Our cities
Explore each city’s unrepeatable delights and mysteries with your own eyes. Learn about the unique history and tales of you preferred city with its landscapes and sites, and much more…
- Abadan
- Abarkooh
- Abyaneh
- Ahvaz
- Amol
- Arak
- Ardabil
- Ardakan
- Astara
- Babol
- Babolsar
- Bam
- Bandar Abbas
- Bandar Anzali
- Birjand
- Borazjan
- Boroujerd
- Bushehr
- Chabahar
- Chalous
- Damghan
- Dezful
- Gorgan
- Hamadan
- Ilam
- Isfahan
- Jiroft
- Kashan
- Kerman
- Kermanshah
- Khorramabad
- Kish
- Lahijan
- Mahan
- Mahmoud Abad
- Maku
- Mashhad
- Meybod
- Naein
- Nour
- Nowshahr
- Oraman
- Qazvin
- Qeshm
- Qom
- Rafsanjan
- Ramsar
- Rasht
- Sanandaj
- Sari
- Semnan
- Shahr-e Kord
- Shahroud
- Shiraz
- Shush
- Shushtar
- Sirjan
- Tabriz
- Tehran
- Tonekabon
- Urmia
- Yasuj
- Yazd
- Zahedan
- Zanjan
Arak
Industrial Capital of Iran
Arak city is located in Markazi Province, approximately 288 kilometers from Tehran. The city borders Saveh city in the north, Hamadan in the northwest, the cities of Malayer, Khomein, Ali Goudarz in the west and Mahalat in the east. The city has cold, dry weather with warm summers, windy and cool autumns, cold and snowy winters, and mild springs.
Despite archeological finds around the city suggesting its history dates back to the Median (678 -549 BC) and Sassanid (224-651 CE) eras, the modern city of Arak was originally a fortress named Soltan Abad built near the village of Karahrud during the reign of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (1772–1834) by his son-in-law Yusef Khan-e Gorji (?-1824).
According to an inscription above the city’s traditional bazaar, Yusef Khan-e Gorji, who was also the governor of Soltan Abad, founded the city in 1808. The city’s name was officially changed to Arak in 1938.
There is much speculation about the meaning of the word Arak. Some believe it means capital, date orchard and township and others believe Arak is the Persian pronunciation of Iraq, as in the olden days Muslim geographers referred to this area as the Iraq of Ajam (Persian or non-Arab).
The Arak, with its bold floral medallions, is one of the finest Persian carpets produced in Iran. In general, lower quality rugs from this city are simply known as Arak rug and high quality carpets which have blue weft and salmon or tomato-red color designs are known as Sarouk.
This city, which is only 200 years old, officially became a metropolis in 2014.
Arak
Industrial Capital of Iran
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Population
641,604
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Coordinates
34°05′30″N 49°41′21″E
Top things to do:
Top foods to try:
- Ash-e Tarkhineh Dough or Tarhana and Dough Soup— A thick soup made of tarhana, pinto beans, leafy greens like spinach and whey, decorated with fried mint, garlic and onion.
- Abgousht-e Kashk or Whey Abgousht- A thick soup with lamb, chickpea, potato, and whey seasoned with turmeric. This soup is decorated with fried mint and served with bread and fresh herbs.
- Tahtali- Round minced meat patties cooked with potato, onion, tomato, unripe grapes, and bell pepper disks served with rice or bread.