in sheltered hollows snow, many remain all the year. On most days of the year, the summit can be seen from Tehran and, when the air is clear from far away kasahn to the south of the great salt desert. It is not surprising that such a prominent mountain should figure in Iranian legend. The great tenth-century Iranian poet, Firdausi, relates in his epic “Shahnama” how the tyrant Zohak is overthrown by the young Feridun and imprisoned in chains to die in a cavern on the slopes of Damavand. Local legend asserts that his groans may still be heard.
