Urmia or Orumiyeh ( ارومیه, Azerbaijani: اورمیه Armenian: Ուրմիա, Romanized: Urmia; Kurdish: ,ورمێ Ûrmiyê,, Syriac: ܐܘܪܡܝܐ, is the largest city in West Azarbaijan Province of Iran. It is situated at an altitude of 1,330 metres (4,360 ft) above sea level, and is located along the Shahar Chay River on the Urmia plain. Lake Urmia, one of the world’s largest salt lakes, lies to the east of the city, and the mountainous Turkish border area lies to the west.
The city’s inhabitants are predominantly Azerbaijanis who speak the Azerbaijani language, There are also minorities of Kurds, Persians, Armenians, Asyrians and Zoroastrians. The city is the trading center for a fertile agricultural region where fruits. Even though the majority of the residents of Urmia are Muslims, the Christian history of Urmia is well preserved and is especially evident in the city’s many churches and cathedrals.