Balakən (; av, Билкан) is a city and the administrative centre of the Balakan District of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. The city is situated at the foot of the

Greater Caucasus Mountains The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...

and on the Balakan river, a tributary of the

Alazani River The Alazani ( ka, ალაზანი, az, Qanıx) is a river that flows through the Caucasus. It is the main tributary of the Kura in eastern Georgia, and flows for . Part of its path forms the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan, before i ...

Etymology

According to the ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names'', the name ''Balakan'' may be derived from an

Old Georgian Old Georgian (ႤႬႠჂ ႵႠႰႧႭჃႪႨ, ''enay kartuli'') was a literary language of the Georgian monarchies attested from the 5th century. The language remains in use as the liturgical language of the Georgian Orthodox Church and for ...

word "ბელის კანი (belis k'ani)" meaning "skin of a bear cub".

History

Throughout its history, the city was ruled by different kingdoms and khanates. In 1918–1920, Balakan was

disputed Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

between

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian Az ...

and

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა ') was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to ...

until both countries were occupied by Soviet Russia and the city became part of

Azerbaijan SSR Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...

. In 1965, Balakan gained

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

status after the Azerbaijani government's approval.Balakan Government's Official Website

Economy

The economy of Balakan is partially agricultural, partially tourist-based, with some industries in operation.

Society and Culture

Demography

The majority of the population of Balakan is ethnic

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...

. There's a significant minority of Avars and smaller minorities of Ingiloys (a subgroup of

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

). According to a 2005 survey, 85% of the population was ethnic Azerbaijani, 14% Avar, and the remaining 1% consisted of other ethnicities.

Cuisine

Balakan's signature cuisine includes ''maxara'', ''cüttü'', chicken chigirtma and Balakan

halva Halva (also halvah, halwa, and other spellings, Persian : حلوا) is a type of confectionery originating from Persia and widely spread throughout the Middle East. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made f ...

Gallery

File:Park in Balaken.jpg, Central Park in the city File:BalakenCentralPark.jpg, View of the central park of Balakan File:IMAG2180 1(1).jpg, Nature of Balakan File:Balakən Mədəniyyət Mərkəzi 2013.jpg, Balakan Culture House File:Azerbaycan Balaken.jpg, Forest in Balakan File:Ilham Aliyev attended opening of Balakan Automated Management and Control Center owned by “Azərİşıq” OJSC 02.jpg, Center of

Azerishiq Azerishiq is the Baku electrical grid operator. History The first power plant in Baku was installed in 1895 in the "Bakinski dock" on Bayil highway. In 1903, the number of power stations reached 70. The Baku electricity grid began operating in ...

in Balakan

References

External links

* Populated places in Balakan District Avar-speaking countries and territories {{Balakan-geo-stub