EntranceGanja population. Azerbaijan, Ganja
In the provincial town of Elisavetpol (Gandzak, Kirovabad, Ganja) Armenians have always lived - when there are few, when there are many. At the beginning of the 20th century, approximately 15,000 Armenians lived here, although the figures may be much underestimated. Elisavetpol province went to Russia after the Gulistan peace treaty.
It was my hometown, which since February 1988 has become alien, dangerous and hated. There are residents of Kirovabad who want to return back to their homes, to their streets. But those who survived all the horror that stretched from February 1988 to October 1989 are unlikely to want to walk along the streets in which danger lay in wait for them every minute.
When you know that you will never have to walk the streets of childhood again and the city where you were born is lost forever, it is very painful to remember it. The number of losses for each person grows with each passing year, and the closer to the end of life, the bitterer the feeling of losing the place where he was born, where his ancestors are buried. I remember that somewhere in the early 90s of the last century, there was a program about Cilicia on Armenian television. Said an old man who escaped the Turkish scimitar and kept the keys to his house ... What did he hope for, why did he keep them, having gone through all the circles of hell in a foreign land? Did he really hope to return - if not himself, then children, grandchildren ... Who knows ...
About two years ago, in one of the drawers of the desk, I came across the keys to our house in Kirovabad - I remembered that old man. I nevertheless threw away the keys, and with them the subconscious belief that someday I would return to that city, which remained in my memory only by the events of 1988-1989, when a brutal crowd of Azeris did everything to ensure that he remained in memory hated, alien and unwanted. I didn't even want to remember him.
Geographically, Kirovabad is divided by the river into two parts. Conventionally, the left bank is called the "Azerbaijani part", on the territory of which all large industrial facilities of the city, administrative buildings, railway stations, airport, institutes, telegraph, post office and commercial part of the city are located, i.е. all vital centers, the left bank is the most densely populated, mainly by Azerbaijanis. The right bank is the "Armenian part", where mainly Armenians lived. But the constantly progressing migration of Armenians outside the republic has led to the fact that in the so-called "Armenian part" of the city, the number of Azerbaijanis has recently increased sharply. By the beginning of the events in the city, with a population of 280 thousand people, there were more than 40 thousand Armenians (according to the 1979 census - 40,741).
The events in the city of Kirovabad began in parallel with the Sumgayit pogroms at the end of February 1988. More than 200 young people, accompanied by employees of the internal affairs department (ATC) of the city, walked along the central streets (Shaumyan, Dzhaparidze - the Armenian part of the city), breaking windows and doors of the Armenian houses, beating Armenian passers-by along the way. The resistance of the Armenians in the area of the settlement of engineering and technical workers (ITR) and the intervention of military personnel stopped the pogroms. In the following days, for the first time, military patrols with clubs and shields appeared in the city. Within a few days, the local authorities restored and "cosmetically" repaired houses and state facilities(shops, kiosks) in the Armenian part of the city. Further events in the city unfolded according to the following scenario. In enterprises and institutions, Armenians were forced to sign letters about the illegal actions of the Armenian population of the NKAR. Children went to school only accompanied by their parents. The authorities were preparing a large-scale massacre of Armenians. ZhEK employees compiled lists of Armenians by addresses. Armenian apartments were marked with a cross, written threats were sent to them to leave their homes.
So, what happened in Kirovabad? On the morning of November 21, 1988, organized columns of students began to flock to Lenin Square (opposite the administrative building of the Civil Code of the Party and the City Executive Committee), joined by industrial workers and excited crowds. By lunchtime, the entire Lenin Square was packed. The excitement created by the "speakers" heated up the situation. By 15 o'clock, a huge riotous crowd of young people, accompanied by police officers with iron bars and stones, moved into the Armenian part of the city, crushing everything in its path and beating Armenian passers-by. Breaking through to the Armenian church, the crowd made a pogrom and stole the cross attached to the front door of the church. Ancillary premises in the courtyard of the church were destroyed, including the house of the priest Sahak.
Having met a rebuff in the area of Krasnoye Selo, the crowd of Azerbaijanis retreated. On the way back down st. Violetov's house N68 was set on fire. All these outrages lasted for about three hours. By the evening of the same day, the Armenian part of the city was cordoned off by troops. All night, in anticipation of the next excesses, people were on duty near the fires. By noon, the first Armenian refugees appeared, living in the Azerbaijani part of the city. An initiative group was created, the purpose of which is to protect and save the Armenian population. By six o'clock in the evening, mass beatings and pogroms of Armenian houses began in the Azerbaijani part of the city. The first casualties began to arrive.
In the premises of the church, the headquarters of the initiative group was created, where information about what was happening began to flow. The initiative group entered into contact with representatives of the commandant's office. The commandant of the city (Major General Polekh) issued an order and declared a special situation - a curfew from 10 pm to 6 am. At the request of the initiative group, for the evacuation of Armenians from the Azerbaijani part, the commandant's office of the city allocated two vehicles (without gasoline) accompanied by one officer and a soldier (without weapons), who arrived only at 12 o'clock at night. On the same night, ten volunteers, risking their own lives, left for the areas of the pogroms. 77 people were saved: children, women and the elderly. All night at the headquarters there was registration and acceptance of applications from the victims.
There are eyewitnesses of the destruction and mockery of the monument to Marshal I. Kh. Baghramyan. The bas-relief of Kh. Abovyan was smashed from the building of the school that bore his name, the tablets with the names of the streets bearing Armenian names were torn off. According to the stories of the victims who arrived from the Azerbaijani part, indescribable chaos reigned in the city. According to the representative of the commandant's office, there were not enough troops, the soldiers were not able to cope with the rampant horde. There were many victims among the soldiers.
From November 21 to 23, 1988, all patients of Armenian nationality were rudely expelled from hospitals, among whom were recently operated and seriously ill. All of them were placed in a special first-aid post created by the initiative group. The ambulance did not go to the Armenian part of the city. For the first time in the days of the pogrom, Armenians were expelled from their jobs. Employees of savings banks and Aeroflot cash desks tore up the passports of Armenians who came to receive a deposit or buy tickets to leave the city. A very large number of people were left without documents. Since November 23, two buses with armed guards and 25 passes were issued to the initiative group for the purpose of evacuating Armenians from the Azerbaijani part of the city.
An endless stream of beaten, raped, distraught with fear, naked, half-naked, without documents, without any means of subsistence of people, were placed in a church and a school located next to the temple. Among them were not only Armenians, but also Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians, Jews, Greeks. An uncontrollable situation has developed in the city. The employees of the Internal Affairs Directorate, the city committee, the district committee and the city executive committee condoned this a lot, when telephones, gas were periodically turned off, water was not supplied, and transport did not work in the Armenian part of the city, which created a threat of economic starvation and unsanitary conditions. In the Azerbaijani part of the city, on Lenin Square, purposeful rallies continued, a new slogan "Death to Armenians and Russians" appeared! Apparently, not satisfied with the not entirely radical decisions of their leaders, the protesters demanded the first secretary of the GKKP Bagirli to the protesters. But, having learned about the escape of Bagirli, they staged a pogrom in the building of the GKKP, on the roof of which the Turkish flag flaunted for 36 hours. At the same time, nationalist rallies were broadcast on Azerbaijani television, where the speakers demanded the release of the "heroes of Sumgayit" and the adoption of decisive measures against the Armenian population living in Azerbaijan. Among the speakers was the entire "color" of the Azerbaijani intelligentsia.
November 24 - 27 - the situation has not changed. To the requests of the initiative group to the commandant of the city to provide assistance to the victims, to provide them with food, medicines, one answer was given that all this is not within their competence. The indecisive actions of the army made it possible for the Azerbaijanis to act outrageously for 6-7 days.
During these days:
Killed - 18 people
Raped - 11 people
Missing - 60 people
Seriously injured - 74 people
The number of refugees - 4500 people
Looted apartments - 1376
Stolen - 20
Burned - 24 cars
Help came from nearby villages. A doctor with medicines and a representative of civil aviation arrived from Armenia to resolve the issue of evacuating women, children and the sick.
On the seventh day Lieutenant Colonel Zubov arrived at the headquarters of the initiative group. In response to the demands of the members of the initiative group, there were threats and blackmail. The contact has been interrupted. At the same time, it was reported that an investigative group of the USSR Prosecutor's Office and employees of the Main Directorate of Criminal Investigation (GUUR) of the USSR had arrived in the city. Part of the collected material was handed over to employees of the USSR Prosecutor's Office. The documents included statements by the victims about the pogroms, robberies and violence, photographs of the rioters and victims, records of interrogations of the detainees and their own handwritten testimonies. But the compromising materials handed over to the commandant's office, for the first time during the days of the pogroms, disappeared without a trace. Together with them, more than 400 statements, selected from the materials by investigator Major Krasavin, disappeared. On November 29, mass pogroms stopped, and a new wave of actions began. Employees of the military commissariat began to draft young people into the army, and the city commandant issued an order to surrender hunting rifles. The USSR Prosecutor's Office carried out a forensic medical examination of persons who had been beaten and raped. The newly appeared lieutenant colonel Zubov puzzled the members of the initiative group with an ultimatum to contact the local administration and accept the conditions put forward by it, or he would not be responsible for the consequences of the refusal, and the troops would be withdrawn. 4 hours were given for reflection. Not having received consent from the initiative group, Lieutenant Colonel Zubov disappeared for a couple of days. Meanwhile, a conversation took place with the head of the GUUR of the USSR, Lieutenant General Pankin, with whom the issue of the evacuation of the Armenian population was discussed. Taking advantage of the situation, the City Party Committee, with the help of the commandant's office of the city, urgently organized an evacuation point. The calculation was simple: no witnesses - no guilty.
Possessing the means of propaganda, the servicemen on armored personnel carriers, driving around the Armenian part of the city, campaigned among the population, informing the people that an evacuation center was functioning at the headquarters of the civil defense of the city.
Attempts by the initiative group to stop the evacuation that had begun were unsuccessful. The horror of what they saw and the fear of obscurity intuitively pushed people to leave the danger zone as quickly as possible. Those wishing to leave had to give a signature stating that they were leaving voluntarily and had no claims (the author is the second secretary of the Civil Code of the Communist Party). At the request of the initiative group, the commandant of the city suspended this action.
On December 2, on behalf of the city executive committee, 5 representatives from Armenians were invited to the funeral of three Armenian women who allegedly "died" from diseases.
When they arrived at the cemetery at the appointed time, two of them were already buried. On the demands of one of the invited Armenians to open the lid of the coffin, the city authorities refused. Then Adiyan Mikhail sharply pulled the lid and tore it off: in the coffin lay a woman with obvious signs of beatings. An appeal to the investigation team to carry out an exhumation was rejected. There were reports of a large gathering of Azerbaijanis in the area of the city of Khanlar, of pogroms of columns of vehicles heading to Armenia on the section of the Kirovabad-Kazakh highway, of pogroms and outrages in other regions of Azerbaijan. About 7,000 people were left homeless. Many apartments were already inhabited by Azerbaijanis. The settlement took place with the knowledge of the housing department. From Yerevan, risking their lives, a group of four people flew in by helicopter, and the cameraman (Bakur Karapetyan) filmed a video about the events in Kirovabad.
By local authorities, the investigation team of the USSR Prosecutor's Office and the USSR GUUR, previously located in the Armenian part of the Ganja District Department of Internal Affairs, was transferred to the building of the Internal Affairs Directorate, located in the Azerbaijani part. This resulted in the victims no longer being able to testify. The hope was that by the time the situation was completely stabilized, many of the victims who could not be evacuated due to the situation in Armenia, having no guarantees of safe living, would try to leave the republic on their own. Indeed, it was not possible to stop the Armenian population, which was selling houses and property for next to nothing. Not a single Armenian family remained there. All this has been published and known for a long time. Published by representatives of the initiative group.
November 21, 1988 was a Friday. On this day, a film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog" was supposed to be shown on TV, and I really hoped that I would be able to watch it. The thing is that my husband, a well-known dermato-venereologist of the city of Kirovabad, had an extensive private practice, and the patients mostly came somewhere around eight or nine in the evening. It was convenient for them and for him. True, since February 1988, after the pogroms in Sumgayit, the number of patients decreased, but they still came. They were mostly Azerbaijanis who did not really trust their doctors and preferred to be treated by an Armenian doctor. But on that day, for some reason, there were no patients ... We somehow did not attach any importance to this - and before there were “empty” days, to the delight of all the family, when you could sit, watch TV or just chat. Fortunately, there were more than enough reasons for talking at that time. In the morning everything was calm. I even managed to go to the bazaar, which was located in the Azerbaijani part of the city. Familiar butchers, seeing me, twisted their fingers at the head, quickly weighed the meat and almost ordered me to immediately go home. As I said, on this day he showed "Heart of a Dog". Perhaps that is why everything is so memorable. We watched the film, then suddenly my cousin, who lived not far from the Armenian church, called and wept and said that the church had been attacked. We became friends with the priest's wife, and of course I immediately called. She, also sobbing, began to tell that the crowd attacked the church, knocked down the cross over the gate and wanted to kill the priest, Father Sahak. Miraculously, he managed to run into the temple and close the bolt. In the middle of her story, the phone suddenly turned off. As we later found out, telephones were switched off in all Armenian houses. True, by 11 pm they have earned. We - me, husband, son, mother-in-law and my mother - sat until the morning without undressing. We were afraid. It was a terrible state, we realized that even the entire Soviet army. We stayed in Kirovabad for another year. My cousin was wounded by an explosive bullet, many of my acquaintances were beaten, and the library of one of their friends was burned down. In general, Azerbaijanis liked to burn books...
I must say that the last month we lived, to put it mildly, restlessly. The house was not for sale, and there was no strength to leave just like that, it is not so easy to drop everything and leave, although so many did just that. We sat in the office, the windows of which overlooked the street. Grandmothers came to call for tea in another room. My husband usually sat at his table, but this evening he decided to join us. Before we had time to sit down, the sound of breaking glass was heard, and the room burst into flames. A bottle of kerosene was thrown through the window. Okay, we always had a supply of water. Somehow the fire was extinguished, but now some boys began to climb out the window. Shots rang out in the street. My husband, without thinking twice, took a hunting double-barreled shotgun and fired. The police, whom we unsuccessfully tried to reach in the last half hour after the arson, arrived too quickly. It even seemed that they were waiting somewhere nearby. There were several of them, led by a certain Major Orudzhev. That's how he introduced himself, at least. From the threshold, the major began to shout: “How long will you hang your crimes on us! Can't you see that Armenians are hated. Leave before it's too late." Then he demanded to hand over the weapons in the house. We gave away a double-barreled shotgun and a small-caliber rifle. Both of them had been kept in the house for 50 years... The police took the guns, finally advised them to “think carefully” and left. We spent the night sitting in the room and shuddering at every knock. I still, after so many years, twitch at every knock and jump up when something hits the floor. Probably, he will remain until his death - this fear. But before that...
On October 17, 1989, my family came from Azerbaijan to Armenia. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that we were able to escape to Armenia after a year and a half of surviving surrounded by enemies. Arriving in Armenia after the horror of the last year and a half, we suddenly saw that there are normal people, calm roads and many other things that the Armenians of Azerbaijan have been deprived of since February 1988. We left Kirovabad not even hoping for such a happy outcome. We survived, moreover, we came to our homeland. Only when I was in Armenia, I realized that my family was on the verge of death. The last week in Kirovabad was remembered by one incessant nightmare. Even now, remembering those days, it really scares me. In November 1989, the Armenian community of Kirovabad ceased to exist. And even earlier, Armenians were expelled from nearby villages: Getashen, Chardakhlu, Zurnabad and many others.
I met several "refugees" from Baku in Cleveland, Ohio. It cannot be said that they were very satisfied with their lives. One of them kept asking if he could return to Armenia. Maybe, probably. But he is unlikely to want to... The word "refugee" still sounds like an insult to me. Too many on the mountain of people made a fortune and thwarted political dividends. Yes, they are still trying...
We came to Armenia after the Spitak earthquake. A year later, all the people plunged into a three-year darkness and hunger, from which there was only one way out - not to miss the victory in Karabakh. There was no light, no normal food, no work. But my family never thought of moving to another country, although there were opportunities.
The article uses materials from Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan's book: "Gandzak: The Unlost World".
Karine Ter-Saakyan
Second in population after . It is located 340 kilometers east of Baku. Population - 322 thousand people (2012).
Previously, it also bore the names Elizavetpol (from 1804 to 1918) and Kirovabad (from 1935 to 1989).
The legend says that the beautiful Ganja was founded where the traveling Mazyad discovered a treasure - cauldrons with gold and jewels. In honor of this find, the city was named: “janza” in Arabic or “ganza” in Georgian means “treasure”. Also, the Great Silk Road once passed through Ganja, which is now being restored.
Thanks to the well-groomed, beautiful architecture and historical sights in the city center, Ganja, according to many tourists, is one of the most beautiful cities in Azerbaijan. However, outside the city center everything is neglected and rather tattered.
History of Ganja
According to the historian Mostavfi, the city of Ganja appeared in 660. According to other sources, the city was founded a little later, in the 9th century. The city began to grow and grow stronger in the 10th-11th centuries during the reign of Fadlun I, but already in the 12th century it was attacked by Georgians, and was also destroyed by a powerful earthquake. In the 13th century, Ganja was captured by the Tatar-Mongols. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, the city was the center of the Karabakh Beylerbek, and later became the capital of the Ganja Khanate.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Ganja was captured by Russia and renamed Elizavetpol - in honor of Elizabeth Alekseevna, Empress and wife of Alexander I. Soviet time Ganja began to bear the name of Kirovabad and developed to the level of the industrial and cultural center of Azerbaijan - the second after the capital, Baku. Now the city is also an important educational center.
Climate in Ganja
Ganja welcomes tourists with mild continental climate. The summer temperature is around +25-27, and the winter here is mild - the temperature rarely drops below +2-4 degrees. Most precipitation occurs in late spring and early summer.
Last changes: 03.08.2014Sights of Ganja
The main attractions of Ganja are its historical Center with the ensemble of Sheikh Bahauddin - a historical and architectural complex, including the Juma Mosque, Caravanserai and Chokyak Hamam, built by Sheikh Bahauddin - an architect and astronomer.
Juma Mosque(also known as Shah Abbas Mosque), built in 1606, is decorated with two minarets and allows you to accurately recognize the onset of noon - exactly at 12 the shadow disappears from the western wall of the mosque. This indicated the time of the noon prayer.
Chokyak-hamam- This is a bathhouse with two halls, where Shah Abbas once spent time. Since 2002, the building has been protected by UNESCO.
bottle house- one of the most modern sights of the city. Architect Ibrahim Jafarov decorated his house with 50,000 glass bottles to perpetuate the memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War. Under the cornice is a portrait of the founder.
Russian church This temple appeared at the end of the 19th century. From the preserved icons here you can see the icon of Alexander Nevsky and the icon of St. Mary Magdalene. The church is open and services are held on weekends and holidays.
Khan Bagi Park or Khan's garden- This is a rather large ennobled green oasis in the southern part of Ganja.
- was built in 1991 at the entrance from the south-western side to the city of Ganja at the supposed burial place of the poet Nizami. It is believed that he lived and died in this place. The mausoleum was built on the site of two older mausoleums.
How to get to Ganja
Utair, VimAirlines and Ural Airlines fly from Moscow to Ganja International Airport. Travel time is about 2 hours 50 minutes.
You can get from Baku to Ganja by train or bus (5 hours) or fly by plane with Azerbaijan Airlines - 1 hour on the way (Brazilian Embraer 190 planes fly). Distance - 340 km.
You can travel around the city by bus or minibus: the public transport network is developed and runs through all parts of the city.
Last changes: 08/04/2014|
Coat of arms of Ganja |
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| A country | Azerbaijan |
| demonym | Ganja, Ganja; Ganja people |
| Population | 357,000 people (2010) |
| Climate type | moderately warm semi-deserts and dry steppes, moderately warm |
| Official language | Azerbaijani |
| Density | 1198 people/km² |
| Official site | http://www.ganca.az (azerb.) |
| Height above sea level | 408 m |
| Postcode | AZ2000 |
| City with | 859 |
| Chief Executive | Elmar Veliyev |
| Former names | until 1804 - Ganja until 1918 - Elisavetpol until 1935 - Ganja until 1989 - Kirovabad |
| National composition | Azerbaijanis (88%), Tsakhurs, Lezgins, Russians, Udis, Tatars, etc. |
| Nickname | treasure city |
| car code | 20 |
| Square | 298 km² |
| Telephone code | +994 22 |
| Timezone | UTC+4, summer UTC+5 |
| internal division | 2 districts in the city and the village |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: 40°40′58″ s. sh. 46°21′38″ E / 40.682778° N sh. 46.360556° E (G) (O) (I) 40°40′58″ s. sh. 46°21′38″ E / 40.682778° N sh. 46.360556° E d. (G) (O) (I) |
| Confessional composition | Shiite Muslims, etc. |
| Based | 859 |
Ganja (Azerbaijani Gnc) is the second largest city in Azerbaijan. In the period from 1804 to 1918, it was called Elizavetpol, in 1918-1935 the name Ganja was returned, in 1935 it was renamed Kirovabad (in honor of S. M. Kirov), in 1989 the name Ganja was restored.
Ganja is one of the most interesting and famous cities of Azerbaijan. It is located at the foot of the Lesser Caucasus ridge. The city is known as the capital of the Ganja Khanate. By area, the second city of Azerbaijan, the third by population.
Story
As part of Safavid Iran. Ganja Khanate
In the XVI-XVIII centuries, Ganja was part of the Safavid Iran, being the center of the Karabakh Beylerbek. Shah Ismail I Safavi appointed Shahverdi-sultan from the Qajar tribe as the first beylerbek, and representatives of this family, the Ziyad-oglu dynasty, ruled Ganja during the reign of the Safavids. Shahverdi ruled not only Ganja and Karabakh, but also Shamshadil and Kazakh were among his possessions. At the end of the XVII century. Evliya Celebi had 6,000 houses in the city. The population of the city was ethnically and religiously diverse: if within the city walls the majority were Azerbaijani Turks and Persians, then outside the walls there were vast Armenian suburbs (faubourg des Armeniens, according to a French source, “Armenian settlements outside the city” - in Russian) Number of Armenians was so great that in the plans for the restoration of Armenia, Israel Oriya, it was supposed to recruit 15,000 Armenian soldiers in Ganja
In 1723, the Ottoman army approached Ganja and in October launched an assault on it, which ended in failure. However, the Armenian suburbs were destroyed at the same time. The surviving Armenians fled under the protection of the Armenian army to Nagorno-Karabakh. Ganja was deserted: at the beginning of 1726, a Russian spy reported that “Now in Genzha there are 5 or 6 families of Basurmans from Genzha, and Armenians from 50 families, and other Basurmans have gone to Ardeville and different cities, and the Armenians - in Sognagi (that is, in Karabakh).
Subsequently, Ganja again returned its population, and after the death of Nadir Shah, it became the capital of the semi-independent Ganja Khanate. Shahverdi Khan, a representative of the Ziyadoglu clan, who ruled in Ganja for a long time, became the Khan of Ganja. Ganja became the center of the khanate. In the 80s of the 18th century, during the reign of Javad Khan, the Ganja Khanate was significantly strengthened. It carried out independent foreign policy. The khanate had its own mint in Ganja.
However, in 1803 he clashed with Russia, which at that time entered the war with Persia and whose troops invaded Eastern Transcaucasia. The command of the Russian army considered Ganja "the key to the northern provinces of Persia." General Tsitsianov wrote that the Ganja fortress, due to the favorable geographical location occupied an important place in Azerbaijan and therefore the primary task of Russia was to capture this fortress. Tsitsianov several times offered Javad Khan to surrender voluntarily and each time was refused.
The longer you travel, the better you begin to understand people, or even feel them. But, before intuition connects, we go through a certain experience. We got our dose of experience about the Azerbaijanis on the day when we were going to go to the side Ganja cities (old name Kirovabad).
As usual, after, we turned on main road that went to Ganja. In the city itself, we did not “hitchhike”, deciding to walk a couple of kilometers on foot.
Azerbaijani tea on the roadside.
What I like about Azerbaijan is the openness of the locals, who, when they see tourists on the road, wave to them to join and drink tea with them. This happened to us more than once, but now the morning streets were still too deserted. We walked quite a distance, and thought to take a break at one of the empty street tables. On top lay a board with open backgammon, and inside me the desire to learn to play backgammon involuntarily flared up again. Yes, I don’t know how to play backgammon, but in Azerbaijan they are played almost on every corner, sipping hot tea from figured cups.
I didn’t even think that it could be a cafe until a short uncle came out to us. Russians in Azerbaijan are ready to be seen at the very last turn, therefore, without saying a word, he went back to the cafe and took out a tray with tea and sweets, placing it in front of us. I immediately shook my head, and opened my mouth to say that he was mistaken and we did not order anything. The man understood everything from my eyes even before the first word broke, and quickly put his index finger to his lips, showing that he knows what he is doing, you should not compromise him in front of strangers. The “strangers” turned out to be a couple more people who came up with opposite side roads to gawk at the tourists.
That is, as we understood it was a purely Azerbaijani treat, and I simply answered “thank you”, after which interest in our persons increased significantly, since everyone who surrounded us initially thought that we were Germans. It was clear from the owner’s face that he was extremely happy to see Russians in his homeland again, so he settled down nearby and slowly recalled something from his Soviet youth, learning along the way where we were heading.
The Azerbaijani turned out to be a very pleasant conversationalist, so that we even lingered longer than expected, and when we announced our intentions to move on, he sighed with heavy regret and could not say goodbye for a long time. His words that “it would be great if we stayed” or “be sure to come after Ganja, I will invite you to visit, I will introduce you to my family” sunk into the soul so much (honestly, at that time we didn’t even think of returning to those the same way) that in my head the return path along the same road already automatically began to line up. We said that we would think about it, and if it worked out, we would definitely return.
Sights of the city of Ganja.
The city of Ganja is the second largest in Azerbaijan, after, of course. I didn’t hear about special places, but there seemed to be a couple of pretty mosques and one bottle house.
We were just unlucky with the weather, gray boring clouds hung in the sky all day, so the photos do not differ in special colors. Already at the entrance to the city, we were met by a monument to the famous poet Nizami Ganjavi in a group with pillars-sculptures, original in architecture. By the way, I saw beggars (in the form of gypsies) only here, they are not in Baku.
Our task was to get to the center of Ganja, where most of the sights were located.
The very center is the square with the administration in the center and the Heydar Aliyev Museum on the right.
Literally across the road is the Academy of Sciences with curious torsos.
Don't call it busts.
The first attraction was Juma mosque, it is also called the Shah Abbas Mosque, as it was built during his reign. And it was erected by the astronomer Sheikh Bahauddin, who “hid” a little secret in the mosque. The entire mosque is built of red brick, but on the western side there is one white brick, on which a ray of sunlight should fall at exactly noon. We could not check it, because the weather did not allow.
They didn’t let me inside either, although this is understandable, in shorts (albeit below the knee) entry into the existing mosque is strictly prohibited, this is not Buddhism for you.
But there is another small attraction very close by - Tomb of Javad Khan.
The tomb, despite its medieval architecture, was erected in 2005 and named after the warrior and ruler who died during the capture of Ganja in the early 19th century.
Somewhere in the city, in its very central streets, one of the new sights is hidden - bottle house. The name is very telling for the most ordinary private house. And all because about 50 thousand glass bottles were used in the construction of this unusual building, which the owner and architect of the house Ibrahim Jafarov collected in bags from restaurants and cafes. The name of the city of Ganja is laid out from the glass bottoms of the bottles at the top. The owner himself was a member of the Great Patriotic War and in this way I decided to perpetuate the memory of those who died at that difficult time.
Since the house is private, there can be no question of entering it, and any passer-by or tourist can admire the facade.
We liked the city of Ganja, it turned out to be very clean, there are tiles, urns, flowers, flower beds, monuments, fountains everywhere, planes fly here, you can even try to look for cheap flights from Moscow to Ganja. But this place just struck me, what do you think it is?
Acquaintance with the Azerbaijani mentality.
As you know, it's good to walk around the city, but there is nowhere to sleep there (I mean, we have nowhere). There is no time for five more in the evening, and a morning Azerbaijani invitation pops up in my head. Since everything turned out so well, why not accept the invitation of a new acquaintance, we have not yet been visiting Azerbaijanis. No sooner said than done, we drive back to Mingechauer, it's good that I remember the crossroads where we get off.
A familiar peasant was sitting in the company of two more men. It turned out that one of them is the real owner of the cafe, and the first one just helped him, since there is a small tire fitting room right next door. A curious situation, it turns out that he treated us for free, not at his own expense, but, unfortunately, I thought about this only now, when I am writing this article.
Seeing us, the morning acquaintance was somehow not very happy about our return. But the real boss was more interested in us, since he himself lived for some time in Russia, in particular in Moscow, until he foolishly sold his business there in order to move to his homeland, about which this moment greatly regretted. He spoke Russian perfectly, even using Russian “slang” and humor, he lived with us for a very long time.
We were so carried away talking with him that I completely forgot about our old acquaintance, who invited us to visit, and when I looked where he was supposed to sit, he was not there. I figured he wasn't out for long. But even after 20 and 40 minutes he did not appear. Then I asked the businessman where his friend had gone, to which he calmly replied “he went home.”
Mdaaaaa, here you have Azerbaijani hospitality, he left “in English” and how skillfully that no one noticed. At first, I was offended that, having trusted the peasant, we had to change the route. I told the whole situation to the businessman, he grinned in an experienced way and decided to brighten up our fate with a glass of Azerbaijani okroshka.
Yes, just a glass, they have okroshka - greens with cucumbers, filled with sour tan (fermented milk drink). Unlike the first, this man turned out to be more noble and did not promise what he could not do. We said goodbye to him and decided to at least have time to get to, which was listed in our travel plan, before sunset. Its only drawback, however, was that it was too touristy. But time will tell.
We draw conclusions.
Despite what the Azerbaijani, who invited us to visit and then disappeared, did, I do not hold grudges against him, although I was upset at first. I still could not understand why you should say and promise something that you cannot fulfill? After all, we didn’t impose ourselves, and no one pulled him by the tongue, that’s why this is ?!
And only at the end of my trip to Azerbaijan, I realized that some Azerbaijanis do this not because they want to do dirty tricks, they have such a mentality. I’ll make a reservation right away that this is not inherent in all Azerbaijanis, far from all, but some, to one degree or another, have a desire to “show themselves with better side". Initially, they rely on the modesty of the invitee and begin to show the full breadth of their soul, not at all expecting that he can agree. Perhaps they don’t take it that way, I won’t say, but when the invitee suddenly agrees, then the real show begins a la “how to get out of this situation and at the same time not fall in the eyes of the interlocutor.”
Dynamics of population growth:
- 1897 - 33.6 thousand
- 1939 - 99 thousand
- 1959 - 136 thousand
- 1972 - 195 thousand
- 2003 - 302 thousand
- 2004 - 320 thousand
- 2008 - 397 thousand
National composition: Azerbaijanis make up about 98% of the population, Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars, etc. - 2%
Story
The emergence of the city
Like other cities of modern Azerbaijan (Nakhichevan, Sheki, Shemakha), Ganja arose as a settlement due to its favorable geographical location at the intersection of ancient caravan routes.
According to the anonymous "History of Derbent", Ganja was founded in 859 by Mohammad bin Khaled bin Yazid bin Mazyad from the Yazidids of Shirvan, who ruled Adurbadgan, Arran and Armenia during the time of Caliph al-Mutawakil, and so named because of the treasury located there. Mohammad as the founder of Ganja is also mentioned in Movses Kalankatuatsi's "History of the Alaunk Country":
“After another two years, khazr patgos came, a merciless and ferocious man, but he also died in the same year. But his son came and conquered the country with a sword, set fire to many churches, took the inhabitants in full and went to Baghdad. Then he again came from there by the royal command and built the city of Gandzak in the gavar (district) of Arshakashen in the year 295 (Armenian reckoning) at the expense of the treasury.”
In Gandzak for a long time was the residence of the Catholicos of Caucasian Albania (Agvanka).
One of the evidence of the age of Ganja can be considered the mausoleum of Jomard Gassab, who lived during the reign of the fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abu Talib (656-661). On the ancient territory of the city (Old Ganja), the remains of fortress walls, towers, bridges (XII - early XIII centuries) were found. To the northeast of Old Ganja is the Goy-Imam cult complex (or Imamzade: a mausoleum of the 14th-17th centuries, built in the 17th century with buildings of mosques and tombs). On the territory of the city, the Juma Mosque (1606, architect Bahaaddin), domed residential buildings (XVII-XVIII centuries) have been preserved.
At the beginning of the 7th century and in the 8th century. Eastern Transcaucasia was repeatedly subjected to raids, as a result of which Ganja also suffered significantly. In the first half of the 7th c. Ganja was destroyed by the Persians, and in the second half by the Arabs. At the end of the 7th century the city was turned into a battle arena between the Arabs and the Khazars.
Ganja begins to play an important role in international trade, socio-economic and cultural life of the country. In the life of the city, trade and craft occupied an important place. There was an economic potential for the development of handicrafts. Iron, copper, alum and other mines located near Ganja supplied artisans with raw materials.
With the formation of Ganja as the capital of the country, special attention was paid to strengthening the military power of the city. Already during this period, fortress walls were built, ditches were dug.
In the IX-X centuries. due to the weakening of the Arab caliphate, the territory of modern Azerbaijan was included in the feudal states of the Shirvanshahs, Sajids, Sallarids, Ravvadids.
In the middle of the X century. Ganja, which was under the rule of the Salaridites, became the capital of the Shadadites. During the reign of Fadlun I (895-1030), Ganja became even stronger. The Shaddadids built a fortress, palaces, bridges, caravanserais here and began to mint money. A new, stronger fortress was built around the city.
In 1063 the famous gates of Ganja were created.
As Ganja turned into a major center, its territory also expanded, new commercial and industrial quarters were built. Silk and products made from it won the sympathy of buyers not only from local bazaars, but also from abroad. Since 1918, the city was part of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Seljuk Turks
In the middle of the XI century. Azerbaijan was subjected to invasions of the Seljuks. After capturing Tabriz, Toghrul I (1038-1068) moved towards Ganja in 1054. The ruler of Ganja Shavir agreed to become a vassal of Togrul bey. However, the Seljuk invasions did not stop. In the 70s of the XI century. Fadlun III, the ruler of the Shadadites, seeing the senselessness of the war, surrendered, but after a while, taking advantage of the opportunity, he returned to power. In 1086 the Seljuk ruler Malik Shah (1072-1092) sent his general Bugay to Ganja. Despite the fierce resistance of the local population, the Seljuks captured the city. During the war, the ruler of Ganja, Fadlun III, was captured and thus ended the reign of the Shadadi dynasty, which ruled for more than 100 years.
Malik Shah entrusted the rule of Ganja to his son Giyas ad-din Tapar. Giyas ad-din Mohammed Tapar, and after his election as sultan (1105-1117), still remained one of the main residents of the Seljuk rulers of Ganja.
In the first half of the XII century. Ganja was invaded several times by Georgians, in response to this, the Seljuk troops invaded Georgia and robbed it.
Another event related to Ganja was a huge earthquake that occurred on September 25, 1139 and destroyed the city, which was therefore moved to another place. As a result of the earthquake, a number of dammed lakes formed in this area - Gek-gel, Maral-gel, Jeyran-gel, Ordek-gel, Zaligelyu, Aggel, Garagel and Shamlygel. The ruins of ancient Ganja are located seven kilometers from the modern city, downstream of the river.
Taking advantage of the destruction of the city and the absence of the ruler, the Georgian king Demetrius attacked the city, captured many trophies and took with him the famous gates of Ganja, which are still kept in the courtyard of the Kelat monastery in Georgia.
With the formation of the Atabek state (see Iranian Azerbaijan), Ganja became the residence of the Atabek ruler of Arran.
Beginning of the XII-XIII centuries. can be called the heyday of Ganja - the second capital of the Atabey state, because due to the fact that its products became known far beyond the borders of the country, it rose to the level of the "mother of Arran cities". The fabric that was produced here and called "Ganja silk" was highly appreciated in the markets of neighboring countries and the Middle East.
Between Russia and Iran
In the XVIII century. Ganja is the center of the Ganja Khanate.
At the end of 1803, the Russian detachment of Prince P.D. entered Ganja. Tsitsianov (up to 2 thousand people). Gyandzhinsky refused Tsitsianov's demand to submit to Javad Khan. On the outskirts of Ganja, he fought the Russians, but was defeated and fled to the fortress, losing 250 people. killed; Russians lost 70 people.
On January 3, 1804, at 5:30 am, Tsitsianov's troops attacked Ganja in two columns. In addition to the Russians, up to 700 Azerbaijani militias and volunteers from other khanates, opponents of Javad Khan, took part in the assault. Ganja was a very powerful fortress. It was surrounded by double walls (outer - adobe and inner - stone), the height of which reached 8 meters. The walls were reinforced with 6 towers. On the third attempt, the Russians managed to overcome the walls and break into the fortress, and Javad Khan died in the battle on the walls. By noon, Ganja was taken. The Ganja Khanate was annexed to Russia, and Ganja itself was renamed Elizavetpol (in honor of Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna, the wife of Alexander I.
This led to the Russo-Iranian War of 1804-1813. The Iranian army several times outnumbered the Russian army in Transcaucasia, but was significantly inferior to them in military art, combat training and organization. Main fighting took place on both sides of Lake Sevan in two directions - Erivan and Ganja, where the main roads to Tiflis (Tbilisi) passed.
In October 1813, Iran was forced to conclude the Gulistan peace treaty, according to which it recognized the annexation of Dagestan and Northern Azerbaijan to Russia.
Since 1868 Elizavetpol has been the center of the Elizavetpol province.
In 1883 it was connected by railroad with Baku, Tbilisi and Batumi.
20th century
According to the data for 1892, there were 25,758 inhabitants in Ganja (of which 13,392 were Muslim Tatars (Azerbaijanis), and 10,524 were Armenians). There were 13 mosques, 6 Armenian churches and 2 Russian Orthodox churches in the city. The main Jumaa Mosque (Jami Ganja), built by Shah Abbas in 1620, is crowned with a huge dome and surrounded by many cells and rooms for Muslim students. Of the churches, the oldest is the Church of Surb Hovhannes Mkrtich (St. John the Baptist) - 1633; the Armenian Cathedral, 20 meters high, was completed in 1869.
At the beginning of the 20th century, 6 Armenian Apostolic churches, 2 Russian Orthodox churches and 13 mosques functioned in the city. Of the surviving Armenian apostolic churches, the most venerable is the church of St. Hovhannes Mkrtich, on the southern wall of which, under the sundial, an inscription was carved, certifying that this church of St. Hovhannes Mkrtich (John the Baptist) was built under Catholicos Hovhannes in 1633.
Ganja in the first half of the 20th century is an unusually beautiful city with wide planned streets, overshadowed by the famous Ganja plane trees throughout the Caucasus. From behind the spreading centuries-old giants with trunks several human girths, a peculiar architecture of houses peeped out. Houses in Ganja were predominantly two-story, with obligatory arched gates, in which an arched gate was carved. The presence of homestead courtyards was also an obligatory attribute of Ganja houses. Almost all types of fruits known in the Caucasus grew in the gardens, but the Ganja persimmon and pomegranate were especially famous.
In the autumn of 1905, bloody clashes between Armenians and Tatars took place in the city (see Armenian-Tatar massacre of 1905-1906, as a result of which the population was divided: Muslims concentrated on the left, Armenians on the right bank of the river. Inter-ethnic clashes were also in 1918-1920 gg.
On January 22, 1918, at the Shamkhor station, not far from Ganja, thousands of soldiers were killed and wounded by armed bands of nationalists. Russian army returning from the Caucasian front to Russia.
In June 1918, the first Musavat government of Azerbaijan moved from Tiflis to Ganja, in particular, restoring the historical name of the city; it was in Ganja until September, when it moved to Baku, taken by the Turks.
On the night of May 25-26, 1920, a Musavat rebellion was raised here, which was liquidated within a week.
In Soviet times, Ganja (Kirovabad) became the second industrial and cultural center of Azerbaijan after Baku.
On November 22, 1988, Armenian pogroms began in the city, accompanied by real battles on the borders of the Armenian quarter. After that, the many thousands ethnic Armenian population of the city was completely evacuated to Armenia, their houses and property were plundered.
Climate
- Average annual temperature - +13.4 C°
- Average annual wind speed - 2.5 m/s
- Average annual air humidity - 68%