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Mount Damavand
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Mount Damavand also known as Donbavand, is a dormant volcano and the highest peak in Iran with a special place in the Persian mythology and folklore. Located in the middle Alborz Range, adjacent to Vararu, Sesang, Gol-e Zard and Mianrud, it is the highest point in the Middle East and the highest volcano in all of Asia.
Though not volcanically active, there are fumaroles near the summit crater that deposit sulfur, which were most recently known to be active on July 6, 2007.
The mountain is located near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, in Amol county, Mazandaran, 66 kilometres (41 miles) northeast of Tehran.
vand is, as any cursory reading of Persian literature will indicate, the Mount Olympus of Persian mythology.
Damavand is the symbol of Iranian resistance against despotism and foreign rule in Persian poetry and literature.
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Encyclopedia
Mount Damavand also known as Donbavand, is a dormant volcano and the highest peak in Iran with a special place in the Persian mythology and folklore. Located in the middle Alborz Range, adjacent to Vararu, Sesang, Gol-e Zard and Mianrud, it is the highest point in the Middle East and the highest volcano in all of Asia.
Though not volcanically active, there are fumaroles near the summit crater that deposit sulfur, which were most recently known to be active on July 6, 2007.
The mountain is located near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, in Amol county, Mazandaran, 66 kilometres (41 miles) northeast of Tehran.
Symbolism and mythology
Damavand is, as any cursory reading of Persian literature will indicate, the Mount Olympus of Persian mythology.
Damavand is the symbol of Iranian resistance against despotism and foreign rule in Persian poetry and literature. In Zoroastrian texts and mythology, the three-headed dragon Aži Dahaka was chained within Mount Damavand, there to remain until the end of the world. In a later version of the same legend, the tyrant Zahhak was also chained in a cave somewhere in mount Damavand after being defeated by Kaveh and Fereydun. Persian poet Ferdowsi depicts this event in his masterpiece Šahnameh:
?????? ???? ?? ??? ????
?? ??? ?????? ???? ????
The mountain is said to hold magical powers in the Šahnameh. Damavand has also been named in the Iranian legend of Arash as the location he fired his arrow to mark the Iran border.
The famous poem Damavand by Mohammad Taqi Bahar is also one fine example of the mountain's significance in Persian literature. The first verse of this poem reads:
?? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???
Ay dive sepide pai dar band,
Oh white demon with feet in chains
?? ???? ???? ?? ??????
Ay gonbade giti, ay Damavand
Oh terrestrial dome, Oh Mount Damavand
Thermal Springs
Mt Damavand has some thermal springs (Abe Garm Larijan ) with therapeutic qualities. these mineral hot springs are mainly located on the volcano's flanks and at the base, giving evidence of volcanic heat comparatively near the surface of the earth. Although Damavand is believed to be extinct and while no historic eruptions are recorded, hot springs on the flanks and fumaroles (steam vents) in the summit suggest that a hot or cooling magma body is still present beneath the volcano Damavand. This continuing activity, while minor, sulphorous fumaroles still emit gases at the peak and hot springs in the valleys testify to a remaining heat source, indicates that Mount Damavand is a dormant rather than an extinct volcano.
The most important of these hot springs are located in Abe garm Larijan in a village by the name Larijan in the district of Larijan in Lar Valley . The water from this spring is useful in the treatment of chronic wounds and skin diseases. Near these springs there are public baths with small pools for public use.
Routes to the summit
The best major settlement for mountain climbers is the new Iranian Mountain Federation Camp in Polour village, located on the south of the mountain.
There are at least 16 known routes to the summit which have different difficulties. Some of them are very dangerous and need rock climbing. The most popular route is the Southern Route which has step stamps and also a camp midway called Bargah Sevom Camp /Shelter at 4220 m (about 13,845 ft). The longest route is the Northeastern and it takes two whole days to reach the summit starting from downhill village of Nandal and a night stay at Takht-e Fereydoun (elevation 4300 m - about 13,000 ft), a two-story shelter. The western route is famous for its sunset view. Simorgh shelter in this route at 4100 m (about 13,500 ft) is a newly constructed shelter with two stories. There is a frozen waterfall / Icefall (Persian name Abshar Yakhi)about 12m tall and the elevation of 5100m is the highest fall in Iran and Middle East.
Geographical location
Nomination as National Heritage Site
An anthropologist of Mazandaran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department, Touba Osanlou, has said that a proposal has been made by a group of Iranian mountaineers to register the highest peak in the Middle East, Mount Damavand as a national heritage site.
Mazandaran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department has accepted the proposal, the Persian daily Jam-e Jam reported.
Osanlou noted that the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization is presently in the process of renaming an upcoming ancient festivity after Mount Damavand.
"We have proposed Tirgan Festivity, Tabari Nowruz, to be named as Damavand National Day," he added.
Tirgan Festivity is held in Amol County’s Rineh region in Mazandaran province.
Damavand photos
See also
Footnotes
External links
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