Torbat-e Heydarieh

Torbat-e Heydarieh (Persian: تربت حيدريه, also Romanized as Torbat-e Ḩeydarīyeh; also known as Torbat-e Heydari, Turbat-i-Haidari, Torbate Heydari, and Turbet-i-Haidari, and for short Torbat) is a city in the Central District of Torbat-e Heydarieh County, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The closest major city to Torbat is Mashhad and it is 157 Kilometers away.

At the 2006 census, its population was 119,360 in 31,869 households. The following census in 2011 counted 131,150 people in 37,807 households. The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 140,019 people in 43,029 households.

The name Torbat in Persian means Burial place, thus the name of the city means Burial Place of Heydar named after Qutb ad-Dīn Haydar a Sufi mystic whose tomb lies in the heart of the city.

In ancient times this city was known as Zaveh and in the 19th century it was known as Torbat-e Ishaq Khan or Torbat-e Isa Khan after Ishaq Khan Qaraei the powerful chief of the local Qarai Turks who ruled as a semi-autonomous governor of Torbat-e Heydarieh from 1775 to 1816. It derives its present name from the turbet or tomb of a holy man named Kutb ed din Haidar, the founder of the ascetic sect of dervishes known as the Haidaris. He died c. 1230 and is buried in a large domed building a short distance outside the town.

The city is located in the center of Razavi Khorasan province in Iran. This city is famous for its Zafaran (Saffron) fields. Torbat-e Heydarieh is the world's largest Saffron (or Zafaran in Persian) producer hence the nickname "Capital of the Red Gold of Iran" has been given to it.