Khuzestan Province
The seat of the province has for the most of its history been in the northern reaches of the land, first at Susa (Shush) and then at Shushtar. During a short spell in the Sasanian era, the capital of the province was moved to its geographical center, where the river town of Hormuz-Ardasher, founded over the foundation of the ancient Hoorpahir by Ardashir I, the founder of the Sasanian Dynasty in the 3rd century CE. This town is now known as Ahvaz. However, later in the Sasanian time and throughout the Islamic era, the provincial seat returned and stayed at Shushtar, until the late Qajar period. With the increase in the international sea commerce arriving on the shores of Khuzistan, Ahvaz became a more suitable location for the provincial capital. The River Karun is navigable all the way to Ahvaz (above which, it flows through rapids). The town was thus refurbished by the order of the Qajar king, Naser al-Din Shah and renamed after him, Nâseri. Shushtar quickly declined, while Ahvaz/Nâseri prospered to the present day.
Ordubad
The Ordubad city, known as the “pearl” of Nakhchevan province, is located at an elevation of . It is in the northern bank of the central stretch of the Araxes (Aras) river of the eastern Transcaucasia which earlier belonged to Persia, now in Azerbaijan. the second largest town. The Ordubad Province itself has an area of and is delimited by Iran on the south, Armenia forming the north and west border, and the Julfa region of Nakhchivan bordering the east. The river that rises from the north from the Mt. Qobān (also known as Tk. Qapïjïq, Rus. Kapudzhukh or Kapydzhik) at an elevation of drains into the Araxes. The town is divided into five districts of the Ambaras, the Kurdtatal, the Mingis, the Sar sheher, and the Uch. The city has a large number of walnut and mulberry trees. The closest railway station is Ordubad and the distance to Nakhchivan city is . Tabriz is away to the north-northwest.