Anārak

Anarak stands at the southern edge of the Dasht-e Kavir, northeast of Nain, amid barren hills and desert plains. The surrounding country is rich in mineral deposits, including copper, silver and antimony. Copper mining here may reach back to pre-Islamic times; old workings followed the veins into the hills, where wind catchers helped ventilate the shafts. The settlement's position at the edge of the great salt desert gives its mining landscape a stark and distinctive setting.