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Khoy

Khoy
خوی
city
Khoy city Logo.jpg
Khoy is located in Iran
Khoy
Khoy
Coordinates: 38°33′01″N 44°57′08″E / 38.55028°N 44.95222°E / 38.55028; 44.95222Coordinates: 38°33′01″N 44°57′08″E / 38.55028°N 44.95222°E / 38.55028; 44.95222
Country  Iran
Province West Azerbaijan
County Khoy
Bakhsh Central
Government
 • Mayor Moharram Akbarzadeh
 • Parliament Kabiri
Elevation 1,148 m (3,769 ft)
Population (2012)
 • Total 200,985 & 354,309
  City & County
Time zone IRST (UTC+3:30)
 • Summer (DST) IRDT (UTC+4:30)
Area code(s) 044-3
Website khoycity.ir

Khoy (Azerbaijani: خوی; Persian: خوی‎‎; also Romanized as Khoy and Khoi), is a city in and the capital of Khoy County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2012 census, its population was 200,985. Khoy is biggest city in the Azerbaijan region that is not capital of Province.

Khoy is located north of the province's capital and largest city Urmia, and 807 km north-west to Tehran. The region's economy is based on agriculture, particularly the production of fruit, grain, and timber. Khoy is nicknamed as the Sunflower city of Iran. At the 2006 census, the city had a population of 178,708, with an estimated 2012 population of 200,985. The city's inhabitants are predominantly Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijani is dominantly spoken in Khoy, while nearly all inhabitants can also converse in Persian. The main religion is Shia Islam. Occupied since Median times, it shares a long history as an important Christian centre.

Khoy was named in ancient times for the salt mines that made it an important spur of the Silk Route. 3000 years ago, a city had existed on the area where Khoy is located nowadays, but its name became Khoy only from 14th centuries ago. In 714 BC, Sargon II passed the region of which Khoy is part of in a campaign against Urartu.

It later become an important town of the Armenian historical region of Nor Shirakan, and was part of the Kingdom of Armenia for centuries. In Armenian, Khoy is known as Hér (Armenian: Խոյ).


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