Mashhad City

Razavi Khorasan (in Persian: خراسان رضوی) is a province located in northeastern Iran. Mashhad is the centre and capital of the province.

Other cities and townships are Ghouchan, Dargaz, Chenaran, Sarakhs, Fariman, Torbat-e Heydarieh, Torbat-e Jam, Taybad, Khaf, Roshtkhar, Kashmar, Bardaskan, Neyshabour, Sabzevar, Gonabad, Kalat, Khalil Abad and Mahvalat.

Razavi Khorasan is one of the three provinces that were created after the division of Khorasan in 2004.

Mashhad Tourist Attractions

This province envelopes many historical and natural attractions, such as mineral water springs, small lakes, recreational areas, caves and protected regions, and various hiking areas.

Besides these, Khorasan encompasses numerous religious buildings and places of pilgrimage, including the shrine of Imam Reza, Goharshad mosque and many other mausoleums and Imamzadehs which attract visitors to this province.

The Cultural Heritage of Iran lists 1179 sites of historical and cultural significance in all three provinces of Khorasan.

• Tus, where Ferdowsi, Persian languages most important poet is buried.
• Nishapur, where Farid al-Din Attar, Omar Khayyám, and Kamal-ol-molk are buried.
• Goharshad mosque and the vast shrine-complex of Imam Reza that forms the heart of Mashhad Neishabour
• Khaneh Khorshid
• Shandiz and Torghabeh (famous for their riverside restaurants)
• Tomb of Nadir Shah Afshar in central Mashhad
• Akhangan (Akhanjan) tower, north of Tus
• Haruniyeh dome in Tus, where the famous mystic Imam Mohammad Ghazali is buried.
• Tus citadel
• Bazangan lake, in Sarakhs district
• Kooh Sangi, a notable hill in Mashhad
• Akhlamad
• Band-e-Golestan (Golestan dam)
• Jaghargh
• Zoshk, a country village west of Mashhad
• Kang, a scenic stepped village
• Noghondar
• Kardeh Dam
• Vakilabad and Mellat parks in Mashhad
• Zari, Hendelabad, Mozdooran, Moghan and Kardeh caves.
• Robat Sharaf (a relatively grand caravanserai ruin in Sarakhs district)
• Tomb of Khajeh Abasalt, Khajeh Morad, Ravi (famous Iranian Gnostics) and mausoleum of Sultan Mahmood Ghaznavi.
• Yahya and Khajeh Rabi mausoleum at the northern edge of Mashhad city*Sabz (green) dome in a roundabout in Mashhad.

Culture

Long a center of secular and religious learning, Mashhad has been a center for the arts and for the sciences. The Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, named after the great Iranian poet, is located here. The Madrassa of Ayatollah Al-Khoei, originally built in the seventeenth century and recently replaced with modern facilities, is the city's foremost traditional centre for religious learning. The Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, founded in 1984, stands at the centre of town, within the shrine complex. The prestige of traditional religious education at Mashhad attracts students, known as Talabeh, or "Mollah" internationally.

Mashhad is also home to one of the oldest libraries of the Middle-East called the F with a history of over six centuries. The Astan-e Quds Razavi Museum, which is part of the Astan-e Quds Razavi Complex, is home to over 70,000 rare manuscripts from various historical eras. There are some six million historical documents in the foundation's central library.

In 1569 (977 H), 'Imad al-Din Mas'ud Shirazi, a physician at the Mashhad hospital, wrote the earliest Islamic treatise on syphilis, one influenced by European medical thought. Kashmar rug is a type of Persian rug indigenous to this region.

Mashhad active galleries include: Mirak Gallery, Parse Gallery, Rezvan Gallery, Soroush Gallery, and the Narvan Gallery.