Konarak ( fa, کنارک, also

Romanize Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

d as Konārak and Kenārak; also known as Kūmārak and Kunārak) is a city in and the capital of

Konarak County Konarak County ( fa, شهرستان کنارک) is in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Ira ...

, Sistan and Baluchestan Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. At the 2006 census, its population was 28,685, in 6,044 families. It is situated in the western coast of Chabahar Bay, facing Chabahar Port to the East, on the

Makran Makran ( fa, مكران), mentioned in some sources as Mecran and Mokrān, is the coastal region of Baluchistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. It extends westwards, ...

coast on the

Gulf of Oman The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman ( ar, خليج عمان ''khalīj ʿumān''; fa, دریای عمان ''daryâ-ye omân''), also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran ( ar, خلیج مکران ''khalīj makrān''; fa, دریای مکرا� ...

, about 50 km West of the Iran-Pakistan coastal border line. Like in nearby

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

province, the overwhelming majority of the city's inhabitants are ethnic

Baloch Baloch, also spelled Baloch, Beluch and in other ways, may refer to: * Baloch people, an ethnic group of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan * Baluch, a small itinerant community of Afghanistan * Balouch, Azad Kashmir, a town in Pakistan * Baloch (s ...

who speak the

Balochi language Balochi or Baluchi () is an Iranian language spoken primarily in the Balochistan region of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. In addition, there are speakers in Oman, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Turkmenistan, East Africa and in diaspora ...

Konarak Airport Chabahar\Konarak International Airport ( fa, فرودگاه بین المللی کنارک/چابهار) is an international airport located in 49 kilometers west of the city of Chabahar, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, in Konarak. The ...

is a military airbase (see below), which also has civilian flights.

Military Bases

Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (army, navy, air force) have established bases in Konarak for a long time — the construction of which started in the 1970s — before the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, with the support of Western engineering, construction and logistics firms such as Brown & Root. The Iranian Navy also has a related base in

Pasabandar Pasabandar ( fa, پسابندر, also Romanized as Pasā Bandar; also known as Pasā and Pas Bandar) is a village in Sand-e Mir Suiyan Rural District, Dashtiari District, Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran Iran, o ...

, further East and very close to the border with Pakistan. The support vessel ''Konarak'' was named in the city's honour; the ''Konarak'' was destroyed in a 2020 accident.

References

Populated places in Konarak County Cities in Sistan and Baluchestan Province {{Konarak-geo-stub