Qom

Qom
قم
City
کلانشهر قم · Qom Metropolis
Top: Fatima Masumeh Shrine, Second Row: Left: Bagh-e Gonbad-e Sabz Right: Grand Timcheh of Qom, Third Row: Left: Feyziyeh Madrasas Right: Jamkaran Mosque, Bottom: Panoramic view of downtown Qom
Flag of Qom
Qom is located in Iran
Qom
Qom
Location within Iran
Coordinates: 34°38′24″N 50°52′35″E / 34.64000°N 50.87639°E / 34.64000; 50.87639
CountryIran
ProvinceQom
CountyQom
DistrictCentral
Government
 • MayorFaramarz Azimi
Elevation
936 m (3,071 ft)
Population
 (2016)
 • City
1,201,158
 • Metro
1,260,000
 • Population Rank in Iran
7th
Time zoneUTC+3:30 (IRST)
Postal code
37100
Area code(+98) 025
ClimateBWh
Websiteqom.ir
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Qom (Persian: قم; [qom] ⓘ) is the capital of Qom province, Iran. It is also the capital of Qom County and its Central District. It is the seventh largest metropolis and the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is 140 km (87 mi) to the south of Tehran, on the banks of the Qom River.

Qom is a holy city in Shia Islam, as it is the site of the Fatima Masumeh Shrine, the daughter of the seventh Shia Imam Musa al-Kazim and the sister of the eighth Shia Imam Ali al-Rida. The city is the world's largest center for Shia Islamic scholarship and is a significant destination of pilgrimage, with around 20 million pilgrims visiting every year. Qom's economy is heavily dependent on pilgrimage, and the city is the most conservative in Iran.

Qom has developed into a lively industrial center owing, in part, to its proximity to Tehran. It is a regional center for the distribution of petroleum and petroleum products, and a natural gas pipeline from Bandar Anzali and Tehran and a crude oil pipeline from Tehran run through Qom to the Abadan refinery on the Persian Gulf. Qom gained additional prosperity when oil was discovered at Sarajeh (fa:میدان نفتی البرز قم) near the city in 1956 and a large refinery was built between Qom and Tehran. In between the Tehran-Qom highway is the Imam Khomeini International Airport, which is the largest airport in Iran.