Sadarak District
Sadarak District | |
|---|---|
 Map of Azerbaijan showing Sadarak District | |
| Country |  Azerbaijan |
| Autonomous Republic | Nakhchivan |
| Established | 28 August 1990 |
| Capital | Heydarabad |
| Settlements[1] | 4 |
| Area | |
• Total | 160 km2 (60 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 16,100 |
| • Density | 100/km2 (260/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
| Postal code | 7300 |
| Website | sederek-ih |
Sadarak District (Template:Lang-az) is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The district borders the district of Sharur, as well as the Iğdır Province of Turkey, Ararat Province of Armenia and the West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. Its capital is Heydarabad and largest settlement is Sadarak. As of 2020, the district had a population of 16,100.[2]
Sadarak is the only Azerbaijani district bordering Turkey. The Umut Bridge over the Aras, also called the "bridge of hope", links Azerbaijan with Turkey, where the Nakhchivan-Istanbul bus route passes. Sadarak District also includes the Karki exclave which has been occupied by Armenia since the First Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Etymology
There are different theories about the word's origin. Some say Sadarak means three valleys in Farsi. Indeed, there are three valleys in Sadarak: Chanagchichay, Chahannamdara, Bagirsag (due to its length). Linguists link the word to "sed rang", i.e. a hundred colours. Sedrak means a place inhabited by many people in Arabic. In the 14th century, it was inhabited by the Saadli tribe. Local etymology suggests that Sadarak is made up of steel and garak (flood-prone). Researchers believe that the word relates to a place called Sakrak mentioned in the Book of Dede Korkut.[3]
History
The Barda-Erevan-Nakhchivan-Julfa-Tabriz section of the Great Silk Way linking Azerbaijan's north with Middle Eastern countries passed through Sadarak. During the 1722 attack of Peter the Great on the Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan fell under the influence of the Ottomans, while following the 1828 Turkmenchay agreement it was passed on to Russia to become part of Erevan province. In a letter to Gen Paskevich from 23 September 1828, A. Griboyedov provided information about the Nakhchivan population. In an effort to expand its borders and step up its positions, Czarist Russia abolished local khanates on 21 March 1828 and started the massive settlement of Armenian families in Nakhchivan. Under the 1828 decree of Czar Nicolas the First, an "Armenian province" was established on the territory of Erevan and Nakhchivan khanates and about 130,000 Armenians resettled there from Iran and Turkey.
Early history
31 December 1989 saw an extraordinary event in USSR history as state borders called "the metal grating" were knocked down enabling people to cross the Aras. In early 1990, the Supreme Council of the Nakhchivan SSR passed a shocking decision to secede from the USSR. Proceeding from the Kars agreement, the autonomous republic's legislature asked Turkey, Iran, the UN and other international organizations for help. The decision came like thunder from a clear sky. It was the first time in USSR history when a decision to break away from it was passed by an autonomous republic, not even a fully-fledged republic. Sadarak acquired district status after detaching from Sharur District on August 28, 1990.
Sadarak war
On 19–20 January 1990, Armenian armed units attacked and seized Sadarak's Karki village. All Sadarak villages came under attack. The district was exposed to 14 Armenian attacks in 1990–1994. Although the autonomous republic was in a state of the blockade and hundreds of its people were killed, the local population never left Sadarak. It found shelter in foothill areas and fought back. The 1990-1993 period went down in history as Sadarak fights. Karki is the only village in Nakhchivan to be occupied by Armenians. There is a grave of a Turkish soldier here[citation needed].
Historical sites
Sadarak was an important medieval settlement on the Yerevan-Nakhchivan trade road. There are remains of the Sadarak fortress 955 meters above sea level, three medieval mosques, ruins of defence structures, a caravansary, the Agoglan shrine, and a 19-20th century bath-house here. Sadarak's archaeological sites were registered in 1958. The best-known of them is the Agoglan shrine attributed to the 7-11th centuries.
Archaeology
An important archaeological site in the district of Sadarak is an ancient settlement of Chalcolithic period that stretches over five acres. The settlement is located on the plain, east of the village of Karaagaç.[4] It is known as Kultepe Sadarak, and is of remarkable importance because of its multiple cultural layers that go back to the late Paleolithic period.
Many ceramic products were unearthed here, such as chaff faced pottery, and tableware with painted red lines. The settlement is a testimony of local culture in the V millennium BC, and it brings in new information about the Paleolithic Period in Nakhchivan.[5]
Proto Kura-Araxes pottery is found here, black-burnished pottery, as well as all the other types of Kura-Araxes pottery which followed later. Other related Nakhchivan sites with similar early pottery are Ovcular, and Khalaj (archaeology).[4]
Geography
Sadarak District borders Turkey in the south-west (the only bordering zone with Turkey and Azerbaijan is here - 11 km), with Armenia in the north-west – 24 km and Sharur District in the south-east – 27 km.
The climate of Sadarak is continental with hot summer and cold winter. Mineral water springs similar to Istisu and Jeleznovodsk were discovered in Sadarak in 1980.
The territory of the district consists of plains, surrounded by the Ujubiz, Aghdakan, Validag and Tekgar massifs. The Aras River flows along the border between Turkey and Sadarak District.[6]
Population
According to the State Statistics Committee, as of 2018, the population of the region recorded 15.9 thousand persons, which increased by 3.7 thousand persons (30 percent) from 12,2 thousand persons in 2000.[7] 8.1 thousand of total population are men, 7.8 thousand are women.[8]
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sadarak region | 12,2 | 12,4 | 12,5 | 12,7 | 12,9 | 13,1 | 13,4 | 13,6 | 13,8 | 14,0 | 14,1 | 14,4 | 14,6 | 15,0 | 15,3 | 15,4 | 15,6 | 15,8 | 15,9 |
| urban population | - | - | - | 0,7 | 1,3 | 1,4 | 1,4 | 1,5 | 1,5 | 1,6 | 1,7 | 2,0 | 2,0 | 2,0 | 2,1 | 2,1 | 2,1 | 2,2 | 2,2 |
| rural population | 12,2 | 12,4 | 12,5 | 12,0 | 11,6 | 11,7 | 12,0 | 12,1 | 12,3 | 12,4 | 12,4 | 12,4 | 12,6 | 13,0 | 13,2 | 13,3 | 13,5 | 13,6 | 13,7 |
Transportation
Plans for a railway into Nakhchivan from Turkey have been proposed by the Turkish government.
Gallery
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Mosque -
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Agoglan -
Agri Dagi -
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Heydarabad -
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Heydarabad -
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Sadarak School -
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Sadarak
References
- ^ "İnzibati-ərazi vahidləri" (PDF). preslib.az. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Population of Azerbaijan". stat.gov.az. State Statistics Committee. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ "Sadarak". http://discoverazerbaijan.az.
{{cite news}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ a b Bakhshaliyev, Veli; Seyidov, Abbas (2013). "New findings from the settlement of Sadarak (Nakhchivan-Azerbaijan)". Anatolia Antiqua. 21 (1): 1–21. doi:10.3406/anata.2013.1337. ISSN 1018-1946.
- ^ Nakhchivan: Development of palaeolithic and neolithic periods foreignpolicynews.org - September 07, 2016
- ^ "Садаракский район". azerbaijan.az.
- ^ a b "Political division, population size and structure: Population by towns and regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan". The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
- ^ "Political division, population size and structure: Population by sex, towns and regions, urban settlements of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the beginning of the 2018". Azərbaycan Respublikasının Dövlət Statistika Komitəsi (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2018-12-13.
