Karaj

Shah-Abbasi Caravansary

Karaj has been hosting communities since 3000 years BC.[4][5] The Khurvin region of Karaj has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, and the Kelak region on the left bank of Karaj River since the Iron Age.

The stone built Takht-e Rostam, located on a mount in the west of Shahriar County, was built in the Parthian era as a Zoroastrian fire temple.

Until the late 20th century, the city was mainly crossed into by a stone bridge built in the Safavid era. The stone built Shah-Abbasi Caravansary, located at the southeast of Towhid Square, was built in the same era, under the rule of Šāh Esmāil.[5]

Morvarid Palace in Karaj

In the 1810s, the Palace of Soleymaniye, which included four towers surrounded by gardens and walls, was built as a summer resort by the order of Shahzaden Soleyman (Soleyman Mirza), an old prince governor of Kermānšāh.[5] Granted in the Pahlavi era by Rezā Šāh Pahlavi, it is now housing the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Tehran.

The Morvārid Palace was constructed in 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. Majority of the structure is now controlled by the Basij Organization, and some sections of it are open to public under the operation of Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran.

Other historical sites of the city include the Mausoleum of Šāhzāde Soleymān, Emāmzāde Rahmān, Emāmzāde Zeyd, and Palang Ābād e Eštehārd.[6]

Mehršahr, Karaj

Karaj is situated 20 kilometres (12 mi) west of Tehran, at the foothills of the Alborz mountains.

Built on a wide plain with some gentle hills, the city is located north of the agricultural plain of Šahriār and east of the plains of Sāvoj Bolāq and Haštgerd.

Regions

A view of Taleghani boulevard towers

The downtown of Karaj is usually referred to Karaj Square, located hundred of meters to the west of Karaj River and the old Karaj Bridge. The villages Hesārak, Gowhar Dašt, and Šahrak e Azimie are located in the northern Greater Karaj. Mehršahr, an abortive residential luxury resort, and Šahrak e Fardis, a popular modern quarter close to the industrial facilities,[7] were designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in the late 1960s.

Meškin Dašt, a large agricultural area between Mehršahr and Fardis, lies outside the municipal limits of Karaj.

The following table includes the major districts of the city:

Gouhar Daŝt	Mehrŝahr	Kiānmehr	Karaj e Now	Hesārak	Deraxti	Azimie	Ouj	Ŝāhin Villā	Bonyād	Bāqestān	Doulat Ābād
Garm Darre	Ŝahrake Jahānŝahr	Mesbāh	Mehr Villā	Dehqān Villā	Māhdaŝt	Ŝahrake Banafŝe	Fardis	Vahdat	Kalāk o Hesār	Estām Ābād	Golŝahr
Golŝahr Villā	Zibā Daŝt	Zoube Āhan	Sāsāni	Homāyun Villā	Mehrānŝahr	Mehdi Ābād	Ŝahrake Xātam	Miān Jādde	Heydar Ābād	Sāwoj Bolāq	Bahārestān

Open space recreational areas of Karaj include Irānzamin Park, Pārk e Xānvāde, Tennis Park, Pārk e Mādar, Tāleqān Gardens, Kordān Gardens, Jahānšahr Gardens, Pardis e Golhā, and the Tulip Garden of Gačsār.

The majority of the residents of Karaj are Persian-speaking people, with Azerbaijanis making up the second major ethno-linguistic group of the city. Kurds, Gilak, Tabari and Lurs include the other ethnicities among the population of Karaj.

Mahestan Shopping Center

The economic base of Karaj is its proximity to Tehran. It is due to the transportation of products between Tehran and the Caspian Sea. Chemicals, fertilizers and processed agricultural goods are also produced in the city.

Karaj is a major industrial city, with factories producing sugar, textiles, wire, and alcohol. It has become a major area for middle class migrants from Tehran. This is due to the better environmental and cheaper housing conditions.

Zowb Āhan, the avenue leading to an industrial plant, is located at the south of Ostandar Square. Zowb e Āhan or Zowb Āhan, literally "steel mill", was a contract between the Pahlavi government and a consortium from Nazi Germany. The establishment of the factory Zowb Āhan e Karaj was halted by the beginning of the Second World War, and it was never launched.

Šahrak e Jahānšahr was the first modern private industrial and housing complex of Karaj, built in the 1960s. The factories Jahān Čit (textile factory), Rowqan Nabāti e Jahān (oil factory), and Čāy e Jahān (tea factory), were established at the complex. It is one of the largest industrial zones of the nation, with a 20% share of the national GDP [citation?].

The special economic zone of Payam, with an area about 3600 hectares within the territory of Payam International Airport, was established in Karaj for development of air cargo and postal transportation, cold store, and packing services, as well as perishable and time sensitive exports. It is the only SEZ in the region with the privilege of its own airline.

Kharazmi University of Karaj

Faculty of medicine of Alborz university of medical sciences

Educational and research centers of the city include:

• Islamic Azad University of Karaj
• Kharazmi University
• Alborz university of medical sciences
• Faculty of Music of the Tehran University of Art
• Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the Tehran University of Art
• Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources of the University of Tehran
• University of Environment
• Payam e Noor University of Karaj
• Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute
• Center for Research in Agriculture and Nuclear Medicine of Karaj
• Material and Energy Research Center
• Karaj University of Art
• Karaj Payam Noor University

Karaj Enqhelab Stadium

Karaj was formerly home of the Persian Gulf Pro League club, Saipa, for several years and this club won its first league championship in this city, however in 2014 the team relocated to Tehran. Currently the only professional football team in city is Oxin Alborz that play in the Azadegan League. The Home stadium of Oxin Alborz F.C. is Enghelab Stadium that located in Karaj Enghelab sport complex and has a capacity of 15,000 people. Saipa volleyball team lost to Kalleh team in this stadium in 2011–12 and became the runner-up in the final match of the country's volleyball premier league.

Karaj also has an international tennis complex which is used to training and tournaments.

One of the international ski resorts of Iran The, Dizin ski resort, is located a few kilometers north-east of the city, in the Alborz. In Dizin, along with skiing facilities, there are tennis courtyards, a slope for skiing on turf, some altitudes for mountain climbing and walking as well as riding and some routes for cycling.[24]

• Morvārid Palace
• Mehršahr
• Amir Kabir Dam

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Karaj.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Karaj.

• Karaj city portal (in Persian)
• About Karaj city (in Persian)
• Karaj News & Information (in Persian)
• The city of Karaj
• Iran Tourism & Touring Organization
• Karaj Magazine (in Persian)
• Karaj Background History (in Persian)