Arak
Arak is the capital of Markazi province and one of the industrial hubs of the country. It is called the most industrial city in Iran.
Long ago, Arak was part of a greater land referred to as the Ajam Iraq. Ajam is an Arabic word for those who do not speak Arabic and over their conquest, this term became so common.
They called Iraq the country Iraq and to the part, they had domination over, Ajam Iraq which brings Iran back to Arak.
This city is located at an altitude of 1708 meters above sea level. The mountains of this district also consist of two ranges.
The main range extends from northwest to south and then to the northeast, and the second range extends in two parallel ranges from south to north.
The climate of Arak is variable, its winters are often long and last up to about 6 months, in Arak spring and autumn are short seasons.
The migration of different peoples and ethnic groups from different regions of Iran to this region because of first, its fine lands and then the industries, has made quite a scene. Different dialects, various costumes, and special traditions.
Arak has its original people too who speak with their dialect and know the best parts of the land they live in.
The population of Arak is almost 600,000, and like most cities in Iran, most of them are Shiites, though other religions like Jewish have a small group of followers there.
Arak’s geometrical conditions have brought this land many caves such as Sefid Khani Cave, Qaleh Jogh Cave and its mysterious tomb, Anjodan Cave, and Asili Cave.
Arak has a wonderful spring. However, it is all around Arak that would show you how beautiful these landscapes could be. As they say, put yourself in the way of spring winds, it does to you what it does to nature.
Take Mahallat for instance, it has been named the city of flowers and famous as the Netherlands of Iran for it has flower farms and is not polluted. Mahallat with its unique diversity in the production of flowers and plants ranks first in this field in the country.
The art of floriculture and flower growing as an economic activity began in 1921 and the city of Mahallat has played an important role as the founder, creator, and developer of this industry.
Because Arak was built during the Qajar period, most of the archaeological remains in this city are from this period. Among the most important historical monuments, stands the historical complex of Arak Bazaar, which was one of the first places built in Arak.
The best place to buy Araki carpets is this market. The carpet industry has been popular in this region for a long time and Farahan, Sarband and Sarough carpets are world-famous.
The carpet weaving industry has been the main export commodity of Arak since the founding of the city. Carpet in Arak was once important, prestigious, and abundant. It was a mighty rival for the Kermanian carpet.
Among the famous types of carpets in Arak, we can mention Sarouk Persian Carpet (the carpet committee of Arak province has decided to prepare the geographical mark of handmade carpets in the form of a book and register it in the National Carpet Company of UNESCO).
Arak is well known for its techniques in carpet weaving, unique designs, and the type of wool they use.
Arak souvenirs or products are, Fatir, Tarkhineh, Basluq, Raisins, grapes, grape juice, and Gosh-e fil!
One of the most enjoyable parts of traveling is going to the market and buying souvenirs. These souvenirs can sometimes include delicious food and sometimes can be handicrafts or agricultural and horticultural products of an area, which ultimately doubles the pleasure of travel.
Due to its geographical conditions and climatic diversity, the industrial capital of Iran also has a unique diversity in agricultural products and souvenirs. This diversity to some extent responds well to all the needs and tastes of tourists
Fatir bread is one of the traditional bread in Iran that is baked in different cities with different recipes, flavors, shapes, and sizes.
But the most famous Iranian unleavened bread (Fatir) belongs to Arak, which has been on the Nowruz table of this city for a long time.
Fatir is made of flour, sugar, eggs, and herbs and is baked in the oven like any other bread. Fatir is a type of milk bread that is topped with turmeric and baked in small ovens.
The differences between Arak Fatir and other bread are that Fatir in Arak is made without any dough and is baked traditionally.
Gosh-e fil (care to know the translation? It means elephant ears!) sweets are one of the traditional and popular sweets in Arak that is always desired in the evening and is very crunchy due to its type of baking and natural ingredients.
The reason for the name of this sweet is that it has an elephant-like appearance. This delicious sweet combines ingredients such as chicken eggs rose water, milk (yogurt can be substituted for milk), oil (butter can also be used), Lemon juice, saffron, sugar, water, salt, and flour are cooked. Be sure to try Gosh-e fil with tea.
Sepahdari school, which was built at the same time as the bazaar, is one of the places where Imam Khomeini spent part of his life in this school.
The Glass Tower is one of the old and famous buildings in Arak, which was built during the reign of Fath Ali Shah Qajar and at the same time as the construction of Sultan Abad (old Arak).
The building consists of three separate floors. The two upper floors of the tower are decorated with tiles and bricks. The floor of the tower has been simplified in an oval shape with a large diameter of 12 meters and a diameter of 8 meters.
This tower is one of the types of Islamic calligraphy due to the presence of Moqeli tile decorations (Bannai script or calligraphy or Hezarbaf calligraphy) which is a kind of angular Kufic calligraphy and is obtained by drawing geometric shapes such as squares, rhombuses, rectangles, and parallel and intersecting lines. It is an unadorned and geometric type of Kufic line, which is designed based on checkered houses.
Iran’s largest bathhouse stand in Arak. The existence of paintings and drawings from the four seasons in the four corners of this bath has been the reason for naming this bath “Four Season bathhouse”. This bath is the only bath in the country where there is a separate section for other religious minorities.
The building is very unique in terms of architecture and has an area of more than 1600 square meters which is why it is known as the largest bath in Iran.
The city of Arak is an industrial one, not so very touristic, but is surrounding mountains and rivers, with fruitful gardens could at least offer you many adventures.