ABSTRACT
The two cities of Abadan and Khorramshahr in the south-western Iranian province of Khuzestan display a hybrid identity which has been forged out of global oil interests and acts of local cultural resistance. A closer look at the political history and human habitation of these two fascinating cities on the northern rim of the Persian Gulf offers clues as to how oil-rich cities are shaped both by local climate and the brutal pressures of the global market economy. Abadan and Khorramshahr both grew steadily in importance after the discovery of oil and gas reserves. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company built its first refinery in Abadan and by the 1930s this was the largest in the world. The arrival of the American consumer culture and its glittery products primarily benefitted Iran's elite minority, creating a huge economic and cultural gulf with the rest of Iranian society. Abadan, as the city of flame', seems historically to have always been a transient city.
