Nowshahr (Persian:نوشهر)^[a] is a city in theCentral District ofNowshahr County,Mazandaran province,Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.^[4] It is a port city^[5] on the southern coast of theCaspian Sea.

Nowshahr Persian:نوشهر Nowshahr
City
Nowshahr
Coordinates:36°38′51″N51°29′35″E / 36.64750°N 51.49306°E /36.64750; 51.49306[1]
Country	Iran
Province	Mazandaran
County	Nowshahr
District	Central
Government
• Type	Mayor, City Council
• Mayor	Adel Khazaei Pool
• Representative inMajles	Kamran Pouladi
Area
• Total	1,717.5 km2 (663.1 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[2]
• Total	49,403
• Density	29/km2 (74/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
Area code	011
Website	noshahr.gov.ir

Ruyan is a region in the west of Mazandaran province. This land includesKojur, Kalārestāq andTonekabon. The city of Kojur was the center of the land of the Ruyans. Ruyan has always been part ofTabaristan, nowadays called Mazandaran province. Ruyan was also called Rostamdār, Ostandār and Rostamdele.^[6]

The city ofChalus and its associated towns and villages were part of the Nowshahr township prior to 1996, after which they formed the new township of by legislation from the national parliament.^{[citation needed]}

The largest ethnic group in Nowshahr is theMazandarani people and they speak the Kojuri dialect of the language. They are also fluent inPersian, the official language of Iran.^[7]

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 40,578 in 11,550 households.^[8] The following census in 2011 counted 43,378 people in 12,695 households.^[9] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 49,403 people in 16,287 households.^[2]

Nowshahr has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen:Cfa,Trewartha:Cf), with warm, humid summers and cool, damp winters.^{[citation needed]}

The city has been slow to industrialize due to environmental considerations and having an already vibrant economy based on tourism, ship transport and agriculture.^{[citation needed]} Nevertheless there are local food processing, timber treatment and steel industries.^{[citation needed]} Recently^[when?], a trailer assembly plant has opened in cooperation with theMAZ ofBelarus.^{[citation needed]}

The Dual-use port of Noshahr was built by a Dutch contracting firm in late 1920s and is one of the most active ports of Iran in theCaspian Sea.^[16]

Noshahr Airport, previously an army airbase and currently a civilian-only airport is located on the western part of the city.^{[citation needed]}

With its humid, subtropicalclimate, sea bathing in the waters of the Caspian, and the natural environment of its mountains, Nowshahr has long been a destination for domestictourism in Iran.^{[citation needed]} It attracts visitors by the hundreds of thousands every year to its hotels and private villas, by virtue of its transport links with the other cities ofNorthern Iran.^{[citation needed]} During the reign ofMohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Nowshahr was known unofficially as the 'second capital' or 'summer capital' of Iran because it was the city in which the Shah and most high-level government officials chose to live and work during the summer months.^{[citation needed]}

•  
  Tourists in July 2012
•  
  Sisangan Beach
•  
  Mole of Nowshahr
•  
  Street in Nowshahr
•  
  Nowshahr Bazaar
•  
  National Botanical Garden of Iran

Noshahr was home theShamoushak who competed in thePersian Gulf Pro League from 2003 to 2006. Shamoushak folded its football team in 2013.^[17][18]

The city is home to Imam Khomeini University for Naval Sciences, some branches and campuses of Azad University of Nowshahr andChalus, and Royan Institute of Higher Education.^{[citation needed]}

• Pooran Farrokhzad (b. 1933) – poet
• Mohammad Rouyanian (b. 1960) – member of IRGC
• Mohsen Ashouri (b. 1965) – football player
• Parviz Shiva (b. 1963) – Businessman
• Reza Sheykholeslam (b. 1967) – politician
• Kianoush Rahmati (b. 1978) – football player
• Rahman Ahmadi (b. 1980) – football player
• Hassan Rangraz (b. 1980) – wrestler
• Bahman Tahmasebi (b. 1980) – football player
• Esmaeil Bale (b. 1985) – football player
• Meysam Hosseini (b. 1987) – football player

  Media related toNowshahr at Wikimedia Commons

 Iran portal

• Tabarestan Nowshahr Language Institutes آموزشگاه بزرگ زبان طبرستان نوشهر