Erkeç
Erkeç (also, Erk’ej, Erkech, Erkedge, Erketch, and Ertech) is a village in the Goranboy Rayon of Azerbaijan. The village forms part of the municipality of Mənəşli.[1]
Erkeç | |
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Erkeç | |
Coordinates: 40°27′48″N 46°28′20″E | |
Country | |
Rayon | Goranboy |
Municipality | Mənəşli |
Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+5 (AZT) |
Founded in 1828, the village's name comes from a Daghestani term for a horned mountain goat. Though originally the home of Russian settlers, by 1908 the village's then population of 780 was recorded as being majority ethnic Armenian. In June–July 1991, during the Karabakh conflict, the hamlet was depopulated as part of Operation Ring and occupied by the Soviet 23rd Division and the Azerbaijani OMON. Footage of the days before the population's eviction was filmed by Bulgarian-born naturalised Armenian journalist Tsvetana Paskaleva.[2] In September 1991, Armenians recaptured the dilapidated village [3] but lost it again to Azerbaijan in summer 1992.
The village was later resettled by Azerbaijanis and renamed Vugarli,[4] though the name Erkeç remains in common usage.
References
- Municipal Information System (archived)
- Video footage including scenes of Erkech in 1991
- Black Garden by Thomas de Waal, p119]
- Azerbaijan with Excursions to Georgia, 4th edition, p256