Roudehen

Roudehen (PerB|رودهن) is a town located on the east of Tehran province on Tehran-Mazandaran road. The town is just past the fork between Haraz and Firoozkooh roads. It lies between the altitude of 51 55 E and the latitude of 3543 N which has Alborz mountain range to the north. It is surrounded by mountains from Lavasan to the neck of Imamzadeh Hashem to the north, and Mt. Ghorch, Mt. Soori, etc. to the south separating it from the central parts of Iran. It is 1850 meters above the sea level and has a total area of 50 square kilometers. Before the construction of Tehran-Mazandaran Road, the area was just called Damavand in historic books. After the construction of the road in 1903, however, Roudehen was referred to as a place for rest in the middle of the road. As an example, in Matla-ol-shams written by Sani-al-doleh, it reads: "Roudehen is about 3 kilometers away from Boumehen near the Ah river and is on the left side of the road. It has 15 families, all are immigrants from Urmieh". Sani-al-doleh in 1875 and British Oliver Darsi in 1830 both passed the road and mentioned the name of the villages which are now part of the town or the surrounding areas. In the eastern part, the village of Kreiton and Ana building complex are now part of Roudehen. In the southern part, the villages of Mehrabad and Golahak are about to be part of the town and the construction of the Islamic Azad University has accelerated it. Since it is on the road to the north, the town is being increasingly developed. Roudehen's municipality was founded in 1965. According to the national census in 1976, the population of Roudehen and suburb was 5237 out of which 6.57% were inhabited in the town and the rest in the surrounding villages.The proximity of Roudehen to Tehran and its location on the main route in the country's transportation network as well as its pleasant weather from past to present and great socio-economic changes during 1976-86 led to a notable increase in the population. This increase was accelerated by the establishment of the Islamic Azad University; the increase which is still expected not to see a halt for.Roudehen had a population of 12000 when the university was founded in 1983. They were mostly aboriginal inhabitants who, until then, remained intact. Due to the lack of farming fields, they mostly tend to be public servants. Short after the establishment of the Islamic Azad University, the town experienced a facelift. The commutation of several thousands of students from Tehran and other neighboring cities, the dwelling of some of them in university dormitory and rented houses, their interaction with the town people, the increasing development of the university campus, and the employment of some of the inhabitants in the university exerted a shift in the population structure of the town and more importantly raised the tendency toward higher education among the town dwellers and the inhabitants of the neighboring areas. With an eye to the future plans of this university, one should anticipate a better and brighter future for the approaching years for Roudehen as an academic town.(Written by: M. Mohammadi)

Colleges and universities

* [http://riau.ac.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Roudehen]
* [http://riaucg.com/ Roudehen Islamic Azad University Computer Group] (Persian)
* [http://rau.ir/ Islamic Azad University of Roudehen Students Forum] (Persian)

Faculty of English Language and Literature(FELL)in this university with 3000 students is said to be the largest one in the Middle East.

External links

*http://www.iauroudehen.ac.ir (Persian/English)
* [http://riaucg.com/ Roudehen Islamic Azad University Computer Group] (Persian)
*http://www.iaur.ir (Persian/English)
*http://www.rau.ir (Persian/English)