Arāk — Arāk Map Poster

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Arāk Map Poster

Arāk is a relatively young city by Iranian standards. It was founded in the early nineteenth century under the Qajars as Soltanabad, a fortified town with a planned layout, and its historic core still has a more regular pattern than many older Persian cities. At its centre stands a long covered bazaar, a straight spine that remains the heart of the old town.

Modern Arāk has grown well beyond those walls. Wide avenues radiate out towards the industrial areas that made the city one of Iran's key manufacturing centres, with large plants on the outskirts. The city sits on a high plain surrounded by mountains, and to the northeast lies the Meyghan wetland and salt lake, a flat, pale shape that appears clearly beside the built-up area.

The region is also known for its carpets. Rugs woven in villages around Arāk, often sold under the Sarouk name, became internationally known in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. An Arāk map poster places the planned core, the industrial outskirts and the surrounding plain on one sheet, showing a city that was designed at the outset and then expanded rapidly.