Karaj

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. …

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. Meškin Dašt, a large agricultural area between Mehršahr and Fardis, is near Karaj. The following table includes the major districts of the city: 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 climate of Karaj is a bit cooler than Tehran's, and it receives 250 mm of rain annually (and like Tehran, the precipitation pattern is similar to those of Mediterranean climates). The Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies the city's climate as cold semi-arid (BSk). …

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. 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. …

Karaj is connected by railway and highways to Tehran 40 km east and Qazvin 100 km northwest, and by commuter rail to the subway system of Tehran. The city is served by Karaj Metro with 2 lines and 10 stations. The Karaj urban railway organization was established on 21 December 2001. The highway system of Karaj includes Tehran–Karaj Highway, Karaj Special Road, and the old road of Karaj (Fath Highway). Bākeri Expressway is one of the main north-to-south routes in west Tehran, which is connected to the Tehran–Karaj Highway. Tehran–Karaj Highway is one of the busiest sections in Iran with AADT of 217084. Karaj–Qazvin has an AADT of 79606. The aerial transport of Karaj is served by the Payam International Airport, which was established in 1990, and was officially opened in 1997. Currently, the total number of buses in Karaj and the suburbs are 1,600 units. …

The majority of the residents of Karaj are Persians, 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. At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 1,377,450 in 385,955 households, when it was in Tehran province. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 1,592,492 people in 508,420 households, by which time the county had been separated from the province in the establishment of Alborz province.