Julfa District ( az, Culfa rayonu) is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic 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 t ...

. The district borders the districts of

Ordubad Ordubad is the second largest city of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the capital of an eponymous district. Ordubad is a medieval city of the Caucasus and in its current capacity of a town was founded in the 18th century. The town ...

, Babek, Shahbuz, as well as the

Syunik Province Syunik ( hy, Սյունիք, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. It ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

and the

East Azerbaijan Province East Azerbaijan Province ( fa, استان آذربایجان شرقی ''Āzarbāijān-e Sharqi''; az-Arab, شرقی آذربایجان اوستانی) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armeni ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Its capital and largest city is Julfa. As of 2020, the district had a population of 47,000.

History

Established in 1930 and initially named Abragunus, it has been called Julfa District since 1950. The names, Jolfa/Julfa are also used for several regions in neighboring

. On November 28, 2014, by the decree of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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

, the Nahajir and Goynuk villages of Julfa District were removed and added to the territory of

Babek District Babek District () is one of the 7 districts of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The district borders the districts of Julfa, Shahbuz, Kangarli, Nakhchivan city, as well as the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia and the East Azerb ...

Geography

The district borders

to the North-East, and

to the South. Julfa District is in the east from Nakhchivan city. ''Damirlidagh Mountain'' (3368 m) is the highest point of the district. Summer of the district is hot and dry, but winter is cold. Average temperature in January is between -10 and -3 °C, in July between +19 and +28 °C. Amount of annual precipitation is 200–600 mm. The Alinja, Garadara Rivers and the

Aras River , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...

(along the border with Iran) flow through the district's territory. There are forest massifs in the mountains where trees such as

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, beech and

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

grow. Fauna is represented by such animals as

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

, fox and rabbit.

Population

Compared to 1980, at the beginning of the 2005 the district's population increased of about 13,177 people or a 52.4%. On average density per 1 km2 is 39 persons. Its large settlements are the Julfa city and the villages of the Yayji, Abragunus and Bananiyar. According to the

State Statistics Committee The State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Dövlət Statistika Komitəsi) is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of collection, processing and disseminating statistical data ...

, as of 2018, the population of city recorded 46,400 persons, which increased by 10,000 persons (about 27.4 percent) from 36,400 persons in 2000. 23,300 of total population are men, 23,100 are women. More than 25,4 percent of the population (about 11,800 persons) consists of young people and teenagers aged 14–29.

Cultural heritage

On the banks of the Araz River are remains of structures belonging to the medieval Armenian settlement of Jugha, also known as Old Julfa. Its principle monument, a cemetery containing some 4000 grave markers, was completely destroyed in 2006. Believed to be still surviving are the ruins of a 13th-century caravanserai - one of the largest on the territory of Azerbaijan, and the ruins of a bridge dated to the beginning of the 14th century, built by decree of Nakchivan Khan ''Khakim Ziya Ad-Din''. There is the small

Gulustan Mausoleum The Gulustan Mausoleum ( az, Gülüstan türbəsi), also known as the Dasht ("fields") Mausoleum, and the Vardut (Armenian for "roses") Mausoleum after the site's original name., is a medieval sepulchral monument in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan region. ...

(13th century) near the village of Gülüstan and more mausoleums near the village of Darkənd (particularly well preserved is the Tower Mausoleum (15th century). Further inland from the river there is the fortress of Alindzha (12th-13th centuries) and a number of other monuments and ancient ruins.

References

{{Authority control Districts of Azerbaijan Subdivisions of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic