Ahvaz

Ahvaz or Ahwaz is a city in the southwest of Iran, and the capital of Khuzestan province. Iran's only navigable river, Karun passes by the middle of the city. It has a long history dating back to the Achaemenid period. In the ancient times, it had been one of the main centers of the Academy of Gondishapur. It is home to Persians, Lurs, Iranian Arabs, Jews, Iranian Armenians and Mandaeans, hence different languages are spoken in it although the lingua franca remains Persian.