Maku, Iran Explained

Official Name:Maku
Native Name:fa|ماکو
ku|Mako
Settlement Type:City
Pushpin Map:Iran
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Iran
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:West Azerbaijan
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Maku
Subdivision Type3:District
Subdivision Name3:Central
Population As Of:2016
Population Total:46581
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:IRST
Utc Offset:+3:30
Coordinates Footnotes:[1]

Maku (fa|ماكو) is a city in the Central District of Maku County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.[2]

Maku is 22km (14miles) from the Turkish border in a mountain gorge at an altitude of 1,634 metres. The Zangmar River cuts through the city.[3] [4] The Maku Free Trade and Industrial Zone, which opened in 2011, is Iran's largest and the world's second largest free trade zone, encompassing an area of 5,000 square kilometres.

History

Maku was a region of the old Armenia –800, previously known as Artaz according to Aziz Atiya's History of Eastern Christianity.[5]

The Castle of Maku, original Shavarshan, was the center of the domains of the princely Armenian family of Amatuni. The Artazian branch of Amatuni family ruled the Maku region of Artaz still in the XVth century and successfully defended it against Timurleng, when he besieged the castle of Maku.[6] [7] Maku was the capital of a Kangarli Khanate,[8] one of numerous small, semi-independent Maku Khanates that emerged from the breakup of the Safavid Empire in the 18th century.[9]

Maku served as the capital of the Kurdish Jalali dynasty into the 1860s when the centralizing Qajar government in Persia/Iran removed them, appointing a governor instead.

The city is well known in the history of the Baháʼí Faith for its fort where the Báb had been exiled to and imprisoned for nine months. At this fortress Mullá Husayn, the first Disciple of the Báb, arrived on Náw-Rúz of the year 1848 to see the Báb.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

Azeris make up the majority while Kurds form a minority of the city's population.[10]

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 41,865 in 10,428 households.[11] The following census in 2011 counted 42,751 people in 11,761 households.[12] The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 46,581 people in 13,940 households.[13]

Climate

Maku has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) owing to its location in the rain shadow of the Zagros Mountains. The city is hot and dry in the summer, and cold with little snow in the winter. Most precipitation comes from spring thunderstorms.

Highest recorded temperature:39.2C on 12 July 2018[14]
Lowest recorded temperature:-23C on 24 February 1985[15]

Tourism

  1. Baqcheh Jooq Palace

dates back to the end of the Qajar period. It used to be the house of the local governor until 1974. It is 7 km northwest of central Maku and presently functions as a museum displaying some carpets and local handicrafts.

  1. Farhad's Home: A place near Baqcheh Jooq Palace. A small home with a hall and two rooms that carved into the rock. The saying comes form the story Farhad and Shirin.
  2. Ruins of a fortress are folded into a ledge of the high cliff that towers above the town centre.[16]
  3. Hiking: it is advisable to have a guide or stay within eyesight of the town. Due to its proximity to the Turkish border, it is easy to cross the border unintentionally.
  4. Rock climbing: There are numerous rock climbing sites at the northern part of the city, some exceeding 200 meters.
  5. Panj Cheshmeh – This bridge is located 5 km. from Maku on the Zangmar River, and is a monument from the Safavid era. This bridge was constructed in order to facilitate communications between Tabriz and Maku, and the surrounding rural areas.

Visa-free

Holders of normal passports travelling as tourists can enter Maku, Iran without a visa with maximum stay of 2 weeks (extendable) as of September 2017.[17] [18] [19]

Admission refused

Admission is refused to holders of passports or travel documents containing an Israeli visa or stamp or any data showing that the visitor has been to Israel or indication of any connection with the state of Israel during the last 12 months.[20]

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. ((OpenStreetMap contributors)) . Maku, Maku County. . 26 September 2024. 26 September 2024. fa.
  2. Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the national divisions of West Azerbaijan province, centered in the city of Urmia. fa. lamtakam.com. Lam ta Kam. https://web.archive.org/web/20231220192713/https://lamtakam.com/law/council_of_ministers/113037. Ministry of the Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Council. Habibi. Hassan. Approved 21 June 1369. c. 2023. Notification 82808/T137. 20 December 2023. 20 December 2023.
  3. http://www.gardeshyaran.com/cities/ShowAttract.asp?id=661&test= "Pol-e Panj Cheshmeh (Five spans bridge)" Gardesh Yaran International Tour Operator Co.
  4. http://www.satelliteviews.net/cgi-bin/w.cgi?c=ir&UF=-3088965&UN=-4355751&AF=H_Z Satellite view
  5. As quoted in The Search for the Twelve Apostles by William Steuart McBirnie
  6. Book: Narrative of the Embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the Court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6 . Clavijo. Ruy González de. 1859. Hakluyt Society . 9780833722348 .
  7. Web site: Vida y hazañas del Gran Tamorlán, con la descripción de las tierras de su imperio y señorío / Ruy González de Clavijo.
  8. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Iran.htm Iran
  9. http://www.azerigenocide.org/hist/hist24.htm Imranova, K. and Bayramov, E. "Historical formation of the Azerbaijani political culture and national consciousness" Azerigenocide.org
  10. Encyclopedia: بررسي راه هاي همگرايي قوميتي با تاکيد بر اقوام ترک و کرد در شهرستان ماکو . . Hamidreza Akhavan, Hassan Zeynalnejad & Abdollah Handiani . 12 July 2016.
  11. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): West Azerbaijan Province. fa. The Statistical Center of Iran. amar.org.ir. 25 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20110920094953/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/04.xls. Excel. 20 September 2011.
  12. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): West Azerbaijan Province. fa. The Statistical Center of Iran. irandataportal.syr.edu. Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University. https://web.archive.org/web/20230120205939/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/West-Azerbaijan.xls. 20 January 2023. 19 December 2022. Excel.
  13. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): West Azerbaijan Province. fa. The Statistical Center of Iran. amar.org.ir. 19 December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220830042935/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_04.xlsx. Excel. 30 August 2022.
  14. Web site: Makko - Month summary: July 2018 . 4 July 2024 . meteomanz . y . Location : 39 22N, 44 23E, 1411 masl..
  15. Web site: Form 6: TEMPERATURE RECORDS LOWEST IN C. STATION: MAKOO (40701) . 4 July 2024 . Chaharmahalmet . https://web.archive.org/web/20140818170845/http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/archive/iran/azg/MAKOO/6.asp . 18 August 2014 . unfit . Iran Meteorological Organization . y . asp.
  16. Lonely Planet Iran, 4th edition, p124
  17. Web site: Removal of entry visa for Arvand Free Zone. Arvand Free Zone Organization. 11 December 2017. 14 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180114184238/http://www.arvandfreezone.com/1396/09/20/removal-of-entry-visa-for-arvand-free-zone/?lang=en. dead.
  18. Web site: مزایای ثبت شرکت در مناطق آزاد.
  19. Web site: No Visa required for Iran free trade zones. 30 June 2015.
  20. http://www.ru.moscow.mfa.ir/index.aspx?fkeyid=&siteid=410&pageid=33932 Visa information on the site of IRI Embassy in Moscow

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