Boshruyeh

Boshruyeh بشرويه
city
Boshruyeh
Coordinates: 33°52′06″N 57°25′44″E / 33.86833°N 57.42889°ECoordinates: 33°52′06″N 57°25′44″E / 33.86833°N 57.42889°E
Country	Iran
Province	South Khorasan
County	Boshruyeh
Bakhsh	Central
Population (2006)
• Total	13,778
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
• Summer (DST)	IDST (UTC+4:30)
Boshruyeh at GEOnet Names Server

Boshruyeh (Persian: بشرويه‎‎ - "Bosh-Growing", also Romanized as Boshrūyeh)^[1] is a city in, and the capital of, Boshruyeh County, in western South Khorasan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 13,778, in 3,638 families.^[2] It is named for bosh, a native herb common to this region.

Boshruyeh is located between the cities of Ferdows and Tabas at the border of the Dasht-e Kavir. Near of this city, there are old villages namad Aresk, Raqqeh, Korond and Ghaniabad.

The geographic coordinates of Boshruyeh are 33°52' N and 57°25' E. The weather usually is warm and in summer it is very hot. The average rain in a year is very low (lower than 150 mm).

Agriculture

Boshruyeh is an important agricultural region in the South Khorasan Province. Lots of people are involved in this field. The main products are cotton, wheat, saffron, barley, caraway, pistachio, melon and watermelon. In this city, agriculture is based on underground water. This implies that farmers are using powerful engines to bring water out.

Because of low annual precipitation, it is believed that local aquifers are being gradually depleted of their ground water resources, by extensive pumping. The sound of diesel engines fills the atmosphere of this small town on a 24-hr a day basis. If so, the ground water level will continue to go down requiring deeper and deeper wells and more powerful diesel engines. The water is typically saline (high salt content) which promotes salinization of the land under the arid climatic condition of high evaporation and low precipitation. In short, if no attention is paid to this problem, farming will likely result in unproductive barren land in the not so distant future.

History

There are several historic buildings in Boshruyeh and its surroundings. Based on historical books, it seems that this city has been existed at least for 700 years. Some of the most famous buildings are:

1. Qal'eye Dokhtar "Young Woman's Castle": This citadel is located on the top of a mountain in the west of the city. It has been reported that this huge and ancient building was a governmental work from the period of Ismāīlī governance of this region..

2. Hosseynie Haj Ali Ashraf "Haj Ali Ashraf's Hussayniyya": This building has Indian architecture and is used for azadari "religious mourning rites" during the month of Muharram

3. Masjed Mian Deh "Center-City Mosque": This mosque dates back 400 years.

4. Sarāy-e Serke: This ancient and simple house is famous and is also used for azadari.^[3]

References

1. Boshruyeh can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "10946169" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
2. "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)". Islamic Republic of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 2011-11-11.
3. Boshrooye News Agency Archived December 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.