Moalem Park, Copyright Ooggs00995.
Copyright Ooggs00995.
Georgian lettering in Fereydunshahr, Copyright Ooggs00995.
Copyright Ooggs00995.
Fereydunshahr is the eponymous capital of Fereydunshahr County, in the Fereydan region of Iran’s Isfahan Province, and features frequently in the Iranian chapters and sections of my WIP. The Fereydan region was chosen for my Georgian character Alina and her Armenian friends to settle in after escaping the USSR in 1937, because in addition to having a large Armenian population, it’s also notable as Iran’s largest concentration of Georgians. Not only that, but these Georgian-Persians have preserved their native language. The other Georgians of Iran speak Persian.
Fereydunshahr is home to about 13,500 people, and is tucked into the beautiful Zagros Mountains. Iran has a lot of amazing, gorgeous mountains, as I hope to discover in person when I take my trip there within the next few years. Within the greater Fereydan region, apart from Fereydunshahr, there are about ten Georgian villages and towns, which still preserve the Georgian language and customs. However, these people have long since converted to Islam, and there are no Georgian Orthodox churches which I know of in Iran.
The highest of the Zagros Mountains in Fereydunshahr is Mount Shahan Kun, about 13,254 feet high. In the foothill of the mountain, many people gather to ski, hike, picnic, take pictures, walk, and just admire Nature. Until the construction of the Sardab Dam, the city was also home to the beautiful Baba Ahmad Spring. In the Western part of the city is the Punezar Waterfall.
Fereydunshahr has a ski resort, part of an active Winter sports culture. Since Iran has so many mountains, many people enjoy skiing. The skiing season lasts from November to April. In addition to skiing, the city also draws many other Winter tourists.
It’s not as well-known as a city like Tehran, Isfahan, or Tabriz, but I’m really looking forward to visiting and seeing the natural beauty and convergence of many cultures for myself.
Moalem Park, image by Ooggs00995.
Moalem Park, image by Ooggs00995.
Moalem Park, image by Ooggs00995.
More information:
http://frerydunciti.blog.com/ (lots of beautiful pictures!)
Welcome to My Magick Theatre 
That looks like an amazing place – reminds me a bit of the grim Scottish highlands I saw in my 2012 trip with my work friend. Grim, yes, but hauntingly beautiful, and just my cup of tea. 🙂
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Love the pictures! I sat up in my chair when I saw these.
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those falls are incredible! what a view!
thanks for sharing them and telling us about them!
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Mouuuuntains. *sigh* These images are gorgeous.
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Beautiful setting! I like fog covering the mountains. My blogger buddy Sean visits Iran all the time – I wonder if he’s been there?
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I don’t know if I’d ever go to Iran, but Moalem Park is stunning! If I do go, I’ll definitely make sure to visit this park. 🙂
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I love running water, and those images of the waterfalls and fountains are spectacular.
Sophie
Sophie’s Thoughts & Fumbles – A to Z Ghosts
Fantasy Boys XXX – A to Z Drabblerotic
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Extraordinary pictures. Definitely a great choice for setting in a book. Thank you for letting such a great lesson.
Silvia @
SilviaWrites
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That Moalem Park looks dreamy!
Also — your WIP is 700K big? Holy crap!
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I haven’t worked on it for awhile to focus on editing the first two books I’m releasing this year, but it was around 593,000 words last time I worked on it. I’m leaning towards eventually publishing it in four volumes, since each of the four Parts feels much like a self-contained story, with a focus on different characters and storylines in each. I’d make it clear that they’re just volumes of the same book, not separate books.
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For a minute I thought I was looking at the Wasatch Front in Utah. Ah mountains… They always make me feel at home. What a beautiful region!
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What a beautiful place! The mountains – and those waterfalls, I have never seen that before!
~Liz A-Zer http://www.lizbrownleeoet.com ~Animal poems and facts, and info about my assistance dog!
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I loved all the pictures thanks for sharing them with us
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Those are some beautiful pictures! And how cool that you’re planning a trip there in the future. I don’t like flying, so I’m not much of a traveler.
Hope you’re having fun with the A to Z challenge,
Jocelyn
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So beautiful, as well as inspirational. I imagine this is a setting for so many types of stories.
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Whoa—my eyes have just been opened! I’ve never had any desire to travel there before, but man, it’s GORGEOUS. I love the pictures. Thanks for this, Carrie-Anne! 🙂
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Some beautiful pictures. I would never have thought of a ski season in that region, which shows just how awful my geographic knowledge is. Thank you for a very eye opening and interesting post.
Tasha
Tasha’s Thinkings – AtoZ (Vampires)
FB3X – AtoZ (Erotic Drabbles)
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Fereydunshar doesn’t match up to my inner image of Iran at all..! it’s very beautiful, and GREEN! Thanks for sharing this, and I hope you have a great time, whenever you go. 🙂
Alex Hurst, fantasy author in Japan, participating in Blogging A-Z April Challenge.
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Hey, I’ve been there when I was little many many times then I moved to the US and now I live in France. I am Armenian and my dad does still have a friend in Fereydoonshahr. But I need to ask my dad about the history of Armenians in this city. I know that currently there are no Armenians in the city since long time ago they all moved to the villages an hour away from this city and my grandparents from dad’s side lived in those village until my dad was about 13 years old and then they moved to Esfahan. So my dad just visited this place again and his very old Georgian friend from this city and brought me back some kind of a purple flower that is used for cough and for so many other medical uses. i would loved to know if I can find someone from this city so they can translate the name of this flower in either English or French so I can do some research about it. Any ideas???? let me know if you visited this place or not.
Thank you!
Love and Peace
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hey
im from freydunshahr and i know about ur grandpa’s village (khoyegan).
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