As of 2016, the city population was 46,581 people in 13,940 households.[2]
It is 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the Turkish border in a mountain gorge at an altitude of 1,634 metres. The Zangmar River cuts through the city.[5][6] 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.[citation needed]
History
Maku was a region of the old Armenia c. 300–800, previously known as Artaz according to Aziz Atiya's History of Eastern Christianity.[7]
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.[8][9] Maku was the capital of a Kangarli Khanate,[10] one of numerous small, semi-independent Maku Khanates that emerged from the breakup of the Safavid Empire in the 18th century.[11]
Maku served as the capital of the KurdishJalali 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
According to the 2006 census, the city population numbered 41,865 in 10,428 households.[12] The following census in 2011 counted 42,751 people in 11,761 households.[13] The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 46,581 people in 13,940 households.[2]Azeris make up the majority while Kurds form a minority of the city's population.[14]
Climate
Maku has a semi-arid climate (KöppenBSk) 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.
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.
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.
Ruins of a fortress are folded into a ledge of the high cliff that towers above the town centre.[15]
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.
Rock climbing: There are numerous rock climbing sites at the northern part of the city, some exceeding 200 meters.
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.[5]
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.[16][17][18]
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.[19][when?]
^OpenStreetMap contributors (15 February 2024). "Maku, Maku County" (Map). OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
^ a b c"Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016)". AMAR (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 04. Archived from the original (Excel) on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
^"خۆکوشتنی کچێکی لاو لە ماکۆ". Hengaw (in Kurdish). 26 October 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^Habibi, Hassan (7 July 1369). "Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the country divisions of West Azerbaijan province, centered in the city of Urmia". Lamtakam (in Persian). Ministry of Interior, Council of Ministers. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
^ a b"Pol-e Panj Cheshmeh (Five spans bridge)" Gardesh Yaran International Tour Operator Co.
^Satellite view
^As quoted in The Search for the Twelve Apostles by William Steuart McBirnie
^Clavijo, Ruy González de (1859). Narrative of the Embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the Court of Timour at Samarcand, A.D. 1403-6. Hakluyt Society. ISBN9780833722348.
^"Vida y hazañas del Gran Tamorlán, con la descripción de las tierras de su imperio y señorío / Ruy González de Clavijo".
^Iran
^Imranova, K. and Bayramov, E. "Historical formation of the Azerbaijani political culture and national consciousness" Azerigenocide.org Archived 2006-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
^"Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)". AMAR (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 04. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
^"Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011)". Syracuse University (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. p. 04. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
^Hamidreza Akhavan, Hassan Zeynalnejad & Abdollah Handiani. "بررسي راه هاي همگرايي قوميتي با تاکيد بر اقوام ترک و کرد در شهرستان ماکو". Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
^Lonely Planet Iran, 4th edition, p124
^"Removal of entry visa for Arvand Free Zone". Arvand Free Zone Organization. Archived from the original on 14 January 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
^"مزایای ثبت شرکت در مناطق آزاد".
^"No Visa required for Iran free trade zones". 30 June 2015.
^Visa information on the site of IRI Embassy in Moscow
Maku on panoramio
P. Oberling, The Turkic Peoples of Iranian Azerbaijan, 1964a, American Council of Learned Scientists
External links
Old FortMaku pictures
Iran Free Zones official website
Maku Free Zone Organization official website
Mahrāveh Soroushiān, Maku, a Passageway to Cultures (Maku, Gozar'gāh-e Farhang'hā), in Persian, Jadid Online, 9 February 2009, [1]. An audio slideshow, [2] (5 min 23 sec).
