Ardakan

For other places with the same name, see Ardakan (disambiguation).

Ardakan اردكان
city
Ardakan
Coordinates:
Country	Iran
Province	Yazd
County	Ardakan
Bakhsh	Central
Population (2011)
• Total	56,776
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
• Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)

Ardakan (Persian: اردكان‎‎, also Romanized as Ardakān and Artagan) is the capital city of Ardakan County, Yazd Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 56,776 in 13,730 families.

Ardakan is the second major city of Yazd Province. It was established in the 12th century in the Zardug region. Ardakan is 60 kilometres away from Yazd, and it has dry weather.

The word Ardakan in Persian means "holy place" or "clean place" (Modern Persian: arda+kan / Middle Persian: arta+gan) and the city has a lot of historical religious attractions such as the Grand Mosque of Ardakan (Masjed-e Jame’), Zire-deh Mosque, Emam-Zadeh Mir Seyyed Mohammad and Tekyeh bazaar.

This region is one of the Zoroastrian centres of Iran, and there are numerous holy sites for Zoroastrians in Sharif-Abad, a village near Ardakan. Each summer thousands of Zoroastrians from around the world gather there for pilgrimage.

The most important shrine is Pir-e Sabz Chek Chek. Other shrines are include Pir Shah Eshtad Izad, Pir Shah Tashtar Izad, Pir Shah Mehr Izad and Pir Shah Morad.

Ardakan is the birthplace of former Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami. It is also a famous type of carpet found around the world.

File:Ardakan old city 3.jpg

View of building in Old Town Ardakan image: Amirreza tavassoli

File:Ardakan old city 4.jpg

View of building in Old Town ardakan image: Amirreza tavassoli

Districts

Zeyn Aldin, Koshkeno, Bazarno, Janat abad ,...

External links

• Farshid Sāmāni, Ardakān, In a Thoughtful Mood (Ardakān, Sar dar Garibān), in Persian, Jadid Online, 16 April 2010, [1].
  Audio slideshow: [2] (5 min 31 sec).