Qasr-e Shirin
Qasr-e Shirin (; also Romanized as Qaşr-e Shīrīn and Qasr-ī-Shīrīn; also known as Ghasr-ī-shīrīn and Ghasr-shīrīn, Kurdish: قەسری شیرین) is a city and capital of Qasr-e Shirin County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,437, in 3,893 families. The city is populated by Kurds. Name. The city is named after Shirin, the Christian wife of the Sasanian King of Kings ("shahanshah") Khosrow II (). History. Postwar reconstruction-present. In 1992 the postwar reconstruction process began. The results of a research in 2020 show that the reconstruction process  of Qasr-e Shirin was not successful in reviving the city nor in encouraging the migrants to return to their hometown. In June 2006, archaeological excavations in Shirin's castle resulted in the discovery of the dais of the castle which was used as the seat of the king. The establishment of Qasr-e Shirin free trade-industrial zone was approved on May 5, 2021. Language. The linguistic composition of the city: Climate. The city is well known for its agricultural productivity due to rich soil and plentiful water from the Hulwan (Alwand) River which runs through the city. The  weather is mild in winter but hot and dry during the summer. Recent excavations. The site of Qasr-e shirin was searched for the first time in 1891 and again in 1910. Excavations in 2006 led to the discovery of a wall of forty miles long, built by Khosrow II to protect the city. This wall extends beyond the border with Iraq. A canal dug at the time of the Sassanids, ends in Iraq. The water of the river Hulwan (Alwand) entered the channel by a trench and then led the water to Iraq. This canal covered with stucco stone  is considered one of the masterpieces of civil engineering in irrigation. Economy. Qasr-e Shirin has for long played an important economical role in the region. A large share of the country's exports is done via Qasr-e Shirin with its two main border points Khosravi and Parviz Khan border crossing. Parviz Khan border crossing (Persian: گذرگاه مرزی پرویزخان) is located to the northwest at a 5 Kms distance from the city center. It was established in 1997. The reason for being named so is a village by the same name on the Kurdish Iraq side of the border .About 50 percent of Iran’s non-oil products are being exported to Iraq via Parviz Khan border crossing, a major land route for trade. On average, 800-1,200 trucks carrying Iranian goods pass Parvizkhan border crossing and head for Iraq daily.Also, an average of 500 tankers import fuel from Iraq's Kurdistan region to Parviz Khan border per day and return to Iraq after being discharged at Iran's southern ports.According to Yavar Mohammadi, one governor of the western Iranian city of Qasr-e Shirin, Parviz Khan crossing plays a significant role in the prosperity of the  Iranian economy, Kermanshah Province in particular. Parviz Khan border crossing has been named the most active trade checkpoint out of 86 crossings between Iran and Iraq. It has put thosands of Iranians to work. Qasr-e Shirin has many modern and chic restaurants, with four three-star hotels and many other two-star hotels, serving both pilgrims to Iraq's holy Shia shrines and tourists and businessmen visiting the city. In fact, it is the city of hotels and restaurants. Transportation. The city is near a railway route under construction called Rahahane Gharb (Iran west railway) planned to connect Iran  to Iraqi railway system and ultimately to the Syrian Mediterranean port city of Latakia. Its construction is due to be completed by 1403 Iranian year through Kermanshah–Khosravi line. Health systems. Hazrate Abolfazl Abbas is the hospital that serves the town and people from Iraq. It has 96 beds. Built in 1998 during the postwar reconstruction process, because of the lack of medical specialists it functioned at the level of a round the clock clinic until early January 2006 when some specialists joined and a few specialty wards were activated. There is also a sanitation center and a 24-hour  drugstore. Due to the city's two border crossings with Iraq and its proximity to several Iraqi cities it attracts and has the potential to attract Iraqi medical tourists. According to Sa’dollah Masudian, the Iranian consul general in Iraq's Sulaymaniyah Governorate in June 2018, each day 1500 visas are issued for Iraqi travelers to Iran at Iran's consulate in Sulaymaniyah, one third of which is dedicated for medical tourism. Accordingly, in addition to Persian and English, Kurdish is also used to guide people to different parts of the hospital. Notable people. See Kermanshahis Qasr-e Shirin Qasr-e