Urmia is the center of West Azerbaijan province. It is located in the west of the Urmia lake, on the slopes of Sir mountain at the Urmia plain. Urmia’s weather is rather warm during summer and cold during winter.  
This city has been listed as one of the 19 historical cities of Iran in UNESCO. Urmia has experience many events such as being occupied by the Ottomans and Russians. This city, due to having the excellent location of being the connecting highway between the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and Anatolia, was one of the trade centers of the region. 
Noghl is the main souvenir of Urmia, known to everybody! Urmia is also known as the city to have the first modern hospital, first medical training center, first local TV channel, first local publication in Iran, being the capital of Iran’s volleyball and the second high traffic city in the country. Trabzon and Erzurum in Turkey and Varna in Bulgaria are the sister cities of Urmia.