Shurak, Mazandaran

Shurak (, also Romanized as Shūrak and Shūrek) is a village in Babolrud Rural District, in the Central District of Babolsar County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 711, in 188 families.

Etymology
The shurak word is formed from “shur”شور  and the suffix “ak” ک which means “little salty” in persian language.

Shur means salty in Persian language and “ak” is a diminutive suffix.

In Tabarian language Shurak pronounce to Shurek. Local people called this place Shurek because the water in this area was saltier than others.

History
At the beginning, Shurak wasn’t a residential area. There was an other area near shurak called “kafsh gar” کفشگر  wich was a residential area but a disease became epidemic there and the people who lived there moved from kafsh gar to shurak.

shurak was covered with trees and forest. People burnt down the forest and the rest of the trees were removed from ground. People built houses and moved there.

In 1941 the Soviet Union stationed its forces in mazandaran and northern Iran. They had a trench in shurak.

Shurak was a cotton farm but after the white revolution, due reinforcement of water supply system, it became possible to plant rice there. Today planting rice in shurak is very common.

People
The main language spoken in Shurak and all of the mazandran province is tabarian language(mazani). Most of the people in shurak are farmers and the common religion is Twelver shia.