Golestān Province

Golestan Province (Persian: استان گلستان‎, Ostān-e Golestān ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located in the north-east of the country, south of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Gorgan. Golestān was split off from the province of Mazandaran in 1997. It has a population of 1.6 million (2006) and an area of 20,380 km². The major townships of the province are: Gorgan, Gonbad Kavoos, Bandar Torkaman, Bandar Gaz, Aliabad-e katul, Kord Kooy, Fenderesk and Minoo Dasht. Present-day Gorgan was called Esteraba or Astarabad until 1937. Gorgān, Hyrcania in Latin, the district of "the wolves" (still seen thereabouts), is mentioned already as Varkāna- in the Behistun inscription. Human settlements in this area date back to 10 000 BCE. Evidence of...