Sanandaj



Sanandaj, also called "Senna" is a city in the Kurdistan Province of Iran. Sanandaj occupies a fertile valley in the Zagros Mountains. The city is a major manufacturing and retail trade center with many diverse products, including carpets, cotton textiles, leather, metal ware, cutlery, pottery, wood furniture and wood crafts, milled rice, refined sugar, and processed foods. Its old bazaar is noted as a place to buy Kurdish handicrafts.

Sanandaj is home to the ruins of an 11th- and 12th- century fortress, the Dar al-Ehsan Mosque, and the Sanandaj Museum. The museum is housed in a 19th-century royal palace whose Arusi Room, or Wedding Room, is considered a masterpiece of handcrafted woodwork. Kurdistan University, founded after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, is also in the city.

The area around Sanandaj is known for its many mountain caves, hot springs, and freshwater lakes, many of which cater to tourists. The nature around Sanandaj is very beautiful.

By plane
There are 5 daily flights from Tehran. And 2 weekly flights from (Kurdistan of Iraq) and also monthly flights from Antalia (Turkey).



By train
A railway line connecting Sanandaj with Tehran and the rest of the national network is under construction. It is expected to open in 2024 or 2025.



By car
Freeway Tehran, Sanandaj

There are many shared taxis to Tehran for US$30.

By bus
There are more than 50 buses from Tehran, Kermanshah, Tabriz, Hamedan and other Iranian cities daily.

Also there are buses from Istanbul, Wan and Antalia (Turkey) and from Suleymaniye and Erbil (Iraqi Kurdistan).

Get around

 * Outside the city there are beautiful hills, mountains, water caves and lakes.

See



 * National Museum of Sanandaj
 * Didgah Park
 * Abidar Park
 * Palangan ancient village
 * BAME-SANANDAJ entertainment center
 * World's largest outdoor cinema in Amiriye park
 * Hajar Khatoon Mosque
 * Kurd House
 * Khosro-Abad Buildings
 * Aseef Buildings
 * Eqbal Square
 * Khosro-Abad Buildings
 * Aseef Buildings
 * Eqbal Square

Do

 * Go to Abidar mountain in the Western corner of Sanandaj. This mountain is the place where the residents of Sanandaj go on hiking and has many beautiful parks like "Amirieh" Jungle Park.
 * Go to the Bazaars, like 6th Bahman, Vahabi House of Fabrics, Chapoor, Eqbal square.

Learn

 * Kurdistan University (Medicine, Agriculture and Engineering colleges)
 * Sananadaj Azad University (IAU)
 * Payame Noor University
 * Elmi Karbordi University
 * IM Universities for Arts and foreign languages.
 * IYCS-Sanandaj (Iranian youth cinema society-Sanandaj branch for film making teaching)

Buy
Brown bread Bread Kok Konji Gazo
 * Kurdish sweet Confectionery, Nan-e-Konjedi, Nan-e-Berenji

Eat and drink


Some local specialty drinks are dough, which is a type of buttermilk, and istek.

Go next

 * The beautiful villages of Galin and Tangisar
 * Lake Zarivar near Marivan is a very beautiful lake near Sanandaj. Don't miss it.
 * Hawraman is an ancient Kurdish village.
 * Quri Qaleh water cave is one of the most beautiful water caves in Iran.