Kiş (also, Kish and Kish-Kishlak) is a village and municipality in the

Shaki Rayon Shaki District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. Located in the north of the country, it belongs to the Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qakh, Oghuz, Agdash, Yevlakh, and the Russian Republic o ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. It is located approximately 5 km north of Shaki. It has a population of 6,244.

Geography

The village is situated on the shore of the Kish river. The main part of the village surrounded by the mountains is located at the foot of Mount Tat. The nearest neighboring villages are Baltali, Okhud and Kuhmukh.

Demography

Kish has more than 6500 people according to the results of population census conducted in 2009.

History

According to Movses Kaghankatvatsi, in the 1st century A.D. St. Elishe, a disciple of

Thaddeus of Edessa According to Eastern Christian tradition, Addai of Edessa ( Syriac: ܡܪܝ ܐܕܝ, Mar Addai or Mor Aday sometimes Latinized Addeus) or Thaddeus of Edessa was one of the seventy disciples of Jesus. Life Based on various Eastern Christian ...

, arrived to a place called Gis, where he built a church and recited a liturgy. The church became the "spiritual center and the place of enlightenment of people of the East". On his way from Gis St. Elishe was killed near the pagan altar in small Zerguni valley by unknown people. According to the Baku eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, the location of Gis mentioned by Movses Kaghankatvatsi is identified with the present-day Kish, located on the left bank of river Kura, in Shaki district of Azerbaijan. The Church of Kish was the first church built in

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus, mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...

and in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. However, according to Armenian commentator Karapetian, the geographical position of Kish does not seem to match that described by Kaghankatvatsi. Karapetian believes that they have identified Gis as the village of Bomen / Bum 60 km to the south-east of Kish, in Gabala district, Uti (Utik) province. According to Georgian historiography, in the 10th century, the population of Kish converted to the Georgian Orthodox Church. Known at the time as part of Sourb Asvatzatzin Church, Kish turned into a residence of Georgian bishop, functioning till 17th century. The population of Kish converted to Islam in 1720s; however, when Russia later took possession of the region, some villagers returned to Christian faith. In 1836, the Albanian church, along with all active churches in this region that were not Georgian or Russian, was incorporated into the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

, and the Church of Kish was refounded in 1860s and became a place of pilgrimage due to the belief that it was associated with St. Elishe (Yegishe).

Sightseeing

The main historical attraction of the village is the above-mentioned ancient Church of Kish. Since 2003 the temple has been functioning as a museum, inside of which copies of archaeological finds are exhibited. Also, opposite the temple is a monument to the famous Norwegian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

, who visited the village during archaeological excavations in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. In addition, there are 4 fortresses in Kish: " Galarsan-Gorarsan" and fortresses of "Duluzlar", "Salayuşağı" and "Maaflar" neighbourhoods of Kish. File:Gələrsən-Görərsən qalası.jpg, South gate of Galarsan-Gorarsan fortress File:Church, Kish (P1090438).jpg, Church of Kish File:ThorHeyerdahl.Sheki.jpg, Bust of

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kis, Shaki Populated places in Shaki District Elizavetpol Governorate