Qusar District (; az, Qusar rayonu; lez, КцIар район, script=Latn) is one of the 66

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

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 ...

. It is located in the north-east of the country and belongs to the Guba-Khachmaz Economic Region. The district borders the districts of

Quba Quba () is a city and the administrative centre of the Quba District of Azerbaijan. The city lies on the north-eastern slopes of Shahdag mountain, at an altitude of 600 metres above sea level, on the right bank of the Kudyal river. It has a po ...

, Qabala, Khachmaz, and the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

Republic of Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...

. Its capital and largest city is

Qusar Qusar District (; az, Qusar rayonu; lez, КцIар район, script=Latn) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north-east of the country and belongs to the Guba-Khachmaz Economic Region. The district borders the dis ...

. As of 2020, the district had a population of 99,000.

Toponymy

There are several theories about the origin of the word "Qusar". One of them is that the word "qusar" comes from the

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...

, meaning "cavalry warrior". "Qusar" regiment was organized in this territory in 1783–1784. The district was probably named "Qusar" after the name of the regiment. There is another theory that the word "qusar" derived from an ancient Turkish tribe called "qus/ quz" with the prefix "ar" meaning male. Abbasgulu Bakikhanov used the word "qusar" in his book ''Golestan-i Iram'' to refer to a village.

History

The earliest sediments in the district belong to the

Jurassic Period The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

, 135–145 million years old. It is estimated that life in the Qusar district has been existing since the 2nd millennium B.C. Mahmudtapa, the hills of Monsar, the Govdushan hills, the hills of Hafla belonging to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, the hills of Kyzylgul and Agahan, the Halakhur hills belonging to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

are ancient dwellings dating back to the 1st millennium B.C. The district was originated in 1930 and called Gil District with a centre in Gil village. In 1934, the centre of the district was moved to Qusar, and in 1938 it was renamed Qusar District. Administrative structure: * Qullar village *

Urva Urva (also, Urvan, lez, Вурвар) is a village and municipality in the Qusar Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 2,472. The municipality consists of the villages of Urva and Urvaoba Urvaoba is a village in the municipality of Urva ...

village

Geography

Qusar is located in

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

n continent, in the north-eastern inclination of the main Caucasus Mountain ridge. It is located between 41°11’41°45’ latitude North and 47°52’48°41’ longitude East. Mountains, among which is also Shahdagh Mount, take the great part of the rayon. The territory of the rayon occupies the northeastern part of Azerbaijan. Qusar is a unique gate of the republic. Even in ancient times, the territory of the rayon took a good position on a junction of the main trade roads. It is from Qusar to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

, the capital of Azerbaijan. The local relief within Qusar district consists of

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

s and

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s. Mineral sources such as

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

chalcopyrite Chalcopyrite ( ) is a copper iron sulfide mineral and the most abundant copper ore mineral. It has the chemical formula CuFeS2 and crystallizes in the tetragonal system. It has a brassy to golden yellow color and a hardness of 3.5 to 4 on the Mo ...

limonite Limonite () is an iron ore consisting of a mixture of hydrated iron(III) oxide-hydroxides in varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO(OH)·H2O, although this is not entirely accurate as the ratio of oxide to hydroxide ...

, and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

are common in the district. Qusar and Samur are main rivers of the Qusar District. Qusar rayon is located far from sea routes. The most nearest seas to it are the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

() and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

(). Area of the rayon consists of , occupying 1.7% of the area of Azerbaijan. Qusar is the 14th largest rayon in Azerbaijan. The Qusar rayon spans east-west, by north-south. Extreme points of the district are: * In North –

Suduroba Suduroba is a village in the municipality of İmamqulukənd in the Qusar Rayon of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcon ...

* In South – * In East – * In West – Bazarduzu summit Length of the district's borders is . Extension of the borders in kilometres: # Dagestan Republic (with Akhtin, Dokuzpara and Mahammadkend rayons) . # Qabala District . # Quba District . # Khachmaz District .

Flora and fauna

Oak,

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small an ...

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 ...

are often found in the forest areas. Natural herbs such as

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus '' Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

sumac Sumac ( or ), also spelled sumach, is any of about 35 species of flowering plants in the genus ''Rhus'' and related genera in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae). Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, including Eas ...

, hawthorn, wild grapes and

blackberries The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus' ...

are also grown in the forests. Wolf, fox,

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the No ...

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

mountain goat The mountain goat (''Oreamnos americanus''), also known as the Rocky Mountain goat, is a hoofed mammal endemic to mountainous areas of western North America. A subalpine to alpine species, it is a sure-footed climber commonly seen on cliffs an ...

and

rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...

are particular for forests of the district. There are wild pigeons, quails, green ducks and

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perd ...

birds in the fields and lakes. On the territory of the district, Qusar State Nature Sanctuary was established according to the resolution of the Council of Ministers 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 ...

dated February 24, 1964, on an area of 15,000 hectares with the purpose of preserving and increasing the number of animals and birds (

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

roe Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species i ...

) inhabiting here.

Population

According to data of 2007, the population of the rayon consists of people; 90.63% are

Lezgins Lezgins or Leks ( lez, Лезгияр, Лекьер. lezgijar) are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northeastern Azerbaijan. The Lezgin are predominantly Sunni Muslims and s ...

and 9.06% are the

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 nume ...

. According to the data of 2009, Lezgins are 90.5%, Azerbaijanis are 9.1%, and other nationalities comprise 0.4%. As of 2016, the population of the rayon grew to people. Lezgins constituted 2% of the total population of Azerbaijan in 2009 who commonly settled in Qusar district. National composition was indicated below in accordance with statistics in 2009. The

urban population An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

in 2017 accounted for 21% and 79% of the district's population lives in the village. 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 97,200 persons, which increased by 15,400 persons (about 18.8 percent) from 81,800 persons in 2000. 48,600 of total population are men, 48,600 are women. More than 26,9 percent of the population (about 26,200 persons) consists of young people and teenagers aged 14–29.

Religion

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

98%

Sports and tourism

Qusar is home to

Shahdag Mountain Resort Shahdagh Mountain Resort is Azerbaijan's first and largest winter resort. Resort The Shahdag Mountain Resort Complex (Şahdağ Turizm Merkezi) opened to the public in 2012. It is located in the Azerbaijan's Greater Caucasus range, the site is lo ...

, one of the biggest ski resorts in Caucasus and Azerbaijan's first and largest winter resort. Tourist facilities also include such recreational areas as "Alpine Gusar", "Star Gusar", "Gayi Bulak", mountain tourism recreation area "Suvar" and Olympic Sports Complex.

Sightseeing

There are 2 architectural and 46 archaeological monuments in Qusar. The remains of the 13th century fortress in the village of Anigh, the Shaykh Junayd Mausoleum built in 1544 in the village of Hazra (Yargun), are protected by the government as significant architectural monuments of the country. There are also Kohne Khudat and Huray mosques, belonging to the 18th century, Gil, Gyunduzgala and Hasangala mosques, belonging to the 19th century. There is a museum named after Russian poet

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

Education

There are 48

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

s, 86 general-education schools, 4 non-formal and 13

pre-school education A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary schoo ...

facilities. In addition, 3 large sports facilities are functioning in Gusar district: Olympic Sports Complex, Central Stadium named after Shovkat Ordukhanov, Children and Youth Sports School.

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...

is a basis of the region's economy. Sown area comprises (42.2%) of the of land suitable for agriculture. The area of irrigated lands is . Agriculture of this region is based on two main fields –

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropon ...

production and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

Wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

, corn, beans, potatoes, apples, pears, nuts, tomatoes and cabbage are the main crops grown in Qusar. There are more than 5000 hectares of fruit gardens. Nearly 68% of these gardens constitute apple gardens. In order to keep the fruits, cold storage rooms in Chubuglu village (capacity of 4000 tons), Samur settlement (800 tons) and in Yeni Hayat village (2000 tons) were built with governmental support.

Health-care

There are 3 hospital establishments, 19 health posts, 38 medical centres and 61 medical institutions in the Qusar district.

Honorable residents

Heroes of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

: * '' Mirza Valiyev'' * '' Adil Guliyev''

Administrative structure

There is 1 city (

), 1 settlement (Samur) and 88 villages in the district which has a territory of 1542 km². Some of the villages are Anig, Laza, Uzdenoba, Gyunduzkala, Duztahir, Zindanmurug, Suvadzhal,

Hiloba Hiloba (also, Gil’, Gil’-Kish, and Gil’oba) is a village and municipality in the Qusar Rayon of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Re ...

, Chilegir and Yukhary Leger. The current head of the

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

's executive power is Shair Alkhanov since 2007. Under the head of the executive authority, there is acted Council consisted of thirteen members. Villages are controlled by overall 29 municipalities.

References

External links

www.kycap.com

Lezgi Informational Entertainment Port--- www.zilezgi.narod.ru
{{Authority control Districts of Azerbaijan