Roman Ghirshman who was a Russian-born French archeologist who specialized in ancient Persia, said that Shushtar is the first human settlement in Iran and dates back to 10,000 years ago. There are myths in Persian oral history which say Hushang (the second Shāh to rule the world according to Ferdowsi’s Shāhnāmeh) built the city and named it Shushtar (literally means better than Susa) and some other say that it was the first city built after Noah’s storm.

Many cities have turned into cities as a response to village progress but Shushtar has always been a city.

For a comfortable stay in Shushtar, book Tabib Shushtari ecolodge, which is an old house dating back to Qajar’s.

“Whoever enters my place, feed them without asking about their faiths. Because if they were favored by the Almighty God who saw them worthy of the gift of life, then they are certainly worth being fed in the house of Aboul Hassan “.

This is the message at the entrance to Abolhassan Kharaghani house.

Abolhassan Kharqhani is one of Medieval Persian mystics. He claimed a deep spiritual relationship with Bayazid Bastami, a well-known Sufi Master.

A group of researchers finds Bayezid’s thoughts influenced by Buddhism and Hinduism. While some find him a Muslim mystic, many others believe that he was more a student of Jesus Christ due to his love to immaterialism

One day, he was walking on a narrow road with his fellows and a dog came. He returned and opened the way for the dog. One of the fellows asked: you are a great mystic with many disciples, you are God’s best creatures, why did you prefer the dog to us? He replies: on the day of the beginning, I became a mystic with many fellows, and that became a dog. Did I do anything right to deserve this or did he do anything bad to be punished?

For those who are visiting Abulhassan’s tomb at Qaleh Now-e Kharaqan village, it would be a great delight to stay at one of the most beautiful Ecolodges with Iranian architecture, Parvin Palace which the staff are very dedicated to Abulhassan also.

Ethnic groups in Iran[1]

Ethnic groups Percent
Persians (incl. Gilaks and Mazandaranis) 61%
Azerbaijanis 16%
Kurds 10%
Lurs (incl. Bakhtiari people) 6%
Turkmens (and other tribal Turks in Iran) 2%
Arabs 2%
Baloch 2%
Others 1%

Reference:

  1. Wikipedia

Iranian Turkmen are a branch of Turkmen people living mainly in northern and northeastern regions of Iran. Their region is called Turkmen Sahra and includes stantial parts of Golestan.

Iranian Turkmens have long time represented a group of semi-nomadic tribes who retained a more traditional way. In Iran lived next Turkmen tribes — Yomut, Goklen, Īgdīr, Saryk, Salar and Teke.

Nearly two million Turkmen can be found living along the northern edges of Iran, just south of the Turkmenistan border. For centuries the Turkmen lived as nomadic herdsmen. In more recent years, however, many have changed to a “semi-nomadic lifestyle,” living in permanent homes as well as in tents. Today most of them are farmers and cattle breeders. Turkmen still live in extended families where various generations can be found under the same roof, especially in rural areas. Many tribal customs still survive among modern Turkmen. Unique to Turkmen culture is kalim, which is a groom’s “dowry” that can be quite expensive and often results in the widely practiced tradition of bridal kidnapping.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Turkmen