Natanz
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Natanz (Persian: نطنز) is the centre of a township of the same name in the Isfahan province of Iran. It is located 75km southwest of Kashan. The population of the township as of 1999 was 39964. [1]
Its bracing climate and locally-produced fruit (especially Natanz pears) are well-known in Iran. The famous Karkas mountain chain (Kuh-e Karkas) (meaning mountain of vultures), at an elevation of 3899 meters, rises above the town, and locals point in its direction telling how the troops of Alexander the Great killed the Achaemenian King, Darius III, nearby.
Various small shrines dot the area, such as the shrine of Abdas-Samad. The elements in the present complex date from 1304 with subsequent additions and restorations, such as the Khaneqah and Muqarnas vault. The tomb honors the Sufi Sheikh Abd al-Samad, and was built by the Sheikh's disciple, the Ilkhanid vizier Zain al-Din Mastari.
In 2002, whistleblower Alireza Jafarzadeh revealed the existence of a secret nuclear facility designed to enrich uranium extracted from the Yazd province using centrifuge technology. The Natanz site is Iran's central facility for enrichment with 164 centrifuges.[1][2]
[edit] References
- ^ How to Keep the Bomb From Iran, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2006
- ^ The West wants sanctions against Iran; Russia and China still prefer diplomacy, Haaretz Isreal News, Aug 23, 2006
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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