page_title: Karaj
section_title: Notable people
hierarchical_section_title: Karaj / Notable people
caption_attribution_description: English: Kimia Alizadeh from Iran won bronze medal in Taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics
context_page_description: Karaj is the capital of Alborz Province, Iran, and effectively a suburb of Tehran. Although the county hosts a population around 1.97 million, as recorded in the 2016 census, most of the 1,419 km² county is rugged mountain, the urban area is the fourth-largest in Iran, after Tehran, Mashhad, and Isfahan. Eshtehard County and Fardis County were split off from Karaj county since the previous census.
  The earliest records of Karaj date back to 30th century BC. The city was developed under the rule of the Safavid and Qajar dynasties, and is home to historical buildings and memorials from those eras. Until the second half of the 20th century, it used to be known mainly as a summer resort. Today, it is a major industrial city, with factories producing sugar, textiles, wire, and alcohol.
caption: Kimia Alizadeh
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