By: Farshid khodadadian
Researcher of oil history and Activist of industrial heritage

Masjid-e-Suleiman, is a city in the south of Iran in the Middle East. Oil was discovered in this city in 1908, for the first time in Iran. The British did this great work. The presence of the British in this city had an impact. Including in the architecture of the city and building new European houses there. The naming of residential areas was done with the English words of oil explorers.
“Scot Crescent” belongs to this group. The residential area was far away from other parts of the city and the shape and size of its villa houses known as “Bungalow” were different from other houses.
The “Scot Crescent” neighborhood was made up of a number of large bungalows built in a curved line next to each other and with large gardens. That’s why it was called “Scot Crescent”.
The map of this area from Masjid-e-Suleiman, shows that the large villas of this neighborhood are built in a crescent shape and at a significant distance from each other, which are comparable to the architecture of Glasgow villas in Scotland.
A few years ago, a book was published by an Englishman named;”Daniel Hogan”, born in Masjid-e-Suleiman. There is the name of the book; “Back to Iran again”. In this book, the author tells her memories of life with her family in Scotch Crescent in Masjid-e-Suleiman.He returns to Iran after many years and sees their house in Scotch Crescent which is still in use!
There was the residential area of the senior managers of the British and Iranian oil company. Today, it is still used and the residence of the senior managers of Masjid Sulaiman Oil Company.

Masjid-e-Suleiman still has oil and gas, and as much oil and gas is produced from the wells of this city, life is also going on in Scotch Crescent.
The Scottish architecture of this neighborhood is a part of the industrial heritage and the history of oil in Iran. It is a document of the coexistence of different nations together in nearly a century ago!
The oil cities in the south of Iran are familiar to Europeans, especially the English and Scots, and of course strange!