Shemiran

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Shariati Ave, looking north, toward the Alborz Mountains towering over Shemiran district, Tehran, Iran.

Shemiran (also called Shemiranat, center of Shemiranat County) is the name of the northern part of the city of Tehran, capital of Iran. It is the northernmost district of the city of Tehran.

Shemiran lies in the slopes of Alborz Mountain and enjoys a suitable mild climate. It has fine and well-kept parks and is home to the richest class of Iranian society. Most of the foreign embassies and the Tehran International Fair are situated in Shemiran, as well as the Tehran International Tatbighi School.

Shemiran used to be the summer residence of the Qajar and Pahlavi Shah's who built several palace complexes and villas in the area. Some examples are the Sa'dabad Palace Complex and the Niavaran Palace Complex.

It is also where Imam Zadeh Saleh is, and where the former home of Imam Khomeini was located at.

Among the neighborhoods of Shemiran are: Darakeh, Darband, Jamaran, and Niavaran on the far north, as well as Zafaraniyeh, Elahiyeh, Dibaji, Gheytarieh, and Farmanieh.

[edit] Name

The word Shemiran or Shemran is the arabized form of the word Chamran consisted of two parts: "cham" (meaning "cold" in Avestan; "zama" or "zem") + "ran" (meaning "slope"). In fact "shemran" means "the cold place" or "the cold slope".

It is common in the Iranian languages that the letter "z" (Persian: "ز" ‎ ) changes to letter "ch" (Persian: "چ" ‎ ), For example in Persian the word "ruz" or "rooz" (day), from Middle Persian "roch", is still "roch" in Balochi language and "roj" in Kurdish. Another example is the word "zemestan" (winter) consisted of two parts: "zem" (cold) + "estan" or "istan" (being, or existence), which sometimes can be seen in Persian Literature and common usage as "chamestan" or "chemestan".