Travel Guide Sanandaj

The first traces of human settlement in the area date back several millennia before our era. Nevertheless, the current Bâti structure dates from the late th century. A prosperous capital of Kurdistan with 360 000 inhabitants (suburbs included), the city is surrounded by mountains and reaches 1 480 m above sea level. It is here that the culture and Kurdish identity of 4 million Iranians, or 9% of the total population, are best measured.Not Persians and very predominantly Sunni, Kurds express themselves first in their mother tongue, which differs from Farsi and approximates the Medes language, of which they are direct descendants. Known for their curiosity of spirit and generosity, they also demonstrate austerity, perhaps linked to the tragic story of a people trapped between Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. In short, if Sanandaj does not have the largest sites in the country, the population will be able to compensate for this shortfall. The quality of local crafts (kilims and jewellery) and the beauty of the surrounding landscape are two other good reasons for stopping on the ground. Noted in recent years, the rise of the autonomy claims of a province under the authoritarian centralisation of the Islamic Republic of Iran.