Tourist Places to Visit in Urmieh (Urmia), Iran, Asia

Tourist Places to Visit in Urmieh (Urmia), Iran, Asia

Urmia is the capital city of West Azerbaijan Province of Iran situated about 770 kms northwest of national capital Tehran. It ranks 7^th in the population in Iran.

Geography and Climate of Urmia:

Urmia is located between latitude 37°33′19″ in the north and longitude 45°04′21″ in the east. It is located at an average altitude of 1,332 meters.

Urmia enjoys a semi-arid climate with hot and dry summers and cold and wet winters.

History of Urmia:

It is believed that, Urmia was the birth place of the founder of Zoroastrian religion Zarathustra. Urmia witnessed the First World War.

Economy of Urmia:

Urmia is one of the highly developing cities in Iran houses plenty of universities, hospitals and tourist destinations. Urmia University and Urmia University of Medical Sciences are the top universities of Urmia.

Landmarks in Urmia:

Hasanloo Lake
Ghaem Park
Payame Noor University of Urmia
Motahari Hospital

Connectivity to Urmia:

Urmia is served by Urmia International Airport with daily flights to Tehran city and frequent flights to international destinations such as Dubai, Istanbul, Mecca, Damascus, Baku, Yerevan, Dohuk, Arbil and Karbala. The airport is located 20 kms away from the city centre.

Ther are regular bus services available to major cities of the country including Tehran, Kerman, Tabriz, Kermanshah and Van in Turkey and Arbil in Iraq. Tourists can use Taxi for healthy journey.

Culture, Cuisine and Shopping in Urmia:

Compared to other regions of Iran, Urmia houses the higher majority of Christians. Among the entire population Shia Islam citizens are higher in majority. The communities living in Urmai include Protestant and Orthodox Christians, Sunni Islam, Bahá’í Faith, Jews and Sufism. The natives speak Kurdish, Assyrian Christian, Farsi and Armenian along with Azeri language. Volleyball is very famous sport in Urmia.

The cultural centres in Urmia include Natural History Museum, Urmia Museum, Urmia Museum of Crafts and Classical Arts and Urmia Museum of َAnthropology.

Tourists can taste variety of Iranian traditional food and western food at the major restaurants of Urmia and also can buy handicraft products of wood, cloth at any handicraft shops of the Urmia.

Places to see near Urmia:

Park-e Saat:

Park-e Saat is very an ancient park established during Pahlavi’s rule.

Ellar Bagi Park:

Ellar Bagi Park is the largest park Urmia and the meaning of the name of the park in Azerbaijani is “Garden of the Peoples”.

The Urmia Lake:

The Urmia Lake is a must visit tourist spot in Urmia and is considered as the 2^nd saltiest lake in the world.

Natural History Museum:

Natural History Museum is a historical museum located in the vicinity of Urmia.

Three Domes Tower:

Three Domes Tower is placed on Ostad Barzegar Street in the southeastern side of Urmia.

Other tourist attractions near Urmia include:

Urmia Museum
Church of Naneh Maryam
Friday (Grand) Mosque
Old Urmia Bazaar
Band Park
Marserkis Church
Sardar Mosque
Nine Steps Ice House

Best time to visit Urmia:

Between September and March is the ideal time to visit Urmia while weather condition remains pleasant and to enjoy the beauty of Urmia Lake.

Accommodation Options in Urmia:

All the major hotels at Urmia serve variety of food from different regions of the world and air ticket booking facility. The best hotels in and around Urmia are as follows: