Home > West Azarbaijan

It should not be confused with the west part of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

1 Religion

Most follow Shiite Islam; however, there are numerous Christian minorities such as the Assyrians which have historically lived on the west shore of Urmia lake as well as Armenians which are scattered throughout the province. Notably the city of Maku in northern West Azarbaijan was the only city in Iran (before World War II) where Christians comprised the majority.

2 Ethnicity

Most residents of the province are ethnic Azeris who have lived for centuries in the region known as Azarbaijan which stretches from the Republic of Azerbaijan in the former Soviet Union to the province of Zanjan in Iran. There is also a large Kurdish minority living mostly in the southern and western part of the province.

3 Lifestyle

In the city of Urumieh many residents have a high standard of living in comparison with the Third worldFor the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). Third world is a term originally used to distinguish those nations that neither aligned with the West nor with the East during the Cold War. These countries are also known as the Global South developin. There are plenty of parks, coffee shops, cinemas, and internet cafeAn Internet cafe or cybercafe is a place where one can use a computer with Internet access for a fee, usually per hour or minute; sometimes one can have unmetered access with a pass for a day or month, etc. It may or may not serve as a regular cafe as wels throughout the city. There are hundreds of small vilages in the province as well, most of which have running water and electricity as well as television and telephone sets.

4 Major cities

• Uromieh (ارومیه) 300,000 (540,000)
• KhoyKhoy ( in Persian), also spelt Khoi or Khvoy is a city in West Azerbaijan, Iran. It is located between Maku and Urumieh. The region's economy is based around farming, particularly the production of fruit, grain and timber. As of 1996, the city had a popul 115,000 (268,000)
• Maku 56,000 (180,000)
• Mahabad 75,000 (167,000)

(as of 1990)

5 External Links

• Official website of West Azarbaijan Governorship