Education[edit]

University of Sistan and Baluchestan's Amphitheater in Zahedan.

See also: Education in Iran

Zahedan is the home of the Islamic Azad University of Zahedan,[5] the Zahedan University of Medical
Sciences[6] and the University of Sistan and Baluchestan. Besides, the largest Sunni
seminary, Darululoom Zahedan, is located in Zahedan. There are some other religious Sunni
schools in the city and the vicinity.

History, culture and demographics[edit]

See also: Demography of Iran

Makki Mosque
Ali Ibn Abi Talib Mosque

The demographics of Zahedan's inhabitants are a mixture of majority ethnic Baloch who speak
the Balochi language and minority of Persians, Yazdi and Khorasani. There are also small numbers
of Kurds.[citation needed]
Zahedan lies east of the Dasht-e Loot desert. The city was part of the historic region of Baluchestan
(Balochi: ‫)بلوچستان‬, situated today on the borders of southeastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan.
Zahedan and the area of baluchestan has a very strong connection with Zoroastrianism and
during Sassanid times Lake Hamun was one of two pilgrimage sites for followers of that religion. In
Zoroastrian religion, the lake is the keeper of Zoroaster's seed and just before the final renovation of
the world, three maidens will enter the lake, each then giving birth to the saoshyants who will be the
saviours of mankind at the final renovation of the world.
Zahedan is a centre for Sunni Muslims in Baluchistan. The Makki mosque and its madrasa play an
important role in Baluchistan's society. Shaikh Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi is the main and most
influential religious and Sunni and baluch community leader in Iran that is heading Makki mosque
and its institutions. Zahedan also has a Friday mosque for Shi'ite (Shia) and a Jame mosque, where
many members of the community gather to worship on Fridays. A colorful bazaar, Rasouli Bazaar,
can also be found in the city, where Baluchi and Pashtun traders intermingle. About 100 km (62 mi)
south of Zahedan is an intermittently active volcano, Taftan, which rises abruptly 4,042 m (13,261 ft)
from the surrounding plain.

Demographics[edit]
Although the surrounding area has many ancient sites, Zahedan itself developed mainly in the 20th
century. Before being chosen as the provincial administrative center in the 1930s, Zahedan was a
small village. Its population reached 17,500 by 1956 and increased more than fivefold to 93,000 by
1976. After 1980, large numbers of refugees fleeing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan helped triple
the population of Zahedan to more than 281,000 by 1986, a number which has since doubled again.

Etymology[edit]
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Before the rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1923, the city of Zahedan was known as Dozz-aab. That
name was in turn derived from the Balochi Dozd-aap, literally meaning "water thief". This is the name
given to a sandy land formation that quickly swallows up any water that falls on it, be it rain or
irrigation water.[7]
The name was changed to Zahedan by the Iranian Academy of Culture (the Farhangistan), set up
during the reign of Reza Shah Pahlavi in the 1930s, which changed a myriad of toponyms in Iran.
improbably, that the current name, Zahedan ("Sages," or "pious people" in Persian) was given to the
city upon its visit by Reza Shah. It is believed that when Reza Shah visited the city he saw Sikhs in
white robes living there and thus changed the name to Zahedan after the Sikhs who were
considered Zahid (pious) by him.[8]

Street view, Zahedan

Sports[edit]
See also: Sport in Iran
In April 2008 the 70 billion IRR (about 2.5 million USD) Zahedan Stadium was built with a seating
capacity of 15,000 people. It was inaugurated on 18 April 2008 with a friendly football game
between Honarmandan (Artists) versus a local team.