Sirab (also, Siab and Surab) is a village and municipality in the

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 ...

of Nakhchivan,

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 14 km in the north-east from the district center, on the foothill area. Its population is busy with grain-growing, vegetable-growing, beekeeping and animal husbandry. There are secondary school, two library, culture house, mosque and a medical center in the village. It has a population of 2,730. The Sirab mineral water deposit is near the village.

Etymology

In the folk etymology, the toponym means "main water" (Sərab) or "mysterious water" (Sirab). According to the researchers, the name made out of a combination from the Persian words of ''Sir'' (rich, saturated) and ''Ab'' (water) and means "abundant water, water-saturated". In 1979, near the village was opened for the use, the Sirab Water Reservoir.''Encyclopedic dictionary of Azerbaijan toponyms''. In two volumes. Volume I. p. 304. Baku: "East-West". 2007. .

Historical and archaeological monuments

Dashgala Cave

''Dashgala Cave'' - the ancient karst cave in the ''Sarıdağ Mountain'', in the north-west of the Sirab village of Babek rayon. It is also called ''Sirab cave'' among the local population. It is believed that the cave is the oldest human settlement.

Sirab Necropolis

''Sirab Necropolis'' - the archaeological monument of 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 a ...

in the south of the same named village of the Babek rayon. Its area is about 5 hectares. Basically, it consist from rectangle of soil graves oriented towards from the west to east. Most of the head stones of the graves have fallen. Some of the kept head stones consisted of flat stone slabs, upper part of them have been completed in the crown-shaped. Some of the head stones, are found the writing in

Arabic-language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. There are also inscriptions in Arabic-language on the upper part of the head stones in the ram shaped.

References

* Populated places in Babek District {{Nakhchivan-geo-stub