MOUNT DAMAVAND

Mount 'Damāvand' () also known as ''Donbavand'', is a dormant volcano in Iran. Located in the middle Alborz Range, adjacent to ''Varārū'', ''Sesang'', ''Gol-e Zard'' and ''Mīānrūd'', it is the highest point in both Iran and the wider Middle East. It is also the highest volcano in all of Asia.
Though not volcanically active^[2], there are fumaroles near the summit crater that deposit sulfur, which were most recently known to be active on July 6, 2007^[3].
The mountain is located near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, in Āmol county, Māzandarān, 66 km (41 miles) northeast of Tehran.
Damavand is, as any cursory reading of Persian literature will indicate, the Mount Olympus of Persian mythology.^[4]
The best major settlement for mount climbers is new Iranian Mountain Federation Camp in village Polour, located at the south of the mountain.

Contents

History

Symbolism and mythology

Routes to the summit

Geographical location

Nomination as National Heritage Site

Damāvand photos

Footnotes

External links

History

Mount Damāvand has its own special place in Iranian mythology and folklore. In Zoroastrian texts and mythology, the three-headed dragon Aži Dahāka was chained within Mount Damāvand, there to remain until the end of the world. In a later version of the same legend, the tyrant Zahhāk was also chained on some cave in mount Damāvand after being defeated by Kāveh and Fereydūn. Damāvand is also significant to the patriotic Iranian legend of Arash.

Symbolism and mythology

Damāvand is the symbol of Iranian resistance against the foreign rule in Persian poetry and literature. The famous poem Damāvand by Mohammad Taqī Bahār is one of the many poetic creations about Damāvand.
The first verse of this poem is:
ای دیو سپید پای در بند

Ay dīve sepīde pāī dar band,

''Oh white demon with feet in chains''

ای گنبد گیتی ای دماوند

Ay gonbade gītī, ay Damāvand

''Oh celestial dome, Oh Mount Damāvand''
In Persian mythology, the mountain is where 'Zahhāk the Dragon King' is slain by the hero Fereydūn. The mountain is said to hold magical powers in the Šahnameh.

Routes to the summit

There are at least 16 known routes [3] to the summit which have different difficulties. Some of them are very dangerous and need rock climbing. The most popular route is the Southern Route which has step stamps and also a camp midway at 4000 m (about 13,000 ft). The longest route is the Northeastern and it takes two whole days to reach the summit starting from downhill village of Nāndal and a night stay at Takht-e Fereydoun (elevation 4300 m - about 13,000 ft), a two-story shelter. The western route is famous for its sunset view. Sīmorgh shelter in this route at 4100 m (about 13,500 ft) is a newly constructed shelter with two stories. There is a frozen waterfall (Ābshār-e Yakhī), which often causes major avalanches.

Geographical location

Nomination as National Heritage Site

An anthropologist of Mazandaran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department, Touba Osanlou, has said that a proposal has been made by a group of Iranian mountaineers to register the highest peak in the Middle East, Mount Damavand as a national heritage site.
Mazandaran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department has accepted the proposal, the Persian daily Jam-e Jam reported.
Osanlou noted that the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization is presently in the process of renaming an upcoming ancient festivity after Mount Damavand.
"We have proposed Tirgan Festivity, Tabari Norouz, to be named as Damavand National Day," he added.
Tirgan Festivity is held in Amol County’s Rineh region in Mazandaran province.
[4]

Damāvand photos

Footnotes

1. The 5,610 m given here is from the Statistical Centre of Iran, which states that "the highest point in Iran is Mount Damāvand being 5,610 metres high". This elevation is consistent with SRTM data. Two GPS measurements [1] [2] report slightly higher elevations, in the 5620's, but also report -17m for the nearby Caspian Sea despite its accepted -28m. This suggests that there is slight local geoid inaccuracy built into hand held GPS measurements in this area, and that the official Iranian elevation is accurate. The most frequently given elevation on the web, 5,671 m, is definitely wrong.
2.
3. Volcanic Hole on Damavand
4. Milani, A. ''Lost Wisdom''. 2004. Washington. ISBN 0934211906 p.67

External links

★ Mount Damavand Guide

★ Damavand Climbing Tour Guide

★ Damavand Weather Forecast

★

★ Mount Damavand on TierraWiki.org

★ Damavand Mountaineering Guide

★ Facts and Misc. Information

★ Summit Post: Damavand

★ Rahdoon Damavand

★ Mount Damavand Climbing Tour

★ Informative 2007 trip report