| Maku ماكو |
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|---|---|
| — city — | |
| Panoramic view | |
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Maku
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | West Azerbaijan |
| County | Maku |
| Bakhsh | Central |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 41,865 |
| Time zone | IRST (UTC+3:30) |
| • Summer (DST) | IRDT (UTC+4:30) |
Maku (Persian: ماكو; also Romanized as Mākū)[1] is a city in the West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 41,865, in 10,428 families.[2]
It is situated 22 kilometres (14 mi) from the Turkish border in a mountain gorge at an altitude of 1634 metres. The Zangmar River cuts through the city.[3][4] The common languages in Maku are Kurdish and Azerbaijani. Maku Free Trade and Industrial Zone is Iran’s largest and the world’s second largest free trade zone and will encompass an area of 5000 square km when it will open in 2011.
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Maku was the capital of a Kangarli Khanate[5] one of numerous small, semi-independent Khanates that resulted from the breakup of the Safavid empire in the 17th century.[6]
The city is well-known in Bahá'í history 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.
In ancient times the region of Maku was a part of Lesser Media and its name itself may be derived from the old Kurdish word Madkuh meaning "the Mountain of the Medes". Medes were the ancient Kurdish tribes.
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) |
| Average high °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) |
| Average low °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) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 13.0 (0.512) |
19.9 (0.783) |
30.4 (1.197) |
37.1 (1.461) |
54.5 (2.146) |
39.6 (1.559) |
14.8 (0.583) |
11.5 (0.453) |
10.2 (0.402) |
25.7 (1.012) |
20.9 (0.823) |
16.9 (0.665) |
294.5 (11.594) |
| % humidity | 65 | 59 | 53 | 46 | 46 | 40 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 46 | 54 | 65 | 48.6 |
| Avg. 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 |
| 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 | |||||||||||||
According to the 2006 census, the city has a population of 41,865 who speak mostly Kurdish and Azeri
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