Karaj to become national city of handicrafts

Karaj, the capital of the north central Iranian province of Alborz, is to be named as Iran’s national city of handicrafts.

According to the provincial tourism official Fereydoun Mohammadi, due to Alborz’s status as the capital of tribes and the presence of various ethnic groups living in this region, the handicrafts in this region are of great variety.

Surrounded by Mazandaran, Tehran, Markazi, and Qazvin provinces, the name Alborz is taken from the Alborz Mountains. A significant part of the mountains is located in the north part of the province.

Historical resources and documents as well as archeological studies indicate that Alborz has a rich culture dating back to prehistoric times.

With 14 entries, Iran ranks first globally for the number of cities and villages registered by the World Crafts Council - Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR), as China with seven entries, Chile with four, and India with three ones come next.

In January 2020, the World Handicraft Council named Abadeh in southern Fars Province and Meybod in central Yazd Province as the world crafts cities for woodcarving and Zilou (traditional hand-woven floor-covering).

The village of Khorashad in eastern South Khorasan Province also shares the same privilege for the craft Toebafi (traditional hand-woven fabrics).

Over the past couple of years, the WCC presented the same tags to the cities Tabriz for carpet, Isfahan for creative handicrafts, Mashhad for gemstones, Lalejin in Hamadan province for pottery, Marivan in Kordestan province for Kalash-bafi (Giveh), Sirjan in Kerman province for Kilim weaving, and Kalpouregan in Sistan and Balouchestan province for its 7000-year-old pottery.

MM/FM