Vineyards of Malekan

Due to its vast geography, Iran is a four-season country, in every part of which special agricultural products grow in accordance with the climate and special conditions of the region. Grapes are one of the main agricultural products of northwest Iran, and grapes of Malekan grapes have an exemplary quality. There are vast vineyards in Malekan, and the unique beauty of their thick and creeping grape bushes makes them look extremely beautiful.

Geographical Features of Malekan

Malekan County is located in the southwest of East Azarbaijan Province of Iran and southeast of Lake Urmia and is considered the junction of East Azarbaijan and West Azarbaijan provinces. The center of this County is Malekan City, which has a population of about 30,000. Malekan has an area of more than a thousand square kilometers and is 144 kilometers away from Tabriz.

According to some available evidence, due to the suitable geographical conditions, human habitation in Malekan dates back to the 6th or 5th millennium BC. Abbas Abad and Qurijan villages are considered to have been the main human habitations in this region. The evidence shows that the residents of these villages were in cultural interaction with the people of Mesopotamia. Despite this background, Malekan was considered a small and sparsely populated village until about 200 years ago.

Being blessed with suitable water resources Malekan has become the pole of grape production in Iran. Mardagh (Mardaghchay) and Leylan (Leylanchay) are the two rivers that provide the water requirement of this region. Mardagh River is about 100 km long and originates from the southern slopes of Sahand Mountain. After passing through the two cities of Maragheh and Malekan, this river merges with the Zarineh River and finally ends at Lake Urmia. The 107 million cubic meters of water of this river has made it one of the biggest rivers in the region. Leylan River, too, originates from the foothills of Sahand Mountain and flows into Urmia Lake after joining the Zarineh River.

Grapes of Malekan

There are about 17 thousand hectares of vineyards in East Azarbaijan Province, more than 8,500 hectares of which are located in Malekan, where all kinds of grapes are grown. During the summers, the time of harvesting grapes, trucks carrying grapes constantly move in Malekan and take the high-quality grapes of this city to the surrounding cities for processing or sale. More than half of the product of Malekan is converted into sour and sweet raisins, which are the best types of raisins in the world. Most of these products are exported to Persian Gulf countries, Russia, and Europe. In terms of weight, the annual harvest of grapes in Malekan is more than 150 thousand tons, more than 50 tons of which are exported to other countries.

At least 16 varieties of grapes are grown in Malekan, and 95 percent of the cultivation area is devoted to growing Sultana grapes, which is one of the most popular types of grapes, and some types of grapes such as Fakhri, Sahebi, Hosseini, and Qizil are its subcategories. Seedless raisins are obtained from this grape. Malekan grapes are of such high quality that one kilo of raisins is obtained from every three kilos of grapes, which is interesting in its own way.

A considerable part of the economy and livelihood of the people of Malekan is tied to the production and sale of grapes. There are 30 factories in this city, which engage in processing grapes.

Being blessed with suitable water resources Malekan has become the pole of grape production in Iran.