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{{Short description|Village in Yazd province, Iran}}
{{for|the administrative division|Kharanaq District}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name =Kharanaq
|native_name ={{langx|fa|خرانق}}
|settlement_type        = Village
|image_skyline           = File:The_mud_village_of_Kharanaq,_Iran.jpg
|image_alt               =
|image_caption           =
|pushpin_map            =Iran
|mapsize                =
|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name = [[Iran]]
|subdivision_type1       = [[Provinces of Iran|Province]]
|subdivision_name1       = [[Yazd province|Yazd]]
|subdivision_type2 =[[Counties of Iran|County]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Ardakan County|Ardakan]]
|subdivision_type3 =[[Bakhsh|District]]
|subdivision_name3 =[[Kharanaq District|Kharanaq]]
|subdivision_type4 =[[Rural Districts of Iran|Rural District]]
|subdivision_name4 =[[Robatat Rural District|Robatat]]
|leader_title           =
|leader_name            =
|established_title      =
|established_date       =
|area_total_km2           =
|area_footnotes           =
|population_as_of         = 2016
|population_footnotes    = <ref name="2016 Yazd Province"/>
|population_total =437
|population_density_km2   =auto
|timezone               = [[Iran Standard Time|IRST]]
|utc_offset             = +3:30
|coordinates            = {{coord|32|20|42|N|54|39|56|E|dim:1km|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes   = <ref>{{Cite map |author=((OpenStreetMap contributors)) |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=32.345&mlon=54.665556&zoom=15#map=15/32.34500/54.66556|website=[[OpenStreetMap]] |title=Kharanaq, Ardakan County|date=12 November 2024|access-date=12 November 2024|lang=fa}}</ref>
|elevation_m            =
|area_code              =
|website                =
|footnotes              =
}}
'''Kharanaq''' ({{langx|fa|خرانق}}){{efn|Also [[romanize]]d as '''Kharānaq''', '''Kharāneq''', and '''Kharānoq'''; also known as '''Kharanagh''', '''Khowrāneq''', and '''Khurūnaq''' (English: Land of Sun)<ref>{{GEOnet3|-3070691|Kharanaq}}</ref>}} is a village in [[Robatat Rural District]] of [[Kharanaq District]], [[Ardakan County]], [[Yazd province|Yazd]] province, serving as capital of both the district<ref name="Kharanaq Village">{{cite web|title=Kharanaq village, Yazd province|language=fa|website=ctmehr.com|url=https://ctmehr.com/News/Index/4123|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231220155458/https://ctmehr.com/News/Index/4123|archive-date=20 December 2023|date=17 June 2019|access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref> and the rural district.<ref name="27 Rural Districts">{{cite report|title=Approval of the formation of 27 rural districts in the provinces of Khorasan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Mazandaran, Tehran, Yazd, and Hormozgan|language=fa|website=qavanin.ir|via=Laws and Regulations Portal of the Islamic Republic of Iran|url=https://qavanin.ir/Law/TreeText/93097|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128181017/https://qavanin.ir/Law/TreeText/93097|last=Habibi|first=Hassan|archive-date=28 November 2018|publisher=Ministry of the Interior, Political-Defense Commission of the Government Board|date=c. 2018|orig-date=Approved 2 April 1372|id=Resolution 93808/T907|access-date=8 January 2024}}</ref> Kharanaq is 70 km north of the city of [[Yazd]].
== History ==
Kharanaq means "birthplace of the sun" and has been continuously inhabited for 4,500 years.<ref name="Kharanaq Village"/> It divides into two parts; the Old Town, with its collection of mud brick buildings and a [[caravanserai]], and the New Town, where more than 400 people continue to live. Kharanaq was prosperous in [[Agriculture|farming]], but with the [[water supply]] drying up, the inhabitants left, leaving the old town in ruin.{{cn|date=November 2024}}
==Demographics==
===Population===
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the village's population was 433 in 133 households.<ref name="2006 Yazd Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): Yazd Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/21.xls|access-date=25 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920085705/http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/21.xls|format=Excel|archive-date=20 September 2011}}</ref> The following census in 2011 counted 251 people in 80 households.<ref name="2011 Yazd Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): Yazd Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=irandataportal.syr.edu|via=Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University|url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Yazd.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120180437/https://irandataportal.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/Yazd.xls|archive-date=20 January 2023|access-date=19 December 2022|format=Excel}}</ref> The 2016 census measured the population of the village as 437 people in 125 households.<ref name="2016 Yazd Province">{{cite report|title=Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): Yazd Province|language=fa|publisher=The Statistical Center of Iran|website=amar.org.ir|url=https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_21.xlsx|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118150108/https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/census/1395/results/abadi/CN95_HouseholdPopulationVillage_21.xlsx|format=Excel|archive-date=18 November 2020}}</ref>
==Historical monuments==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2024|small}}
The town and its minaret have become a minor tourist attraction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kharanaq|title=Kharānaq|website=Atlas Obscura|language=en|access-date=2019-05-02}}</ref>
Kharanaq, which was known as a world and historical village, was introduced as the 23rd city of Yazd province on July 6, 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kharanaq |url=http://iranstravel.com/ArticleDetails/1062/Kharanaq--Chak-Chak-and-Meybod-tour}}</ref> This 4500-year-old city is surrounded by mountains on one side and desert from the other.
Many buildings in Kharanaq/ Kharanagh are completely collapsed and ramshackle, but among them, the remaining mosque from the [[Qajar Iran|Qajar]] period, a shaking minaret from 17th and the caravanserai of the city have been reconstructed and can be visited.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kharanaq, Chak Chak and Meybod |url=http://iranstravel.com/ArticleDetails/1062/Kharanaq--Chak-Chak-and-Meybod-tour}}</ref>
===Castle of Kharanaq===
[[File:Kamal-ud-din Bihzad - Construction of the fort of Kharnaq.jpg|thumb|''Construction of the fort of Kharnaq'' ([[Kamal-ud-din Bihzad]], {{circa|1495}})]]
The castle is the main attraction of the village. it is reminiscent of the [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid era]] and dates back to around 1800 years. Kharanaq Castle is one of the first castles in the world with two- and three-story houses. It contains 80 houses, watchtowers and is surrounded by a tall wall.
It has exhibition rooms made of clay and mud, inside the castle was designed like a maze to create confusion for thieves and attackers, who entering the building.
===Bridge of Kharanaq===
Among all the villages in Yazd, Kharanaq is the only village that has a bridge. However, many myths and stories surround this bridge as it has never been a passage for animals or livestock.
It is believed that the bridge only exists to transfer water from the seasonal river to the farms, or act as a dam. The bridge is 40 meter long and it was designed to prevent water shortage in the village.
===Shaking Minaret===
This magnificent building is one of the three moving minarets in Iran and was designed in [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] period, it is a part of the nationally registered works of Iran. The minaret is designed and constructed in a special way so it can move. It is built in a way that one can shake it by giving a gentle push on its upper part. The minaret has three floors, which are interconnected through spiral stairs. For climbing or going down the stairs, there are two separate corridors. The width of the spiral staircase is 70 cm at the bottom and gradually narrows to a final width of 40 cm at the top. it is made completely out of clay, which make it to be the only minaret in the world made of this material.
===Kharanaq caravanserai===
The caravanserai dates to [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian]] Dynasty. Then it was rebuilt and reconstructed under the command of Muhammad Vali Mirza, the son of [[Fath-Ali Shah Qajar|Fath-Ali- Shah Qajar]]. The large number of rooms and arcs in this caravanserai prove that Kharanaq was a busy place where many travelers used to stay. It has a yard in the center and it is surrounded by rooms. Today, tourists can reserve the rooms and spend the nights at Kharanaq Village Caravanserai.
===Kharanaq bath===
The bathhouse was constructed during the [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar Dynasty]]. One of its key features is the principled and skillful design of the water and sewage inlet and outlet system for optimal use of water resources. The bath is built in such a way that the water of the [[Qanat]]’s (subterranean canals) are easily directed into it.
===Kharanaq’s mosque and hoseyniyeh===
It is a Shabestani planned mosque connected to the hoseyniyeh. The [[Shabestan]] is still in use and also there is a smaller mosque outside Kharanaq castle, right in front of the gate.
==See also==
{{Portal-inline|Iran}}
{{clear}}
== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Cite book|last=sepehri ardakani|first=Ali|title=the history of Ardakan|publisher=kanoon vali asr|year=1985|pages=202,203,162}}{{Ardakan County}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Yazd Province|state=collapsed}}
{{Ardakan County|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Populated places in Ardakan County]]