Kashan

Kashan کاشان
City
The Borujerdi ha House has become a famous landmark and sample of Persian traditional residential architecture.
Kashan Location in Iran
Coordinates: 33°59′N 51°26′E / 33.983°N 51.433°E / 33.983; 51.433Coordinates: 33°59′N 51°26′E / 33.983°N 51.433°E / 33.983; 51.433
Country	Iran
Province	Isfahan
Population
• City	450,557
• Urban	435,527
• Metro	432,557
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
• Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Website	Kashan.ir

Kashan (Persian: کاشان‎‎, also Romanized as: Kāshān) is a city of Isfahan, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 248,789, in 67,464 families.

The etymology of the city name comes from the Kasian, the original inhabitants of the city, whose remains are found at Tapeh Sialk dating back 9,000 years; later this was changed to "Kashian", hence the town name. Between the 12th and the 14th centuries Kashan was an important centre for the production of high quality pottery and tiles. In modern Persian, the word for a tile (kashi) comes from the name of the town.

Kashan is divided into two parts, mountainous and desert. In the west side, Kashan is cited in the neighbourhood of two of highest peaks of Karkas chain, Mount Gargash to the southwest of Kashan (the home of Iran national observatory, the largest astronomical telescope of Iran) and Mount Ardehaal in the west of Kashan, also known as "Damavand of Kashan" and the highest peak of Ardehaal mountains (end part of Karkas chain in central Iran).

In the east side of the city Kashan opens up to the central desert of Iran which the city is famous for. Kashan is also known for Maranjab Desert and Caravanserai located near the namak lake (or salt lake). Today Maranjab and the surrounding Shifting Sands is a popular destination at the weekends.

On Aug 9 2007 Iran placed the Historical Axis of Fin, Sialk, Kashan on its Tentative List for possible future nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The exact definition of what locations within Kashan proper might be nominated was not made clear In 2012 Iran successfully nominated the Fin Garden separately for inscription by UNESCO as a part of its Persian Gardens World Heritage Site. Despite this the "Historical-Cultural Axis of Fin, Sialk, Kashan" remains in full on Iran's Tentative List

Archeological discoveries in the Sialk Hillocks which lie 4 km west of Kashan reveal that this region was one of the primary centers of civilization in pre-historic ages. Hence Kashan dates back to the Elamite period of Iran. The Sialk ziggurat still stands today in the suburbs of Kashan after 7,000 years.