Vayqan-e Maqadas ( fa, وايقان مقدس, also
Romanize
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
d as Vāyqān-e Maqadas; also known as Vayān, Vayghan, Vāyqān, Vāyqān-e Ā’īnehlū, and Voyān) is a village in
Minjavan-e Gharbi Rural District
Minjavan-e Sharqi Rural District ( fa, دهستان منجوان غربی) is a rural district (''dehestan'') in Minjavan District, Khoda Afarin County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 4,378 in 931 families. ...
,
Minjavan District
Minjavan District ( fa, بخش منجوان) is a district (bakhsh) in Khoda Afarin County, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. its capital is Asheqlu city. The District has three rural districts (''dehestan''): Dizmar-e Sharqi Rural District, Minja ...
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Khoda Afarin County
Khoda Afarin County ( fa, شهرستان خداآفرین) is in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The capital of the county is the city of Khomarlu. At the 2006 census, the county's population (as Khoda Afarin District of Kaleybar County) was ...
,
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 Armenia, ...
,
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 ...
. At the 2006 census, its population was 46, in 13 families.
Situation
Online edition of the Dehkhoda Dictionary, quoting Iranian Army files, reports a population of 137 people in late 1940s. According to locals, by 1978 a middle school had been built and the village, housing 120 families, was planned to be expanded to receive more families from surrounding villages, which would be evacuated by the environment organization of Iran. During the turbulent year of the Islamic Revolution, many families emigrated to the suburbs of
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
and joined those who had been settled there in the earlier mass immigration of 1964-1970 following the land reform. Consequently, by the year 2000, the village was at the verge of total desertion.
In a dramatic change of course, the expatriates have started building summer residences in the village since 2007. At the moment the village is experiencing a construction boom. This is evident from a more recent statistics (2011) which reported the population of 88 people in 40 families.
Characteristic Features of Vayqan
Before the Islamic revolution, Vayqan was known as the most religious among the villages of the district. An established family of clerics and a family of pious
Sayyid
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...
s were living in the village; a feature quiet unique for the region and sufficient to provide the village with the epithet Moqadas (meaning holy). In addition, a holy icons, known as toq, was placed in the mosque and allegedly showed miraculous feats during the mourning period of
Muharram
Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after R ...
.
Vayqan is home to a family of snake catchers, whose members have an intrinsic ability to effortlessly catch any poisonous snake.
Vayan in spring.jpg, Vayqan; June 2011
File:Vayqan-e Maqadas.jpg, Vayqan; June 2011
References
Populated places in Khoda Afarin County
{{KhodaAfarin-geo-stub