I Discovered Iran’s Lost Capital from 500 Years Ago 📍Ardabil

I am traveling near the Iran and Azerbaijan border, to a city only 40km away from Azerbaijan. Most people imagine Iran as Persia. But in Ardabil, near the Azerbaijan border, Azerbaijani Turkish is widely spoken, local culture carries strong Caucasian/Turkic influences, and the city feels unlike almost anywhere else I visited in Iran. Ardabil is also the spiritual birthplace of the Safavid. It began with Sheikh Safi al-Din and later Shah Ismail I, who founded the Safavid dynasty and declared Twelver Shia Islam the state religion in 1501. That decision permanently transformed Iran’s religious and political identity. In this episode, I explore Ardabil’s safavid holy shrine, local neibourhood and bazaar, meet with the local people, to discover the borderland culturel. And how this overlooked city changed Iranian history forever. Did you know that millions of people in Iran speak Azerbaijani Turkish? And had you heard of Ardabil before watching this video? ⏰Time 00:00 The Turkish speaking city 01:17 Iran-Azerbaijan border 03:03 Meeting the local people 04:00 Local community assembly: religious and history memorial 05:33 UNESCO world heritage: Sheikh Safi Al-din shrine 07:32 World's biggest antique carpet (now it's in V&A museum in London) 09:20 Founder of Safavid dynasty 09:55 ''Chinese Palace'' 12:03 Local economic situation 14:15 Local bazaar 16:12 Azerbaijani/Turkish style kebab #iran #azerbaijan #travelvlog #traveldocumentary