Guilan

Guilan (گیلان in Persian) is a province in Iran with a population of approximately 2 million and an area of 14,700 sq. km. It lies just west of the province of Mazandaran, along the Caspian Sea. The capital of the province is the city of Rasht and Somasara is another major city.

The main harbour is Bandar-e Anzali (previously Bandar-e Pahlavi).

The majority of the population speaks as first language Gilaki, a variant of Persian.

The main tourist attraction is the small town of Massouleh in the hills south-east of Rasht. The town is build similar to an pueblo with the roof of one house being the courtyard of the next house.

Large parts of the province are mountanous, green and forrested.The coastal plain along the Caspian Sea is - similar to that of Mazandaran mainly used for rice paddies.

The province has its own Radio and TV programme.

In May 1990 large parts of the province were destroyed by a huge earthquake, in which about 50.000 to 100.000 people died.