Iran

Guru Nanak visited Iran thrice; first while going from Karachi to Aden he visited Bushahar Bander, second time when going from Medina to Baghdad he visited Basra and third time after returning from Turkey and beyond when he visited Tabriz, Vakand, Tehran Isfahan, Karman and Mashhad wherefrom he entered Turkmenistan and reached Sahibabad. Iran also known as Persia is an Islamic Republic in Western Asia. It has an area of 1,648,195 km2(636,372 sq mi) and lies between latitudes 240and 400N, and longitudes 440and 640 E. Its borders are with Azerbaijan and Armenia to the north-west; the Caspian Sea to the north; Turkmenistan to the north-east. It has 909 km border with Pakistan and 936 km with Afghanistan. Turkey(499 km) and Iraq (1,458 km) are to the west; and Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are to the south. Mount Damavandat 5,610 m is the highest mountain on the Eurasian landmass west of the Hindu Kush.Thus it is of great geostatic importance due to its location. With 78.4 million inhabitants, Iran is the world’s 17th-most-populous country. Its major cities are Tehran with 7.3 million, Mashhad 2.7 million; Esfahan 1.78 million; Karaj 1.6 million; Tabriz 1.5million; and Shiraz 1.3 million (2011). Guru Nanak is stated to have visited most of these cities.

Guru Nanak Dev visited Iran during his fourth Udasi towards west. He visited Bushahr while going to Mecca. He visited Khorramabad and Basra while going from Mecca to Iraq. He visited Tabriz, Isfahan, Tehran and Mashhad after visiting Baku and Astarkhan and Suleiman Takhat where a cold water spring is stated to be existing. A Dharamsal existed as ‘Masjid-e-Hindan’, Gurudwara Pehli Patshahi at Tehran and Mashhad also commemorate his visit to Iran.

The Masjid-e-Hindan”Mosque of the Indians”, is a Sikh Gurdwarain Tehran, Iran The gurdwara serves Tehran’s very small Sikh community. Despite its name, the complex is not an Islamic Mosque, and is given due to the Muslim majority in Iran.