Shoghakat ( hy, Շողակաթ) is a village and a rural community in the

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik ( hy, Գեղարքունիք, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part of Armenia, bordering Azerbaijan. It includes the exclave of Artsvashe ...

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 ''Ox ...

, located near

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan ( hy, Սևանա լիճ, Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, ...

, northwest of the Artanish Peninsula. The village was founded in the 1810s by

Mordvins The Mordvins (also Unified Mordvin people, Mordvinians, Mordovians; russian: мордва, Mordva, Mordvins (no equivalents in Moksha and Erzya)) is an obsolete but official term used in the Russian Federation to refer both to Erzyas and Moksh ...

exiled from Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century Turks settled in the village. In 1988-1989 Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan settled in the village.

Toponymy

The village was formerly known as ''Nadezhdino'', ''Shordzhalu'' and later ''Shorzha'' ( hy, Շորժա) until November 2017.

Historical sites

A 17th-century chapel and cemetery are located along the southern outskirts of the village. On the hill overlooking Shoghakat, there are the ruins of another chapel. Remains of an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

fort can be seen in same area.

Nature

The Artanish peninsula of

with a hill of the same name, is located close to the village. Sea-buckthorn (''

Hippophae ''Hippophae'' is the genus of sea buckthorns, deciduous shrubs in the family Elaeagnaceae. The name sea buckthorn may be hyphenated to avoid confusion with the unrelated true buckthorns (''Rhamnus'', family Rhamnaceae). It is also referred to a ...

'') with wild-growing edible sour berries grow at the shores of Lake Sevan. Planted after the lowering of the level of

in the Soviet period. The vicinity of the village hosts 111 species of butterflies and is recognized as the Prime Butterfly Area "Artanish-Shoghakat". Also the area is known as one of the key birding sites of Armenia.

Infrastructure

The village can be accessed via Armenian road M14 (repaired in 2020-21) running along the north-east shore of

either from

Tsovagyugh Tsovagyugh ( hy, Ծովագյուղ) is a village in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. History The village contains church ruins, and upon an egg-shaped hill to the northeast are the remains of an Iron Age fort. Gallery Tsovagyugh WW2 ...

village (in the northwest of Shoghakat) or from

Vardenis Vardenis ( hy, Վարդենիս) is a town and urban municipal community in the southeastern part of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is located in the valley of the Masrik River, on the territory of the Masrik artesian basin at above s ...

(in the south-east). Another road connects it to the town of

Chambarak Chambarak ( hy, Ճամբարակ, ) is a town and urban municipal community in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. Per the 2011 census, the population of the town was 5,850. The municipal community of Chambarak has a population of 12,416 people. ...

in the north-west. In summer, passenger trains of South Caucasus Railways commute from

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

, via the towns of

Hrazdan Hrazdan ( hy, wikt:Հրազդան, Հրազդան), is a town and urban municipal community in Armenia serving as the administrative centre of Kotayk Province, located northeast of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the population of the ...

and Sevan.

Recreation

The shores of

near the village hosts several popular camping sites. Most popular is perhaps the camping site called "Whishup" (a wordplay with ''

Vishap The Vishap (Վիշապ) is a dragon in Armenian mythology closely associated with water, similar to the Leviathan. It is usually depicted as a winged snake or with a combination of elements from different animals. Mount Ararat was the main home o ...

'', "dragon" in Armenian) located between the road and lakeshore at about 1.5 km from the village towards Tsovagyugh. Various water sports, like

wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

, are practiced there and some equipment is available for rent along a sandy beach with a cafe. In summer evenings concerts are held at the stage on the beach. On the opposite side of the Artanish peninsula, the yachting clubs " Ayas" and "Armenian camp" can be found. Sailing and

paddling Paddling with regard to watercraft is the act of manually propelling a boat using a paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel. The paddle is not connected to the boat (unlike in r ...

equipment can be rented there and guided tours on a sailing ship can be booked. A copy of a medieval Armenian sea vessel is placed there. Built in the 90's and named ''Cilicia'' (referring to

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...

, where such vessels were built and used) it sailed round Europe, and was brought back to

. There is also a diver's club located nearby.

Municipal administration

After administrative reforms in November 2017, the name of the village was changed from Shorzha to Shoghakat and it was assigned as the administrative centre of the same-name rural municipality including the villages of

Aghberk Aghberk ( hy, Աղբերք; az, Ağbulaq, anglicized: ''Aghbulag'') is a village in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. The village was populated by Azerbaijanis before the exodus of Azerbaijanis from Armenia after the outbreak of the Nagorno-Ka ...

, Artanish, Drakhtik, Jil and Tsapatagh.

Gallery

Shorzha Chapel.JPG, 17th-century chapel on the outskirts of the village Artanish.jpg, Hilltop of Artanish peninsula Շորժա, համայնապատկեր 4.jpg, Shoghakat as viewed from atop the adjacent hill with chapel ruins Railroad station in Shorzha (Gegarkunik, Armenia).jpg, Railroad station Շորժա, հուշարձան նվիրված Արցախյան պատերազմին.jpg, Monument to the fallen in the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in th ...

Շորժայի գյուղապետարան.jpg, Municipality building

References

External links

* * {{portal bar, Geography Populated places in Gegharkunik Province Erivan Governorate