Tabriz, the City of Compassion, is one of the most historically important cities of Iran, which played a major role in the Constitutional Revolution of the early 1900s.

Some of the historical sites in Tabriz such as the magnificent Blue Mosque of Tabriz and the 700-year-old Rab'-e Rashidi University have been devastated by the several earthquakes which have rocked the city throughout its history. There ruins, however, still tell of their glorious past.

Once the city where Qajar Crown Princes resided before coming into power, Tabriz is the city of extravagantly decorated mansions, many of which have been turned into museums.

Tabriz is also known as the city of firsts as it is where the first school, municipality, school for the hearing impaired and chamber of commerce were established, and where the country’s first printing press was used and the first coin was industrially minted.

Some of Tabriz’s other firsts include the first street to have electricity, the first post office, the first women’s association, the first fire station, public library, and police precinct.

Several of the country’s well-known poets and writers including Shams Tabrizi, the spiritual master of Mowlana (Rumi), Mohammad-Hossein Behjat-Tabrizi (Shahriar) and Parvin E'tesami have hailed from this city.