Mount Damavand

Mount Damavand (دماوند dæmɒːvænd) is a dormant stratovolcano and is the highest peak in Iran and Western Asia, the highest volcano in Asia, and the 2nd highest volcano in the Eastern Hemisphere (after Mount Kilimanjaro), at an elevation of . Damāvand has a special place in Persian mythology and folklore. It is in the middle of the Alborz range, adjacent to Varārū, Sesang, Gol-e Zard, and Mīānrūd. It is near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, in Amol County, Alborz Province, northeast of the city of Tehran. Mount Damāvand is the 12th most prominent peak in the world and the second most prominent in Asia after Mount Everest. It is part of the Volcanic Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. Damavand is a significant mountain in Persian mythology. It is the symbol of Iranian resistance against despotism and foreign rule in Persian poetry and literature. In Zoroastrian texts and mythology, the three-headed dragon Aži Dahāka was chained within Mount Damāvand, there to remain until the end of the world. In a later version of the same legend, the tyrant Zahhāk was also chained in a cave somewhere in Mount Damāvand after being defeated by Kāveh and Fereydūn. Persian poet Ferdowsi depicts this event in his masterpiece, the Shahnameh: بیاورد ضحاک را چون نَوَند به کوه دماوند کردش به‌بند biyāvard Zahhāk rā čon navandbe kuh-e Damāvand kardaš be-band He brought Zahhak like a horse to mount Damavand,And tied him at the peak tight and bound. The mountain is said to hold magical powers in the Shahnameh. Damāvand has also been named in the Iranian legend of Arash (as recounted by Bal'ami) as the location from which the hero shot his magical arrow to mark the border of Iran, during the border dispute between Iran and Turan. The poem Damāvand by Mohammad Taqī Bahār is also one fine example of the mountain's significance in Persian literature. The first verse of this poem reads: ای دیو سپید پای‌دربند ای گنبد گیتی، ای دماوند ey div-e sepid-e pāy-dar-band,ey gonbad-e giti, ey Damāvand O white giant with feet in chains,O dome of the world, O Damāvand.