Shemiran


Shemirān, also known as Shemirānāt is the capital of Shemiranat County, Tehran Province, Iran, but is actually located just north of the borders of Tehran County along Chamran Expressway and Sadr Expressway and it is the northernmost district of the city of Tehran.
Shemiran lies in the slopes of Alborz Mountain and enjoys a suitable mild climate. It has fine and well-kept parks and is home to the richest class of Iranian society. Most of the foreign embassies and the Tehran International Fair are situated in Shemiran.
Shemiran used to be the summer residence of the Qajar and Pahlavi Shahs who built several palace complexes and villas in the area. Some examples are the Sa'dabad Palace Complex and the Niavaran Palace Complex.
It is also where Imam Zadeh Saleh is, and where the former home of Ruhollah Khomeini was located.
Among the neighborhoods of Shemiran are: Darakeh, Darband, Jamaran, and Niavaran on the far north, as well as Zafaraniyeh, Elahiyeh, Velenjak, Gheytarieh, Farmanieh and Kamranieh.

Name

The word Shemiran or Shemran is the arabized form of the word Chamran consisted of two parts: "cham" + "ran". In fact "shemran" means "the cold place" or "the cold slope".
It is common in the Iranian languages that the letter "z" changes to letter "ch", For example in Persian the word "ruz" or "rooz", from Middle Persian "roch", is still "roch" in Balochi language and "roj" in Kurdish. Another example is the word "zemestan" consisted of two parts: "zem" + "estan" or "istan", which sometimes can be seen in Persian Literature and common usage as "chamestan" or "chemestan".

Neighborhoods

The Pietro Della Valle Italian School, an Italian international school, is in the Farmanieh district.