Marivan: A Kurdish City on the Lake and the Border
- Jamal Latif
- Jun 4
- 5 min read
Introduction
Marivan (Kurdish: Meriwan) is a Kurdish city in the west of Iran, set among the Zagros mountains right on the border with Iraqi Kurdistan. Famous for the beautiful freshwater lake of Zrêbar on its western edge, it is a thoroughly Kurdish city — Kurdish-speaking, mostly Sunni, and proudly attached to its language and culture in a country where Kurds are a minority. For the Kurds it is one of the key cities of Rojhelat, the eastern part of Kurdistan that lies within Iran.
This is the latest entry in our geographic series profiling the cities and towns of the region — where they are, who controls them, who lives in them, and why they matter to the Kurdish story.
Quick Facts
Common Name: Marivan
Kurdish Name: Meriwan
Country: Iran — capital of Marivan County, Kurdistan Province
Population: 136,654 in the city (2016 census); county around 195,000
People: Overwhelmingly Kurdish; mostly Sunni Muslim
Setting: In the Zagros at about 1,310 m, on the Iraqi-Kurdistan border
Known For: Lake Zrêbar, its border trade, and its Kurdish character
Language: Kurdish (Sorani and Hawrami)
Contents
Location and Geography
Marivan lies in the far west of Iran’s Kurdistan Province, in a high valley of the Zagros mountains at an elevation of around 1,310 metres. It sits very close to the border with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and is one of the main crossing points between the two, with the Bashmaq border post just to the west. The city is bounded by Saqqez to the north, Kamyaran and Kermanshah to the south, and Iraq to the west. Surrounded by forested mountains and watered by heavy rainfall — it is often described as the rainiest city in the province — Marivan has a cool, wet climate unusual for Iran, and the dense oak forests of the Zagros give the area much of its character.
People and Population
Marivan is an almost entirely Kurdish city. At the 2016 census the city had 136,654 people, up from about 91,664 in 2006 and 110,464 in 2011, while the wider county held close to 195,000. The people of Marivan speak Kurdish — in the Sorani and Hawrami forms used across this part of Rojhelat — and the great majority are Sunni Muslims. That Sunni identity sets them apart from Iran’s Shia establishment, and like other Kurdish areas of Iran, Marivan has long felt the tension between its Kurdish, Sunni character and the central government. Since 2023, local cultural bodies have been adding Kurdish to the entrance signs of the city and its villages, with some 200 village signs updated by 2025 — a small but telling assertion of Kurdish identity.
Lake Zrêbar
Just three kilometres west of the city lies Lake Zrêbar (Kurdish: Zrêbar or Zrêwar; Persian: Zarivar), a freshwater mountain lake about five kilometres long and up to 1.6 kilometres wide, ringed by forested hills. Its name comes from the Kurdish words for “sea” and “lake,” and it is the subject of much local folklore. Unusually, the lake is fed not by any river but by springs in its own bed and by snowmelt from the surrounding mountains. Zrêbar is the heart of Marivan’s tourism and a beloved local landmark, drawing visitors from across Iran for its boating, fishing and beauty — though, like many of Iran’s lakes, it faces real pressures from drought and over-use.
History
Marivan has long been a Kurdish border district on the old frontier between the Ottoman and Persian empires. In the early twentieth century the region around it formed part of the domain of Jaafar Sultan of the Hawraman, who controlled the country between Marivan and the area north of Halabja and remained effectively independent until 1925, when the new Pahlavi state in Iran brought the Kurdish chiefs to heel. Qajar-era rulers had earlier built a castle in the area, a reminder of its role as a guarded border town. The modern city itself is young — it grew up over the twentieth century — but it sits in a landscape shaped by centuries of Kurdish tribal life and cross-border movement.
Marivan Today
Today Marivan is a busy provincial city and a major border crossing between Iran and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with much of its economy tied to trade, tourism around Lake Zrêbar, and traditional Kurdish handicrafts such as textiles and the soft giveh shoes of the region. Like much of Rojhelat it has also been a centre of Kurdish political feeling, and its people took part in the wider protests that have swept Iran’s Kurdish cities in recent years. The kolbars — border porters who carry goods across the mountains on their backs — are a visible and often tragic feature of life here, as many are killed each year on the dangerous frontier trails.
Timeline of Key Events
1800s — Qajar rulers build a castle in the Marivan border district.
1918–1925 — Jaafar Sultan of the Hawraman holds the region around Marivan, independent until the Pahlavi state takes control.
1950s — The modern city of Marivan takes shape.
1979 onward — Marivan, like much of Rojhelat, sees Kurdish political activism under the Islamic Republic.
2006–2016 — The city’s population grows from about 92,000 to 137,000.
2022 — Marivan joins the nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests.
2023–2025 — Kurdish-language signs are added across the city and 200 villages.
Debates and Controversies
As a Sunni Kurdish city in a Shia-majority state, Marivan sits at one of the fault lines of modern Iran. Kurds in the area have long pressed for greater cultural and language rights and have featured prominently in protest movements, and the Iranian authorities have responded with a heavy security presence, arrests and, at times, executions of Kurdish activists. The killing of kolbar border porters by security forces is a recurring grievance. The Iranian government, for its part, frames Kurdish political activity in border cities like Marivan as a security threat linked to opposition parties based across the frontier. Written from a Kurdish perspective, this profile presents Marivan as a Kurdish city whose people seek their rights peacefully, while noting that Tehran sees the border and its politics very differently.
Significance for the Kurds
Marivan is one of the heartland cities of Rojhelat, the eastern part of Kurdistan within Iran. Its overwhelmingly Kurdish population, its closeness to Iraqi Kurdistan, and its role as a gateway between the two halves of the divided Kurdish homeland all give it a special place in the Kurdish imagination. The beauty of Lake Zrêbar, the Hawrami culture of the surrounding hills, and the resilience of a people who keep their language and identity alive under pressure make Marivan a quietly powerful symbol of Kurdish endurance on the Iranian side of the border.
Related Places and Topics
Sanandaj, the capital of Iran’s Kurdistan Province to the east.
Saqqez, the Kurdish city to the north.
Just across the border lies Halabja, in Iraqi Kurdistan. The historic Hawraman (Uraman) region and the wider story of Rojhelat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Marivan?
Marivan is in the west of Iran, in Kurdistan Province, high in the Zagros mountains right on the border with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is the capital of Marivan County.
Is Marivan a Kurdish city?
Yes. Marivan is overwhelmingly Kurdish, Kurdish-speaking and mostly Sunni Muslim. It is one of the main cities of Rojhelat, the Kurdish region of western Iran.
What is Lake Zrêbar?
Lake Zrêbar (Persian: Zarivar) is a freshwater mountain lake about 3 km west of Marivan, around 5 km long, fed by springs and snowmelt. It is the area’s most famous natural attraction.
How big is Marivan?
At the 2016 census the city had 136,654 people, up from about 92,000 in 2006. The wider Marivan County had close to 195,000.
References and Further Reading
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