"Neyshabur, The Turquoise Land" Neyshabur by Behi

Neyshabur, (Nishapur, NoShapur, NikShapor, AbarShahr, Shadiakh, Shadkakh, Kohan Dezh) is a city in northeastern Iran, in the Razavi Khorasan province, near of Mashhad.

some 900 km east of Tehran.

This city is located on silk road that linked Anatolia and the Mediterranean with China.

The most important Neyshabur souvenirs include turquoise and rhubarb.
Neyshabur Turquoise has been used for more than 2000 years.

Tomb of Farid al-Din Attar

no city in the world has such this burdensome history
George Curzon remarked that Neyshabur had been destroyed and rebuilt more times than any other city in history.

Archaeological findings in the Neyshabur reveal urban agricultural settlements since 3rd. mill. Bc.

According mythical History, The city founded by Eiraj the Fereydon's son.

One of 3 major holy Zoroastrian Fires, Azar Borzin Meher, is close to this city, at Reivand Mountain

The new city refounded in 3rd century CE after great earthquake & The name
derived from its founder, the Sassanian king Shapur I.

Neyshabur was one of major cities in greater Khorasan beside Balkh, Merv, Bukhara, Samarqand.

Captured & suffered massacre by invading Arabs (~650 AD)

Around 100 years later Iranian independent states founded in greater Khorasan

in 9th century was the capital of the Tahirid the 1st Iranian dynasty when the glazed ceramics of Neyshabur formed an important item of trade to the west.

Shadiakh founded by Abdolah ebne Taher (~830 AD)

Yaqube Laith Saffari the Magnanimous Iranian king captured the city (~872 AD)

Amre Laith Saffari made the city as his capital (~892 AD)

Toghrol, the first ruler of the Seljuk dynasty, made Neyshabur his residence and proclaimed himself sultan there (in 1037)

The golden age of Neyshabur was the 11th, 12th & 13th centuries.

Neyshabur rivaled Baghdad & Cairo became bigger than both of them.
& made as biggest & most flourished city in Islamic empire.
The city had 50 main streets, 44 quarters with royal Mosque & libraries
The city called " Om ol-Belad " (=Mother of Cities)

Nizam ol-Mulk the celebrated Iranian scholar and vizier of the Seljuq Empire, built Nizamiyyah university & organized 13 libraries with 200,000 books (in 1037)
The city called "Dar ol-Elm" (=House of Science)

The great fire happened (in ~1143)

the Oghuz Turks massacred & looted & pillaged the city (in ~1153)
Khaghani's poem about Oghuz Turks disaster:
آن مصر معرفت كه تو ديدى خراب شد
وان نيل مكرمت كه شنيدى بر آب شد
آن كعبه وفا كه خراسانش نام بود
اكنون به پاى پيل حوادث خراب شد

the big earthquake happened (in ~1160)

Genghis Khan's daughter ordered the death of all in the city 1.747 million beheaded, and the skulls of men, women, and children were piled in pyramids by the Mongols. (in 1220)
They even killed all Cats & dogs in city.
after massacre Mongols leveled city & flown by water for 7 days & than implanted wheat on bodies & ruin of city.
City never could rose again
after some decades new city built in northeast of the old city
& for 2 century people lived & moved in tunnels

the great earthquake happened (in 1267)

again the great earthquake destroyed the new developing city (in ~1406)

Safavid Repaired city in 16th century

Ahmad Shah Durrani the Afghani rebel 2 years after Nader shah assassination , Destroyed whole the city (in 1749)

Now it's very small city that you can just find some ruins that shown glorious past

Imamzadeh Mahroq Mosque.

Neyshabur is also home to many scientists, poets and cultural celebrities.

Mazdak was born in Neyshabur in 5th century, a proto-socialist Persian reformer who gained influence under the reign of the Sassanian king Kavadh I. he has been called the "first Socialist in history"

Omar Khayyam the poet, mathematician, philosopher, astronomer & physician was born in Neyshabur in 1048 & is buried close to Neyshabur in own garden, next to Imamzadeh Mahroq Mosque.

Farid al-Din Attar the poet, scholar mystic & Pharmacist was born in Neyshabur in 1142 & beheaded by Mongol invaders in 1221, buried in Shadiakh area.

Kamal-ol-Molk the Iran's greatest contemporary painter, died in 1939 and was buried in Neyshabur next to the Attar.

Heydar Yaghma "Shaer-e Kheshtmal" the contemporary poet was bricklayer worker, born in 1926 and died in March 1986 in Neyshabur & buried beside Shadiyakh.

Prof. Mohammad Reza Shafiei-Kadkani the great contemporary Persian poet and writer and Persian literature Professor was born in Neyshabur.

Fereydoon Joneidi the Iranologist & Writer also my teacher in Pahlavi Persian language course, was born in Neyshabur.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neyshabour
http://abarshahr.blogfa.com

• Pros:Turquoise and Rhubarb
• Cons:sad History
• In a nutshell:The Turquoise Land