Birjand
Birjand ( , also Romanized as Bīrjand and Birdjand) is the capital of the Iranian province of South Khorasan. The city is known for its saffron, barberry, jujube, and handmade carpet exports. Birjand had a population of 187,020 in 2013. History. The first citation of the city in the historical literature belongs to the famous book "Mojem Alboldan", by Yaqut Homavi (13th century) which introduces the Birjand as the most beautiful town in the Qohestan. Before this, Birjand had been probably not as big and important as a municipality but rather as a rural community. However, the Birjand geographical area had  its historical and political importance long before the emergence of the city of Birjand. Many citations of the region are available in the original literature like "Ehya -ol- Molook" of the once important localities in the area. Apart from literature, the oldest evidence on the history of the region is the ancient Lakh-Mazar inscription in the Kooch village some southeast of Birjand. Numerous fine drawings and inscriptions are carved on an igneous rock surface. The inscriptions include pictograms as well as Arsacid Pahlavi, Sasanian Pahlavi, Arabic and Persian scripts. Climate. Birjand has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification  BWk) with hot summers and cool winters and a significant difference between day and night temperatures. Precipitation falls mostly in winter and spring. official services. Municipality. In 1310, Birjand Municipality was opened under the name of Birjand Municipality next to the tomb of Hakim Nazari and started its activities with 12 employees. The first mayor of Birjand was Mr. Afshar, who served as mayor for six years. University. In 1975, following Dr. Mohammad Hassan Ganji, the Birjand Institute of Higher Education was established in the Assadollah Alam Endowment Collection. This university started with the admission of 120 students in the  fields of mathematics, physics and chemistry and is now officially known as Birjand University. Airport. In 1312, due to the political and military situation of Birjand city and the east of the country, Birjand airport was established on a 150-hectare land in the north of the city. Customs. In 1317, in order to facilitate the transportation, export and import of goods to the subcontinent of India and Afghanistan, the Birjand Customs Office was established and started its activities with two customs units, Dareh and Gezik. Imam Reza Hospital. In 1327, Imam Reza Hospital was established in one of the  lands and endowments belonging to the Alam family, known as Bagh-e Anari. In addition to accepting patients in Birjand city, this hospital also accepted other patients in southern cities of Khorasan province. Education. It is said that the Shokatiyeh School in Birjand together with Darolfonoon in Tehran were the first modern public schools of higher education in Iran in the mid-19th century. Ever since then, Birjand has amassed an abundance of institutions of higher education and become an important location for research and development. The city contains such universities and academic institutions as: