Hamadan is believed to be among the oldest Iranian cities and one of the oldest in the world. Hamadan has a green mountainous area in the foothills of the 3,574-meter Alvand Mountain, in the mid-west part of Iran. The city is 1,850 meters above sea level. The special nature of this old city and its historic sites attract tourists during the summer to this city, located approximately 360 kilometers southwest of Tehran. The main symbols of this city are the Ganj Nameh inscription, the Avicenna monument and the Baba Taher monument. Hamadan province lies in a temperate mountainous region to the east of Zagros. The west-east air currents that blow in the autumn, and the local winds that develop due to difference in air-pressure between the elevated areas and the plains, like the blind wind of the ASADABAD region. Hamadan is in the vicinity of the Alvand mountains and has a dry summer continental climate in transition with a snowy winters. In fact, it is one of the coldest cities in Iran. The temperature may drop below −30 °C on the coldest days. Heavy snowfall is common during winter and this can persist for periods of up to two months. During the short summer, the weather is mild, pleasant, and mostly sunny.