Maku
Persian: ماکو | |
---|---|
City | |
Coordinates: 39°17′39″N 44°29′50″E / 39.29417°N 44.49722°E [1] | |
Country | Iran |
Province | West Azerbaijan |
County | Maku |
District | Central |
Population (2016)
[2] | |
• Total | 46,581 |
Time zone | UTC+3:30 ( IRST) |
Website |
www |
Maku ( Persian: ماكو; Armenian: Մակու; Azerbaijani: ماكي, romanized: Makı; Kurdish: ماکۆ, romanized: Mako [3]) is a city in the Central District of Maku County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. [4]
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]
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 Kurdish Jalali 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.
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]
Maku has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSk) 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.
Climate data for Maku, Iran | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 11.5 (52.7) |
14.0 (57.2) |
23.0 (73.4) |
27.5 (81.5) |
30.6 (87.1) |
36.0 (96.8) |
37.0 (98.6) |
37.8 (100.0) |
34.2 (93.6) |
28.0 (82.4) |
20.8 (69.4) |
19.0 (66.2) |
37.8 (100.0) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) |
2.6 (36.7) |
8.0 (46.4) |
15.4 (59.7) |
19.9 (67.8) |
25.2 (77.4) |
29.4 (84.9) |
29.6 (85.3) |
24.9 (76.8) |
17.5 (63.5) |
9.8 (49.6) |
2.9 (37.2) |
15.47 (59.85) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −7.4 (18.7) |
−5.8 (21.6) |
−1 (30) |
5.5 (41.9) |
9.1 (48.4) |
13.1 (55.6) |
17.2 (63.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
12.5 (54.5) |
7.1 (44.8) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
5.35 (41.63) |
Record low °C (°F) | −22 (−8) |
−23 (−9) |
−22 (−8) |
−8 (18) |
0.0 (32.0) |
4.0 (39.2) |
8.0 (46.4) |
9.4 (48.9) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−15.3 (4.5) |
−20.2 (−4.4) |
−23 (−9) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 13.0 (0.51) |
19.9 (0.78) |
30.4 (1.20) |
37.1 (1.46) |
54.5 (2.15) |
39.6 (1.56) |
14.8 (0.58) |
11.5 (0.45) |
10.2 (0.40) |
25.7 (1.01) |
20.9 (0.82) |
16.9 (0.67) |
294.5 (11.59) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 3.5 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 7.1 | 9.8 | 6.8 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 5.0 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 57.5 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 65 | 59 | 53 | 46 | 46 | 40 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 46 | 54 | 65 | 49 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 126.5 | 146.2 | 181.2 | 185.7 | 230.4 | 290.2 | 327.0 | 322.5 | 274.8 | 199.9 | 162.6 | 119.7 | 2,566.7 |
Source: Synoptic Stations Statistics |
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 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?]