Authorities in the province of eastern Azarbaijan expect the death toll to rise after heavy rains led to flash floods. Several people are missing after homes were flooded and cars washed away.
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Iran's state media reported at least 35 people were killed and eight declared missing as flash floods hit the country's northwest.
Iran, a cradle of civilization
Ancient Persians were visually oriented and close to nature. Artifacts that only narrowly escaped theft are now on show for the first time outside of Iran. The German exhibition reveals the origins of present-day Iran.
Image: Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
Treasures of early civilizations
Simple, but functional - this building consisting of one room only was constructed in the sixth millennium BC. The exhibition "Iran. Ancient Culture Between Water and Desert" in Bonn's Bundeskunsthalle museum shows how people lived in the region from the sixth millennium BC until Darius I became king of Persia and founded the Achaemenid dynasty in 522 BC.
Image: National Museum of Iran/Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
The Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel has been associated by scholars with the Etemenanki, a ziggurat dedicated to the Mesopotamian god Marduk by Nabopolassar, king of Babylonia. It was demolished by Alexander the Great. The story linked to it was meant to explain the origin of different languages. It was recorded in Genesis, the first book of the Jewish Tanakh and the Old Testament.
Image: Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
The Royal Game of Ur
Among the exhibits are backgammon boards made of soap stone and beautifully decorated with snakes and birds. The Royal Game of Ur was already played all over Western Asia in the third millennium BC. Also called the Game of 20 Squares, it is still popular today.
Image: National Museum of Iran/Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
Sensational findings at the plain of Jiroft
In 2001, police succeeded in safeguarding significant findings that had been looted from the plain of Jiroft, in particular beautiful vessels made of chlorite. This item here dates back to the third millennium BC. Chlorite abounds in a quarry located in Tepe Yahya roughly 90 kilometers from the archaeological site.
Image: National Museum of Iran/Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
Drinking and celebrating
Wealthy people who lived back then are believed to have drunk wine from gold goblets at the tombs of their dead. The goblets used during these ceremonies give proofof highly developed manual and technical skills. Half-human and half-animal creatures decorated the cups like reliefs. Their heads were added later on.
Image: National Museum of Iran/Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
Jewelry worn by princesses
Is this a fairy tale of 1,001 nights? This heavy gold jewelry including rings, bracelets and chains, was found in a tomb of two Elamite princesses in the village of Jubaji close to the Persian Gulf in 2007. The princesses were also provided with food and religious items believed to assist them during their journey to the next world.
Image: Bundeskunsthalle Bonn/D. Ertl
Royal residence
Tshogha Zanbil was the residential city of King Untash-Napirisha (1275-1240 BC). It was surrounded by three huge walls. As the finding of thousands of bricks there suggests, there might have been plans to expand the city.
Image: Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
Paradise on earth
The Persian Garden has been named a UNESCO's World Heritage Site. A typical inner court garden was reconstructed for the exhibition in Bonn's Bundeskunsthalle. The central water basin with fountains offers refreshment. It is flanked by exotic flower beds. People can relax in a loggia with couches. High walls protect them against the sun - and curious onlookers.
Image: Bundeskunsthalle Bonn
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Torrential rains that began on Friday lashed East Azerbaijan province, with state television showing images of rivers bursting their banks, flooded houses and cars being swept away by the surging water.
"Thirty-five people have been killed in the floods," the head of Iran's emergency response organization, Esmail Najar, told the ISNA news agency.
Rescue teams are trying to locate several people reported missing in the cities of Ajab Shir and Azarshahr.
Five injured people have been hospitalized, officials said.
East Azarbaijan Governor's Office of Crisis Management said that 16 bodies were found in Ajab Shir city and 14 in city of Azarshahr.
Red Crescent workers, air ambulances, as well as police and army forces were deployed from the early hours of Saturday morning to provide aid, a local emergency official said.
In September, at least 10 people were killed in flash floods across the Tehran and Hormozgan provinces.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants a third term as Iran's president
