Babol

Babol

بابل
Babol ; بابل
City
	Seal
	Babol
	Coordinates: 36°33′05″N 52°40′44″E / 36.55139°N 52.67889°ECoordinates: 36°33′05″N 52°40′44″E / 36.55139°N 52.67889°E
Country	Iran
Province	Mazandaran
County	Babol
District	Central
Government
• Mayor	Mohsen Kaboud Firouzjaie
Area
• City	32 km2 (12 sq mi)
Elevation	−2 up to 50 m (−6 to 150 ft)
Population (2016 Census)
• Urban	250,217
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+4:30 (IRDT)
Postal Code	48xxx-xxxxx
Area code(s)	011
Vehicle Plate	IRAN ج72 , ج82 , ص82
Website	www.babolcity.ir

Babol (Persian: بابل‎, pronunciation (help·info), Known as "Orange Blossom City" , also Romanized as Bābol; formerly known as Barfrouch)^[2] is the capital of Babol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. Babol is divided into two metropolitan areas (under Iranian law). At the 2012 census, its population was 219,467, in 66,944 families.^[3]

Babol is located in the north of Iran, between the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains and southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Babol is on the north-east of Tehran and is one of the most important cities in the north of Iran. It is the region's chief center. Babol is a new name for the site of the ancient city of Mamatir, that then was named as Barforush. The city receives abundant rainfall. It is famous for its orange groves, for which it is dubbed "the city of orange blossoms".^[4]

History and name[]

Bahman Square Babol in 1946

Founded in the 16th century, it was built on the site of the ancient city of Mamtir (deriving from "Mah Mithra" "great Mithra). Mithra or 'The Mediator' was believed to be the savior of creation from the threat of darkness and the one who stands between the light of Ahura Mazda and the darkness of Ahriman. Babol was formerly called Barforushdeh (meaning Market town) and Barforush afterwards. The city was later named Barforoush, which literally means market town. In 1931, the founder of the Pahlavi Dynasty Reza Shah (1878-1944) ordered urban planning efforts to commence in the city and changed its name to Babol, which means city with abundant water supply.^[5]

Geography and climate[]

The city is located approximately 20 kilometers south of Caspian Sea on the west bank of BabolRud River and receives abundant annual rainfall. Babol borders Babolsar and Fereydunkenar to the north, Qaem Shahr and Shirgah District to the east, Savadkuh to the southeast, Firuzkuh to the South and Amol to the west. Babol University is famous for its spectacular scenery.

Map showing the location of Babol county as well as Babol city in Mazandaran.

The Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot-summer Mediterranean (Csa).^[6]

hideClimate data for Babol
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	12.9 (55.2)	12.7 (54.9)	13.3 (55.9)	16.9 (62.4)	24.3 (75.7)	28.8 (83.8)	29.5 (85.1)	30.4 (86.7)	26.8 (80.2)	23.5 (74.3)	19 (66)	15.4 (59.7)	21.1 (70.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	8.6 (47.5)	8.5 (47.3)	9.4 (48.9)	13.1 (55.6)	20.2 (68.4)	23.5 (74.3)	25.4 (77.7)	26 (79)	22.4 (72.3)	18.9 (66.0)	14.1 (57.4)	10.5 (50.9)	16.7 (62.1)
Average low °C (°F)	4.4 (39.9)	4.4 (39.9)	5.5 (41.9)	9.3 (48.7)	16.1 (61.0)	18.2 (64.8)	21.3 (70.3)	21.7 (71.1)	18.1 (64.6)	14.4 (57.9)	9.2 (48.6)	5.7 (42.3)	12.4 (54.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	86 (3.4)	69 (2.7)	72 (2.8)	53 (2.1)	25 (1.0)	25 (1.0)	27 (1.1)	34 (1.3)	79 (3.1)	96 (3.8)	99 (3.9)	110 (4.3)	775 (30.5)
Source: Climate-Data.org, altitude: 0m^[6]

Population[]

In 2012 population census calculation of the city,the population was 219,467 people (79,837 households) and a population of 495,472 people in the located in the city.

Landmarks[]

The ruins of Shah Abbas I's palace are located in the city. Mohammad Hassan Khan bridge is also one of the most ancient buildings of Mazandaran. It was built by the king Mohammad Hassan Khan Qajar, the ancestor of Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar as the main road from Babol to Amol. Now it is known as the old road of Babol to Amol. Another nice scenery is Babol Noshirvani Park, which is the biggest park including playground located in the north part of Iran, located almost in the vicinity of Caspian Sea. Babol is home to important and intact forests and jungles. for instance, Shiadeh, the unique and intact forest, is located in south-east Babol. Shiadeh is the name of a rural area near the jungle.

Filband, a village near the northern Iranian city of Babol, is famous for its skies which are full of interconnected cumulus clouds, especially in springtime.^[7]

Historical and natural attractions[]

Babol Jameh Mosque

Sultan Mohamad Taher Tomb Tower

Entrance of the Medical Sciences University of Babol

Watchtower

Bandpey Jungle

Mohammad Hassan Khan bridge
Babol Royal Palace
Emamzadeh Ghasem
Kazem Beik Mosque
Watchtower
Babol Jameh Mosque
Mohaddesin Mosque
Tekyeh Moghri Kola
Sultan Mohammad Taher Tomb Tower
Darvish Fakhr Al-Din Tomb
Post Building
Head University of Medical Sciences
Ibn Shahr Ashub Tomb
Sarast Tower
Darvish Alam-bazi Tower
Hasirforoshan Mosque
Azroud Thermal Spring
Babolroud
Babolkenar Forest Park
Historic homes Qajansb
Aghajan Nasab House
Osia House
Najafi Mansion
Sheikh Mousa Yaylak and Waterfall
Kimoun Waterfall
Shiadeh Dam
Saghanefar Kija Tekyeh
Porang High School
Shiadeh Saghanefar
Abuol Hasan Kola Saghanefar
Mulana Mosque
Tirkan Waterfall
Haft Waterfall
Filband Village
Bandpey Village
Pir Alam Tekyeh
Moftakher ul-Mamalek Caravanserai
Sadr Hawza
Chahar Suq Mosque
Lafoor Jungle
Bagh-e Ferdows
Noshirvani Park

Economy[]

Commerce and trading are the backbone of the city's economy since it is the largest commercial center for Mazandaran province, partially due to its location at the center of the province and also the large population of villages around the city making Babol county the most populated county in the province. Babol produces food and textiles — as well as other processed goods . Including oranges, lemons, and tangerines. There are many rice farms around the city, and, until about 20 years ago, tea, tobacco, and cotton were processed.

Transportation[]

Almost 100% of the city transportation is by car, buses and other road vehicles. Thus, Babol is highly dependent on the regional highway network which connects the city to Babolsar at 10 km north, Amol at 30 km west and Qaemshahr at 15 km east. These are all new wide highways.

Babol has access to an airport 55 km away and to a train station 15 km away.

The ports of Fereydunkenar and Babolsar are both located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea with connection to other Caspian ports.

Colleges and universities[]

Noshirvani University of Technology

As the largest commercial center the city of Babol also hosts large number of universities province. Universities include:

Babol Noshirvani University of Technology The university is an influential center for academic research in Iran, due to which it has been consistently ranked among the top schools in the country. BNUT is currently ranked 1st among all Iranian universities according to Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. THE has also ranked BNUT between 351st and 400th among world universities, 55th among the world's young universities, as well as 43rd among Asian universities.^[8]
Babol University of Medical Sciences
Mazandaran University of Science and Technology
Educators University - Education Center Martyr Rajai Babol
PNU - Babol Center
PNU - Bandpey Unit
Islamic Azad University - Babol Unit
University of Applied Science - Babol Unit
Babol Vocational College of Imam Sadiq
Mazandaran Institute of Technology
Rahedanesh Institute of Higher Education
Tabari Institute of Higher Education
Aryan Institute of Science and Technology
Institute of Applied Science of Art and Culture - Unit 4 Of Babol
Institute of Applied Science Technology Jahad Daneshgahi
Institute of Applied Science -Unit Of Western Bandpey
Vocational College of Sama - Babol Unit
Vocational College of AzZahra - Babol Unit

Health centers and hotels[]

Negin Hotel
Reza Hotel
Marjan Hotel
Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital
Babol Clinic
Shahid Beheshti Hospital
Fatemeh Al-Zahra Hospital
Yahya Nejad Hospital
17 Shahrivar Hospital
Mehregan Hospital

Industry[]

Major corporations[]

Iran Khodro Mazandaran
Babol Machine Mfg. & Ind
MSco
Khazar Khodro Babol.Co

Sport[]

Babol is home to Iranian Basketball Super League team BEEM Mazandaran BC which plays in the city's Shahid Sojoodi Arena. BEEM also had a popular volleyball team in the Iranian Super League in 2008–2009. Now Babol have a 2 Team in wrestling, Bime Razi and Arash Zin. They have a popular football club, Khooneh Be Khooneh. Khooneh Be Khooneh play in 1nd division (after Premier League) in Iranian system football but they could going to finals of Hazfi Cup in 2016–17. They could not promote to Premier League for 1 Goal. Babol is host of Freestyle Wrestling Club World Cup in December 2018.