Vedi ( hy, Վեդի), is a town and urban municipal community in the

Ararat Province Ararat ( hy, Արարատ, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is the town of Artashat. The province is named after the biblical Mount Ararat. It is bordered by Turkey from the west and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan ...

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 along the Vedi River, south of the capital

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 ...

, and southeast of the provincial centre

Artashat Artashat ( hy, Արտաշատ); Hellenized as Artaxata ( el, Ἀρτάξατα) and Artaxiasata ( grc, Ἀρταξιάσατα), was a large commercial city and the capital of ancient Armenia during the reign of king Artaxias I; the founder of t ...

. According to the 2011 census, the population of the town was 11,384. As per the 2016 official estimate, Vedi has a population of around 10,600.

Etymology

The name ''Vedi'' is derived from the Arabic word ''wadi'' ( ar, وادي), meaning ''valley''. It may have been incorporated into Armenian through the Persian language. The town has been occasionally known as ''Verin Vedi'' (''Upper Vedi'' in Armenian). It was officially renamed ''Vedi'' in 1946.

History

The territory of Vedi has been settled since the

Urartian Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushpa, ...

period. However, the name Vedi was first mentioned during the 13th century by historian

Stephen Orbelian Stepanos Orbelian ( hy, Ստեփանոս Օրբելեան, originally spelled hy, Ստեփաննոս, translit=Stepʻannos, label=none; – 1303) was a thirteenth-century Armenian historian and the metropolitan bishop of the province of Syu ...

in his book ''History of the Province of Syunik''. Following the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828 and the signing of the

Treaty of Turkmenchay The Treaty of Turkmenchay ( fa, عهدنامه ترکمنچای; russian: Туркманчайский договор) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–28). It was second o ...

between

Qajar Iran Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1828, Vedi became part of

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

. During the 1830s, around 500 Armenians were allowed to move from the Persian city of Maku to Böyük Vedi. In 1849, the settlement became part of the

Erivan Governorate The Erivan Governorate was a province (''guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centеr in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometеrs, roughly correspondin ...

of the Russian Empire. Armenian Genocide Memorial COmplex, Vedi

During the 2nd decade of the 20th century, Many Western Armenian families from the Ottoman cities of

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

, Shatakh and

Mush In multiplayer online games, a MUSH (a backronymed variation on MUD most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a text-based online social medium to which mult ...

migrated to Vedi, escaping the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

. In 1918, Böyük Vedi became a separate ''gavar'' (''administrative district'') within the independent republic of Armenia. During the period of the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920), Böyük Vedi was one of the main centres of

Muslim rebellion 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 Abraham ...

against Armenia. On 12 July 1920, the Armenian army recaptured the settlement from local Turkic rebels. Vedi kaghaki mutqy (2)

Following the Sovietization of Armenia, Böyük Vedi became the part of the newly-formed ''Vedi raion'' in 1930. In 1946, the settlement was officially renamed ''Vedi''. During the 1940s and 1950s, Armenian population became majority in Vedi, through a new wave of resettled families from the areas of

Sisian Sisian ( hy, Սիսիան) is a town and the centre of the urban community of Sisian, in the Syunik Province in southern Armenia. It is located on the Vorotan River, 6 km south of the Yerevan-Meghri highway, at a road distance of 217 km southeast ...

Yeghegnadzor Yeghegnadzor ( hy, Եղեգնաձոր) is a town and urban municipal community in southern Armenia, serving as the provincial capital of Vayots Dzor Province. It is located at a road distance of 123 km south of the capital Yerevan, on the s ...

and Martuni. In 1963, Vedi was given the status of an

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...

. In 1968, the ''Vedi raion'' was renamed ''Ararat raion''. After the independence of Armenia, Vedi was given the status of a town as per the administrative reforms of 1995.

Geography

Vedi is located around 35 km south of the capital Yerevan, on the right bank of Vedi river, at the eastern part of the fertile Ararat plain. The town has an average height of 900 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. The Goravan semi-desert forms a natural border at the south of the town, while the mountains of Urts form the natural borders of Vedi to the north. The climate of Vedi is characterized with extremely cold and snowy winters. The temperature could reach down to -32 °C during the month of December. Summer is relatively hot in Vedi extending between May and October, with an average temperature of 25 °C. Average precipitation level is around 225 mm annually.

Demographics

Vedi was a considerably large settlement until the 17th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, it had around 250 families with a 95% majority of Caucasian Tatars (later known as

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 numer ...

) and 5% of Armenians. After the Russian occupation in 1828, Armenian migrants from Maku arrived in Vedi. Western Armenian families from

, Shatakh and

were resettled in Vedi as a result of the

. However, Vedi remained a settlement with a majority of Caucasian Tatars until the 1940s when Armenians from

and Martuni were resettled in the town. Thus, Vedi is considered a highly diversified town in terms of the cultural and regional background of its citizens. Currently, Vedi is almost entirely populated by Armenians who belong to the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

. The town's Holy Mother of God Church, opened in 2000, is under the jurisdiction of the

Araratian Pontifical Diocese Araratian Pontifical Diocese ( hy, Արարատյան Հայրապետական թեմ ''Araratyan Hayrapetakan t'em'') is the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world, covering the city of Yereva ...

based in Yerevan. The population of Vedi since 1831 is as follows:

Culture

The house of culture in Vedi was opened during the 1930s. In 2013, a new palace was built, housing the town's theatre and other cultural faculties. The house has its theatre group (founded in 1950), folk instruments' ensemble (1977), dance group, brass band, and children's orchestra. During summers, the house of culture organizes the ''musical Thursdays of Vedi'' at the open-air amphitheatre of the central park of the town. The Paruyr Sevak public library of Vedi is operating since 1935. It houses around 58,000 books. The town has also its school of music and school of art.

Transportation

Vedi is located 7 km east of the M-2 Motorway of Armenia. The H-10 regional road connects the town with the motorway. The H-10 extends further to the southeast, reaching the

Vayots Dzor Province Vayots Dzor ( hy, Վայոց Ձոր, ) is a province (''marz'') of Armenia. It lies at the southeastern end of the country, bordering the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan to the west and the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan to the east. It cover ...

. Vedi is connected with the capital Yerevan through regular ''minis bus'' daily trips.

Economy

Vedi and the surrounding territories are a major centre for agricultural and dairy products in Armenia. Most of the citizens are mainly involved in agricultural activities. Main crops are grape and apricot. Home-made wine is very common in Vedi. The ''VediAlco'' founded in 1956, is among the prominent wine and brandy producers in Armenia,Wine production in Vedi
/ref> It is notable for its semi-sweet wine of ''Vernashen''.

Education

As of 2017, Vedi is home 2 primary school, 1 high school, and 4 pre-school kindergartens.

Sport

Like most of the regions in Armenia,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

is the most popular sport in Vedi. A municipal sport school is operating within the territory of the town's central park of the town with a football training ground, swimming pool, indoor sports hall and other facilities.

Notable people

Armen Mkrtchyan Armen Mkrtchyan ( hy, Արմեն Մկրտչյան; born 6 October 1973) is an Armenian freestyle wrestler. He is an Olympic silver medalist, World Championships medalist, and European Champion. In addition, he was also awarded the Master of Spor ...

, Olympic silver medalist and European champion in wrestling *

Farman Karimzade Farman Ismayil oglu Karimzade ( az, Fərman İsmayıl oğlu Kərimzadə; March 3, 1937 – March 17, 1989) was an Azerbaijani writer, screenwriter, film director and film producer. Biography Farman Karimzade was born on March 3, 1937, in the ...

, Azerbaijani writer, screenwriter, film director and film producer *

Narek Baveyan Narek Baveyan ( hy, Նարեկ Բավեյան, born on April 19, 1983), is an Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Ar ...

, Armenian singer and actor

References

{{Cities and towns in Armenia Populated places in Ararat Province Erivan Governorate Populated places established in the 13th century Former Azerbaijani inhabited settlements