Church of St. Mary (Nane Maryam church) The Church of St. Mary in Urmia city is considered by some historians to be the second oldest church in Christendom after the Church of Bethlehem in the West Bank. It is believed by some to have been first built in 32 AD. A Chinese princess, who contributed to its reconstruction in 642 AD, has her name engraved on a stone on the…

Uromieh Lake (The Lake of salt) Urmia Lake is a salt lake and near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its full size, it was the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake on Earth with a surface area of approximately 5,200 km² (2,000…

Urmia Urmia or Uromieh is the second largest city in the Iranian Azerbaijan and the capital of West Azerbaijan Province. Urmia is situated at an altitude of 1,330 m above sea level and is located along the Shahar Chay River (City River) on the Urmia Plain. At the 2012 census, its population was 667,499 with 197,749 households. The city's inhabitants are predominantly Iranian Azerbaijanis who speak the Azerbaijani language. There…