Lavasan
Lavasan is a city in, and the capital of, Lavasanat District in Shemiranat County, Tehran province, Iran.
Etymology
The name of Lavasan is a Middle Persian word which means "The Mount Blade of Sunrise" or "Mountaintop of Sunrise". It refers to Mount Damavand that is located in the middle of the Alborz Range in the east of Lavasanat District.History
In the 19th century, during the Qajar era, Lavasan was reportedly a large village, with some 500 houses and about 200 inhabitants.The two most influential parts of Lavasan are Great Lavasan and Little Lavasan. While Great Lavasan was more vibrant in the early 1950s due to its location as a trade hub, the Little Lavasan has become more populated in the past few decades.
Until the construction of Chalus Road among other routes, Great Lavasan was a thriving city on a trade path between Tehran and northern Iran, with several prominent families owning and managing the Lar Karvansara in the Lar [National Park], and who were active in the trading of rice and production of honey, among other products; hence the name "Great Lavasan".
In the early 1900s, Great Lavasan was home to several affluent families and traders with many unique and thriving orchards. Currently Great Lavasan is less populated than the Little Lavasan due to more restricted construction regulations, as well as an influx of new residents moving to Little Lavasan from other cities. Great Lavasan has access from the Jajrood road while Little Lavasan has access from behind the Latyan Dam. Their different areas include Saboo Bozorg, Saboo Koochak, Tork Mahale, Seied Paiz, etc.
Under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in the 1960s, a hydroelectric dam was built in the southeast of the village which is nowadays one of the water supplies of Tehran.
In the 1980s and during the Iran–Iraq War, it became well known during the War of the cities when many people from Tehran took refuge in the nearby towns such as Lavasan.