Hamid Akbari

Iranians in Chicagoland Hamid Akbari

In 1893, Haj Mirza Mohammad Ali Moen-Ol Saltaneh journeyed to Chicago from Iran to visit the World Columbian Exposition. According to his memoirs, the Exposition's Ferris Wheel was one of the first things he saw. He visited the Persian Palace, Iran's exhibit at the Exposition, where he met Iranian workers and several French dancers posing as Persian women. These Iranians were likely the earliest group of Iranians who came to Chicago. They little imagined that by 2004, at least 10,000 Iranians would live in the city. Authors Hamid Akbari and Azar Khounani present a newly assembled collection of Persian Palace photographs coupled with Moen-Ol Saltaneh's observations of Chicago.