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Karaj
Karaj (Persian: کرج; pronounced [kæˈɾædʒ] ⓘ) is a city in the Central District of Karaj County, Alborz province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Earliest evidence of inhabitation in Karaj can be dated to the Bronze Age at Tepe Khurvin. The city was developed under the rule of the Safavid and Qajar Empire and is home to historical buildings and memorials from those eras. This city has a unique climate due to access to natural resources such as many trees, rivers, and green plains. After Tehran, Karaj is the largest immigrant-friendly city in Iran, so it has been nicknamed "Little Iran."[citation needed]
Although the county hosts a population around 1.97 million, as recorded in the 2016 census, most of the 1,419 km2 (548 sq mi) county is rugged mountain. The urban area is the fourth-largest in Iran, after Tehran, Mashhad, and Isfahan. Eshtehard County and Fardis County were split off from Karaj County since the previous census.
The area around Karaj has been inhabited for thousands of years, as shown by the Bronze Age site of Tepe Khurvin and the Iron Age site of Kalak. However, the present-day city of Karaj is mostly the result of modern industrial development in the 20th century.
Karaj was mostly significant as a stage on the road between Tehran and Qazvin. In Safavid times, a stone bridge was built that served as the main crossing into the town. The large Shah-Abbasi Caravansarai, located at the southeast of Towhid Square, was built in the same era, under the rule of Šāh Esmāil.
In 1810, the Qajar prince Soleyman Mirza built the Soleymaniyeh Palace at Karaj to serve as a summer resort. The palace had four towers and was surrounded by gardens. Its reception room featured a pair of paintings by Abdallah Khan Naqqashbandi. By 1860, however, the palace was described as abandoned and only used as a shelter for travelers. Naser al-Din Shah Qajar later renovated the palace. In 1917, a School of Farming was established on the site, replacing the earlier Mozaffari Agricultural School in Tehran. Later, Reza Pahlavi granted it to the University of Tehran's new Faculty of Agriculture.
In the 1930s, plans were drawn up for a large industrial complex covering 216 hectares on the south side of the village. This "Industrial Model Town of Karaj" was intended to be the site of the country's first steel mills, capitalizing on easy access to water and coal from the Alborz. However, the construction equipment imported from Germany was impounded by the British going through the Suez Canal in 1940, and the planned complex was never built.
A major industrial complex, the first privately owned one in Karaj, was built in the 1960s by Mohammad-Sadeq Fateh. This complex, called Shahrak-e Jahanshahr, included oil, tea, and textile factories as well as housing for the workers.
The Morvārid Palace was constructed in the nearby Mehršahr district, during the Pahlavi era. It was designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (Taliesin Associated Architects) on instructions from Shams Pahlavi, elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In this period, it was a transit and industrial town.
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Karaj
Karaj (Persian: کرج; pronounced [kæˈɾædʒ] ⓘ) is a city in the Central District of Karaj County, Alborz province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. Earliest evidence of inhabitation in Karaj can be dated to the Bronze Age at Tepe Khurvin. The city was developed under the rule of the Safavid and Qajar Empire and is home to historical buildings and memorials from those eras. This city has a unique climate due to access to natural resources such as many trees, rivers, and green plains. After Tehran, Karaj is the largest immigrant-friendly city in Iran, so it has been nicknamed "Little Iran."[citation needed]
Although the county hosts a population around 1.97 million, as recorded in the 2016 census, most of the 1,419 km2 (548 sq mi) county is rugged mountain. The urban area is the fourth-largest in Iran, after Tehran, Mashhad, and Isfahan. Eshtehard County and Fardis County were split off from Karaj County since the previous census.
The area around Karaj has been inhabited for thousands of years, as shown by the Bronze Age site of Tepe Khurvin and the Iron Age site of Kalak. However, the present-day city of Karaj is mostly the result of modern industrial development in the 20th century.
Karaj was mostly significant as a stage on the road between Tehran and Qazvin. In Safavid times, a stone bridge was built that served as the main crossing into the town. The large Shah-Abbasi Caravansarai, located at the southeast of Towhid Square, was built in the same era, under the rule of Šāh Esmāil.
In 1810, the Qajar prince Soleyman Mirza built the Soleymaniyeh Palace at Karaj to serve as a summer resort. The palace had four towers and was surrounded by gardens. Its reception room featured a pair of paintings by Abdallah Khan Naqqashbandi. By 1860, however, the palace was described as abandoned and only used as a shelter for travelers. Naser al-Din Shah Qajar later renovated the palace. In 1917, a School of Farming was established on the site, replacing the earlier Mozaffari Agricultural School in Tehran. Later, Reza Pahlavi granted it to the University of Tehran's new Faculty of Agriculture.
In the 1930s, plans were drawn up for a large industrial complex covering 216 hectares on the south side of the village. This "Industrial Model Town of Karaj" was intended to be the site of the country's first steel mills, capitalizing on easy access to water and coal from the Alborz. However, the construction equipment imported from Germany was impounded by the British going through the Suez Canal in 1940, and the planned complex was never built.
A major industrial complex, the first privately owned one in Karaj, was built in the 1960s by Mohammad-Sadeq Fateh. This complex, called Shahrak-e Jahanshahr, included oil, tea, and textile factories as well as housing for the workers.
The Morvārid Palace was constructed in the nearby Mehršahr district, during the Pahlavi era. It was designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (Taliesin Associated Architects) on instructions from Shams Pahlavi, elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In this period, it was a transit and industrial town.