient and tourist attracting city, is located in 135 km northwest of Tehran, on the foothills of Alborz mountain range. Based on the explorations and studies on Qazvin ancient and historical sites, Qazvin province namely Zaghe and Sagzabad Hills is among few regions in the country that were first settled in the sixth millennium BC. But the city of Qazvin backs to the Sassanid era in the course of the Iranian history when Shapoor Zolaktaf (310-371 A.D.) ordered to build a castle, preventing Deilamiyan’s aggressions. Some historians believe that the name “Qazvin” is derived from “Kashvin”, meaning a border to keep and some orientalists believe that this name is taken from the name of tribes called Caspin who settled in the west of the Caspian Sea. The City was the capital of Iran in the Safavid era for 51 years (1576-1627) and is therefore of historical significance in the Iranian history, as well as cultural for nurturing many great scientists and scholars in science, literature, culture, art, religion, philosophy, and theology. More than 138 historical sites and monuments in the province have been registered nationally. These include old chambers (Hojreh), religious buildings, mausoleums, baths, sites and passages, mosques, water reservoirs, and historical edifices.

Get around

• The Qajar era Caravanserai of Sa'd al-Saltaneh.

• The Kharaghan twin towers, built in 1067 CE, Qazvin province.

• The Russian Church of Qazvin.

Qazvin contains several archeological excavations dating back 9000 years. There are also 23 castles from the Ismaili Assassins nearby as well. And in the middle of the city lie the ruins of Meimoon Ghal'eh, one of several Sassanid edifices in the area.

Qazvin contains few buildings from the Safavid era, when it was capital of Persia. Perhaps the most famous of the surviving edifices is the Ali Qapu mansion, today a museum in central Qazvin.

Imam Khomeini International University (IKIU)

IKIU is a newly built governmental university, dating back to January 1983 when the post-revolutionary parliament (Majlis) passed the Act of Establishing International Islamic University under the administration of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology (MSRT) to enhance the knowledge among Iranian and non-Iranian applicants from the Islamic and non-Islamic world. Since its operational commencement in 1991, IKIU has thus far admitted applicants from 70 different countries around the world in its different programs and courses.

In the academic year of 2006-2007 IKIU had 183 full-time academic staffs out of whom were 143 people holding a doctorate. The total student numbers were 6232 people for Bachelor, 492 for Master and 8 for PhD programs out of which 435 people obtained Bachelor and 72 people obtained Master degrees. IKIU has been a member of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World (FUIW) since April 2007, the International Association of Universities (IAU) since July 2008 and the Association of the Caspian Sea States Universities Since Sep. 2009.

Take a visit to the bazaar in Qazvin. It is huge and you will be able to find all sorts on display. Handcrafts and Jewellery in Iran is of high quality, and cheap by Western standards. The same can be said for electronical goods, which arrive in Iran via Japan, sometimes before the products can be bought in Europe and America.

Eat

Food in Iran is a delicacy, and is made up of a whole range of Middle Eastern influences. Do eat chelo kebab in one of the many restaurants in Qazvin. This meal is pretty much a standard dish in Iran, however Qazvin does have its own regional variations on the dish. Try to sample as many different foods as possible while in Qazvin, the diversity of flavors and influences makes for delicious food. Avoid salads which have not probably been washed in tap water. Restaurants are usually very hospitable, so asking for a variation in the dish, or asking for vegetarian options or about food allergies will not be a problem.

Drink

International health agencies advise drinking bottled water in Iran. This is cheap and therefore not a concern. Alcohol is not tolerated (Except for NON MUSLIMS and non-muslim religious practices).In Iran, IF any muslim is caught partaking in or producing alcohol it is illegal and punishments can be very severe.

Stay safe

Iran is generally a safe country. It is advised however, that being an obvious tourist may attract some unwanted attention from interested Iranians, but do not be alrmed or react negatively. Standard advice to keep your bag secured and safe, and to leave personal and valuable belongings in your hotel room or hotel safe should be regarded. Iranians are generally a peaceful, hospitable people, but it is advised to act with caution when walk in the streets alone late at night or when approached by strangers to the same degree that you would in your native country.

Contact & Help

As you are the guest of the conference, you are requested to be in touch with the conference secretary or be guided by a student guide (cost only 10 Euros a day) to go wherever in Qazvin or may travel around Iran. In need of help or advice, do not hesitate to contact Dr. Bahram Navazeni at +98912 11 33 722.

The SOS or emergency no. all around Iran is 110 and your national embassy, located in the capital city, Tehran, will also provide help to you.

Qazvin Hotels and Motels