Fars Province

Fars is a province of Central Iran. It is in the south of the country and its center is Shiraz. It has an area of 122,400 sq. km. In 1996, this province had a population of 3.8 million people, out of which 42% resided in rural areas and the rest were urban settlers.

Nominally, Fars is the original homeland of the Persian people. The native name of the Persian language is Farsi or Parsi. Persia and Persian both derive from the Hellenized form Πέρσις Persis of the root word Pars. Fars is the Arabicised version of Pars. The Old Persian word was Parsaa.
Sasanid Empire:
The Sasanid Empire was one of the most powerful empires that ever ruled Persia, ruling for more than 400 years, from 224 to 651 A.D. Across the empire, they built plenty of palaces, cities, and ridiculously over-sized statues, most of them to show the glory of their power and strength, as the Sasanids are the famous empire that once defeated the Romans when they tried to invade Syria which, at that time, belonged to Persia.

Fars Province is the region where most of their heritage remains and most of the sites are just a couple of hours away from Shiraz. All of them are nearly 2,000 years old and extremely innovative from an architectural point of view.

Climate and wildlife:
There are three distinct climatic regions in the Fars Province. First, the mountainous area of the north and northwest with moderate cold winters and mild summers. Secondly, the central regions, with relatively rainy mild winters, and hot dry summers. The third region located in the south and southeast, has cold winters with hot summers. The average temperature of Shiraz is 16.8 °C, ranging between 4.7 °C and 29.2 °C.

The geographical and climatic variation of the province causes varieties of plants; consequently, variation of wildlife has been formed in the province. Additional to the native animals of the province, many kinds of birds migrate to the province every year. Many kinds of ducks, storks and swallows migrate to this province in an annual parade. The main native animals of the province are gazelle, deer, mountain wild goat, ram, ewe and many kinds of birds. In the past, like in Khuzestan Plain, the Persian lion had occurred here.
 

Demographics:
The main ethnic group in the province constitutes of Persians (including Larestani people and the Basseri), while Qashqai, Lurs, Kurds, Arabs, Georgians, and Circassians constitute minorities.
Due to the geographical characteristics of Fars and its proximity to the Persian Gulf, Fars has long been a residing area for various peoples and rulers of Iran. However, the tribes of Fars including, Mamasani Lurs, Khamseh and Kohkiluyeh have kept their native and unique cultures and lifestyles which constitute part of the cultural heritage of Iran attracting many tourists.

Among the hundreds of thousands of Georgians and Circassians that were transplanted to Persia under Shah Abbas I, his predecessors, and successors, a certain amount of them were to guard the main caravan routes; many were settled around Āspās and other villages along the old Isfahan-Shiraz road. By now the vast majority Caucasians that were settled in Fars have lost their cultural, linguistic, and religious identity, having mostly being assimilated into the population.
 

Shiraz:
Shiraz the capital of Fars Province is known as the city of poets, literature, wine (despite Iran being an Islamic republic since 1979), and flowers. It is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens, due to the many gardens and fruit trees that can be seen in the city, for example Eram Garden. Shiraz has had major Jewish and Christian communities. The crafts of Shiraz consist of inlaid mosaic work of triangular design; silver-ware; pile carpet-weaving and weaving of kilim, called gilim and jajim in the villages and among the tribes.
 
Persepolis:
Persepolis (Takht-e Jamshid or Paarsa) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BCE). It is situated 60 km northeast of the city of Shiraz in Fars Province, Iran. The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BCE. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.