The Caspian Sea is completely landlocked, meaning no rivers from it flow out to an ocean. It is surrounded by five countries - Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan - and covers an area almost as big as Japan. Because it is so old and cut off from the world's oceans, it has developed its own unique collection of wildlife, including the Caspian seal, several types of sturgeon, and many rare fish found nowhere else.
Along Iran's Caspian shore, the climate is warm and very rainy compared to the rest of the country. The narrow strip of lowland between the mountains and the sea is where most of Iran's rice and tea is grown. Visitors from the hot, dry cities of the interior come here for their holidays, enjoying the lush green countryside and the wide, calm beaches. In the evenings, the smell of grilled fish and freshly brewed tea fills the little seaside towns.
The Caspian has been an important trade and travel route for thousands of years. Silk Road caravans used mountain passes to reach the Caspian ports, and from there goods - spices, silk, precious stones - were shipped north to Russia and beyond. Today fishermen still go out in small wooden boats early in the morning, just as their great-great-grandparents did, returning with nets full of fish for the markets.