{"id":1742,"date":"2024-06-17T13:55:38","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T13:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/?p=1742"},"modified":"2024-09-29T18:09:41","modified_gmt":"2024-09-29T18:09:41","slug":"lost-paradise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/lost-paradise\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost Paradise"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1742\" class=\"elementor elementor-1742\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5ce61a1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5ce61a1\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c7c2102 ahura-dark-mode-filter-texts-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c7c2102\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.23.0 - 25-07-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:right;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>Baraghan is a lost paradise. People don&#8217;t pay much attention to it now, but in the past, before the growth and expansion of Karaj, Alborz was the central economic hub. Back then, economic transactions were concentrated in Qazvin and Tehran. For this reason, all the people&#8217;s transactions between Tehran and Qazvin were conducted in Barghan, and economic activities flourished there.<\/p><p>At that time, there were multiple factories in Borghan, and one of the most important ones was the gunpowder factory. The production process of gunpowder was very interesting. Its primary material was the charcoal of the willow tree, and the saltpeter they used to bring from regions like Zarand and Zavieh and their surroundings. Sometimes, they also added sulfur to this mixture. The process of making saltpeter was also interesting. They poured the raw materials into special tanks to let the oil rise to the surface. Then, they collected the oil and used it. Specialists would grind and sieve these materials and then mix them according to specific standards.<\/p><p>Gunpowder was prepared in various grades for different purposes. The premium type was used for rifles because old rifles were muzzle-loaded and couldn&#8217;t withstand heavy gunpowder. Grade two gunpowder was used for blasting rocks and similar tasks. Before these activities, it seems there were also a bakery with millstone and a glassblowing workshop in Barghan, but I don&#8217;t remember them; they were mentioned in earlier times.<\/p><p>Another prevalent work in Barghan was cotton processing. Cotton was widely cultivated in the southern villages of Karaj. At that time, they used to buy cotton from villages like Zarand, Zavieh, Shahriar, and Eshtehard, bring it to Barghan, and prepare it for spinning. This was done with basic machines, and large wooden arches known as &#8220;Kaman-e-Hallaji&#8221; were used for this purpose. The person who performed this work was called &#8220;Hallaj,&#8221; and at that time, there might have been around a hundred Hallajs working in Barghan. The sound of Hallaj&#8217;s bow was very pleasant for those passing through Barghan. They used to beat the cotton, tossing four or five kilograms of it together, and prepare it for sale. People from villages like Lavasanat, Taleqan, and Alamut used to come to buy it. Cotton had various uses. One was to spin it, make threads, and then weave fabrics. Most houses had small handlooms in their porches for making cloth, and women were usually busy with this work during the winter.<\/p><p>In Barghan, there was also a dyeing factory. They used to dye the fabrics, especially the cotton cloth, in this factory. Men made trousers and jackets from dyed fabric, and women didn&#8217;t usually use dyed fabric; they usually bought white cloth and sewed their dresses. Various cotton products were used at different stages. For instance, when the clothes made from cotton fabric became old, they sold them to the shoe maker &#8220;Givakhesh,&#8221; a person who provided shoe &#8220;Givah&#8221; beds. He would cut and pound the old clothes, then pull them with leather and make a sturdy bed frame for shoe called &#8220;Givah.&#8221; He would weave its mattress cover. At that time, people made the most out of their own production; it wasn&#8217;t like nowadays when someone wears a piece of clothing for a week and then discards it. This is wasteful and leads to the loss of labor and resources.<\/p><p>In those times, in addition to trade, agriculture also thrived in Barghan. There were around 2,200 orchards in Barghan, each covering approximately a thousand square meters. They produced a variety of products, with dried mulberries, walnuts, and tomatoes being among the most important ones. Barghan&#8217;s tomatoes were famous at that time and continue to be so. Many orchards were dedicated to growing tomatoes. During the summer, many women from surrounding villages would come to Barghan to pick tomatoes. They would earn their wages during the harvest season and return to their villages to come back the following year.<\/p><p>Barghan&#8217;s residents would dry the tomatoes and send them to Qazvin. There, they would grade the product and export it through Mazandaran to Baku, and then to Russia and Europe. Before turning to fruit orchards, the people of Barghan used to cultivate wheat and barley. However, the favorable climate led to the growth of fruit orchards. As Barghan&#8217;s horticultural industry flourished and became productive, other villages in the region slowly adopted fruit cultivation, making it a common practice throughout the area.<\/p><p>Since both wheat trading and abundant water resources were prevalent in Barghan, numerous water mills operated there. Farmers from lower neighborhoods like Kurdan and Kamalabad would bring their wheat to Borghan to have it milled into flour. Besides, they would also bring surplus straw and alfalfa for sale. The people of Barghan had horses and carriages, but they didn&#8217;t produce hay or straw themselves. People from the southern villages had to pass through Barghan to go to Mazandaran, which further boosted economic activity in the area.<\/p><p>In summary, before the economic and commercial growth of Karaj, Barghan was the largest commercial center in the region. At that time, around 400 households lived there, and they were generally well-off. The surviving buildings from that era testify to this fact, as they are valuable structures that haven&#8217;t received much attention later on.<\/p><p>All Borghanis had orchards, ranging from small ones of two to five thousand square meters to a few larger ones. They would live in these orchards during spring and summer, with each orchard having a house. Summer nights in the orchards were illuminated with lanterns throughout. The people of Borghan enjoyed prosperity as well as comfort. Apart from economic prosperity, they also had a pleasant climate. The people of Borghan were devoutly religious and adhered to their faith. There were three mosques: the Upper Neighborhood Mosque, the Middle Neighborhood Mosque, and the Lower Neighborhood Mosque. The Lower Neighborhood Mosque was particularly large, beautifully decorated with expensive wood, and situated in a pleasant climate region with a river passing nearby. It burned down in the winter of 1316. The fire was caused by many overused steam pipes at night, and the wood caught fire. The intensity of the fire was such that they couldn&#8217;t contain it, and the entire mosque burned down. However, it was later rebuilt. There were two very large water reservoirs in Barghan, built properly, and it seems they are still being used at times.<\/p><p>The people of Barghan were economical. They would secure and store their yearly provisions in the fall, including wheat, fruits, and other items. There was a special grape variety called &#8220;Ahmadi grapes&#8221; that came from Shahriar. They had thick skins and were sturdy. They would buy these grapes and store them in basements, along with various other fruits. The people of Borghan had a good taste and were forward-thinking. For example, they would plant industrial trees around their orchards so that if the fruits were damaged by frost, they could compensate by selling the industrial wood, as frosts were frequent. I remember going to baraghan from Dorvan to buy some sugar, tea, and provisions in 1322. I had brought a donkey with me. At that time, my father and his family were in Barghan, and we were in Dorvan. We had an orchard in Barghan. I went there to collect some forage for my donkey so it could eat at night. Exactly fifty-one days had passed since Eid, and the forage had grown green; the trees also had large and ripe tomatoes. I decided to pick some tomatoes from there next day, before heading back to Dorvan. I slept that night and went to buy sugar, tea, and other items in the morning. Afterward, I went to the orchard to pick tomatoes. When I arrived, I saw that even the weeds had turned black and were lying on the ground. The frost had affected all the trees, and there wasn&#8217;t a single tomato left. There were no mulberries or walnuts either. This event repeated for several years, but thanks to their foresight, the people of Borghan managed to get through those years by selling industrial wood. They would utilize agriculture as well as other economic activities. For instance, many times, the traders couldn&#8217;t find buyers for their wheat, rice, cotton, and similar products in Barghan. In such cases, Barghanis would buy these products themselves and keep them. When they found a buyer, they would sell them. Another thing they did was pre-purchasing cheese from Dorvanis. They would take some of it fresh to Tehran as &#8220;Barghan cheese&#8221; and store the rest in jars. Most homes had twenty to thirty cheese jars that they had pre-purchased. They called it &#8220;Jeldi cheese,&#8221; which was very fatty and high-quality. During the winter, they also sold it in Tehran and Qazvin at higher prices. In Tehran, Barghan cheese was famous, but it was mostly produced in Dorvan. Similarly, they pre-purchased meat. For example, in the spring, they would pay one hundred Kilogram of meat in advance, and then they would deliver it on new year eve. If they couldn&#8217;t, they had to pay twice the amount the next year. Those who didn&#8217;t have the means to pay were exploited in this way.<\/p><p>Barghan still has various advantages today, but most people have left the area and migrated to Karaj, Qazvin, and Tehran. If they choose Barghan for living, they can benefit from its favorable climate and easily commute to Karaj. The distance from there to Karaj is only twenty kilometers. Recently, there has been some attention to Barghan, and some work has been done, but it is not enough.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37a626a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"37a626a\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e2d5227 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e2d5227\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f834025 elementor-post-navigation-borders-yes ahura-dark-mode-filter-texts-no elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-navigation\" data-id=\"f834025\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-navigation.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/wp-content\/plugins\/elementor-pro\/assets\/css\/widget-theme-elements-rtl.min.css\">\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post-navigation\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post-navigation__prev elementor-post-navigation__link\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/short-ceiling-and-iron-cast-lock\/\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"post-navigation__arrow-wrapper post-navigation__arrow-prev\"><i class=\"fa fa-angle-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Prev<\/span><\/span><span class=\"elementor-post-navigation__link__prev\"><span class=\"post-navigation__prev--label\">prevoius story<\/span><span class=\"post-navigation__prev--title\">Short ceiling and iron-cast lock<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post-navigation__separator-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post-navigation__separator\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-post-navigation__next elementor-post-navigation__link\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/go-talk-to-mash-reza\/\" rel=\"next\"><span class=\"elementor-post-navigation__link__next\"><span class=\"post-navigation__next--label\">next story<\/span><span class=\"post-navigation__next--title\">Go talk to Mash-Reza!<\/span><\/span><span class=\"post-navigation__arrow-wrapper post-navigation__arrow-next\"><i class=\"fa fa-angle-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Next<\/span><\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Baraghan is a lost paradise. People don&#8217;t pay much attention to it now, but in the past, before the growth and expansion of Karaj, Alborz was the central economic hub. Back then, economic transactions were concentrated in Qazvin and Tehran. For this reason, all the people&#8217;s transactions between Tehran and Qazvin were conducted in Barghan,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"content_types":[],"class_list":["post-1742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-its-not-worth-it-anymore-its-not-useful"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1742"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5336,"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1742\/revisions\/5336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1742"},{"taxonomy":"content_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dangofang.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_types?post=1742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}