Gavar: Difference between revisions

| name = Gavar

| native_name = Գավառ

| native_name_lang = hy

| other_name = Kyavar{{*}}{{lang|hy|Քյավառ}}

| image_skyline = Gavar collage.jpg

| image_caption = From top left: <div style="background:#fee8ab;">Gavar Administration&nbsp;• St. Astvatsatsin Church<br />WWII Memorial in Downtown Gavar<br />Hajrapet Khachatryan&nbsp;• Cultural Palace<br />Manuchar Dolak [[Khachkars]]&nbsp;• Gavar [[Caucasus Mountains|mountains]]</div>

| image_size = 300 px

| image_seal = Coat of Arms of Gavar.png

| pushpin_map = Armenia#Gegharkunik

| mapsize = 150px

| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]

| subdivision_name = {{flagFlag|Armenia}}

| subdivision_type1 = [[Administrative divisionsProvinces of Armenia|Province]]

| subdivision_name1 = [[Gegharkunik Province|Gegharkunik]]

|established_date established_title = 1830Founded<br />1850City status

|area_total_km2 established_date = 161830<br />1850

|area_footnotes area_total_km2 = 16

| population_footnotes = <ref name="2011censusGegharkunik">{{Cite web|url=http://armstat.am/file/doc/99481713.pdf|title=2011 Armenia census, Gegharkunik Province|author=[[Statistical Committee of Armenia]]}}</ref>

| population_as_of = [[Census in Armenia|2011]]

| population_total = 20,765

| population_density_km2 = auto

| timezone = [[Armenia Time|AMT]]

| utc_offset = +4

|utc_offset_DST elevation_m = 1982

|elevation_m postal_code = 19821201-1205

|postal_code_type area_code = Postal(+374) code264

|postal_code registration_plate = 1201-120502

|area_code website = (+374)[http://www.gavariqaghaqapetaran.am/ Official 264website]

The town was known as '''Nor Bayezet'Bayаzet'' (Նոր Բայազետ) or '''Novo-Bayazet''' ({{Lang-ru|Новобаязет}})<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://www.prlib.ru/item/417322 |title=Кавказский календарь на 1917 год |publisher=Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom |year=1917 |edition=72nd |publication-place=Tiflis |pages=214–221 |language=Russian |trans-title=Caucasian calendar for 1917 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104233151/https://www.prlib.ru/item/417322 |archive-date=4 November 2021}}</ref> until 1959, named after the [[Western Armenia]]n town of [[Doğubeyazıt|Bayazet]] (historically known as ''Daroynk'' and ''Arshakavan''). Between 1959 and 1995, the town was known as '''Kamo''', named after the Bolshevik revolutionary [[Kamo (Bolshevik)|Kamo]] (Simon Ter-Petrosian).<ref>{{cite book|last= Everett-Heath|author-link= John Everett-Heath|first= John|title= The Concise Dictionary of World Place Names|year= 2017|location= Oxford, United Kingdom|publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qgJCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT694|isbn= 9780192556462}}</ref> On December 4, 1995, the town was renamed back to its ancient name of '''Gavar''', meaning ''county'' in the [[Armenian language]].<ref name= george>{{cite book|last= Bournoutian|first= George|author-link= George Bournoutian|title= Armenia and Imperial Decline: The Yerevan Province, 1900-1914|year= 2018|location= New York|series= Routledge Advances in Armenian Studies|publisher= [[Routledge]]|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Cb9aDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT48|page= 48|isbn= 9781351062602}}</ref>

The modern town of Gavar was founded as ''Novo-Bayazet'' (''New Bayazit'') in 1830 around {{Convert|8&nbsp;|km|mi|abbr=on}} west of the Lake Sevan, on the site of the ancient city of Gavar or Gyavar, following the immigration of 8,557 Armenians from the town of [[Doğubeyazıt|Bayazit]] (historically known as ''Daroynk'' and ''Arshakavan'') of the [[Ottoman Empire]] due to the [[Russo-Turkish war]] of 1828-1829.<ref name= george/> The settlement achieved the status of a town in 1850.<ref name= Kiesling/>

However, the area of modern-day Gavar has been inhabited since the [[Bronze Age]]. Many historical tombstones, dating back to the 2nd millennium BC are founded in Gavar. The remains of a [[cyclopean masonry|cyclopean fort]] dating back to the early [[Iron Age]], are found on a hill at the centre of the town. It is supposedbelieved that the fortress was the royal capital of the VelikukhiUelikuhi region within the [[Urartu]] kingdom.<ref>{{cite journal|last= Melikishvili|first= A.A.|title= Urartian cuneiform inscriptions|location= Moscow: Publishing House of the [[Academy of Sciences of the USSR]]|year= 1960|page= 256}}</ref> It was surrounded with more than 22 minor fortifications. The region of VelikukhiUelikuhi was conquered by the Urartian king [[Sarduri II]]. His son, [[Rusa II]] renamed the fortress in honour of [[Ḫaldi|Khaldi]]; one of the three chief deities of Ararat. Gavar was known as the “City of Khaldi” while the nearby village of [[Tsovinar, Armenia|Tsovinar]] was known as the “City of [[Theispas|Teisheba]].”<ref>{{cite book|last= Hmayakan|first= Simon|titlechapter= The “City"City of Haldi”Haldi" in the Land of Uaza|worktitle= Over the Mountains and Far Away: Studies in Near Eastern history and archaeology|editor-last1= Avetisyan|editor-first1= Pavel S.|editor-last2= Dan|editor-first2= Roberto|editor-first3= Yervand H.|editor-last3= Grekyan|year= 2019|publisher= [[Archaeopress]]|page= 292|isbn= 9781784919443}}</ref> [[Urartian language|Urartian cuneiform]] inscriptions of Rusa II commemorating his victory over the kings of Uelikuhi and establishing the fortress of Khaldi in 732 BC were discovered in 1927,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sayce|first= Archibald|author-link= Archibald Sayce|title=The Vannic Inscription of Nor-Bajazet|journal= Journal of the [[Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland]]|volume= 3|year= 1932|pages= 593–595|issn= 0035-869X}}</ref> and are now held in the city’s history museum. The [[Artsvakar]] neighbourhood of Gavar is also home to another Iron Age fortress, dating back to the [[2nd millennium BC]].<ref name= Kiesling>{{cite book|last1= Kiesling|first1= Brady|last2= Kojian|first2= Raffi|author-link1= Brady Kiesling|chapter= Gegharkunik Marz|title= Rediscovering Armenia : an archaeological/touristic gazetteer and map set for the historical monuments of Armenia|edition= 2|location= Yerevan|publisher= Matit|year= 2005|isbn= 9994101218|url= http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Rediscovering_Armenia_Guidebook-_Gegharkunik_Marz}}</ref>

[[File:Gavar_cuneiform_01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Cuneiform]] inscription marking the foundation of the ancient fortress city of Khaldi in Gavar]]

Many other ancient and medieval monuments, including monasteries, [[Khachkar]]s (cross-stones), cuneiform inscriptions, gravestones and a chapel are also found in the town.<ref>{{cite journal|last= Markoff|first= Dr. A.|title= Russian Armenia|journal= Journal of the Society of Arts|location= London|year= 1895|volume= XLIII|page= 228|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JeRFAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA228|publisher= [[Royal Society of Arts]]|issn= 2049-7865}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Sagona|first= Antonio|title= The Archaeology of the Caucasus: From Earliest Settlements to the Iron Age|year= 2018|location= New York|publisher= [[Cambridge University Press]]|series= Cambridge World Archaeology|page= 367|isbn= 9781107016590}}</ref> The Hatsarat neighbourhood (a separate village until the 1960s) is home to the [[Hatsarat Monastery]] with 2 churches dating back to the 7th and 19th centuries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.findarmenia.com/eng/sights/hacarat|title=Hatsarat, Gegharkunik|access-date=2016-06-25|archive-date=2016-07-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705030319/http://findarmenia.com/eng/sights/hacarat|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Over the centuries, the area of modern-day Gavar had been severely destroyed, with the latest taking place during the 17th century, when it was ruined by Shah [[Abbas I of Persia]]. During the period of [[Iranian Armenia (1502–1828)|Iranian Armenia]], Gavar was made the capitalcenter of the Gökcha [[Mahallah|mahal]] of the [[Erivan Khanate]].<ref name= george/>

In 1828, after the [[Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)|Russo-Persian War]], the region of Gegharkunin — asGegharkunik—as a part of the Erivan Khanate — wasKhanate—was handed over to the [[Russian Empire]] as a result of the [[Treaty of Turkmenchay]] signed on 21 February 1828. In 1830, the Armenian migrants from [[Doğubeyazıt|Bayazit]] founded the village of Novo-Bayazet. With the establishment of the [[Erivan Governorate]] in 1850, Novo-Bayazet became the centre of the newly formed [[NovobayazetskyNor Bayazet Uyezduezd]].

After the independence of Armenia in, the town was renamed Gavar in 1995 and became the provincial centre of the newly established [[Gegharkunik Province]]. However, much of the Soviet-era infrastructure of the town has failed and the industrial capacity has floundered.<ref name= Kiesling/> As a result, the population of Gavar has drastically declined to 23,302 as reported in the 2001 census, and later to 20,765 as reported in the 2011 census.

| location = Gavar 1961 m asl (1981–20101991–2020 normals, extremes 1981-2020)

|Mar record high C= 18.56

|Sep record high C= 3031.1

|Dec record high C= 1214.70

| Jan precipitation mm =1722.17

| Feb precipitation mm =2426.70

| Mar precipitation mm =4038.29

| Apr precipitation mm =5254.35

| May precipitation mm =6966.34

| Jun precipitation mm =7974.48

| Jul precipitation mm =6167.10

| Aug precipitation mm =4943.05

| Sep precipitation mm =2330.5

| Oct precipitation mm =35.01

| Nov precipitation mm =3125.14

| Dec precipitation mm =1920.86

|unit precipitation days= 1 .0 mm

|Jan precipitation days= 4.295

|Feb precipitation days= 5.847

|Mar precipitation days= 8.422

|Apr precipitation days= 910.948

|May precipitation days= 13.263

|Jun precipitation days= 11.354

|Jul precipitation days= 89.391

|Aug precipitation days= 7.434

|Sep precipitation days= 45.619

|Oct precipitation days= 7.436

|Nov precipitation days= 5.295

|Dec precipitation days= 45.835

[[File:Բարսեղ Արծրունին և Մարգար Արծրունին ընտանիքներով (Barsegh Artsruni և Margar Artsruni with families).png|thumb|Prince Barsegh Artsruni with his family in Gavar wearing traditional [[Armenian dress|traditional dress]], 19th century]]

The people of Gavar are mainly Christians and belong to the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]. The town has many medieval chapels and churches. The Surp Karapet Church of 1848 is among the well-preserved churches in Gavar. The Cathedral of the Holy Mother of God in Gavar is the seat of the [[Diocese of Gegharkunik]] of the Armenian Church. It was built in 1905 at the central square of the town, with the efforts of then-bishop [[Khoren I of Armenia|Khoren Muradbegian]] with help of the local citizens. Until the late 1990s, it was the highest church in Armenia in terms of altitudes.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

*Surp Karapet Church built by Barsegh Artsruni in 1848 and entirely renovated in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armenpress.am/arm/news/699929/|title=Գավառում հիմնանորոգվել եւ վերաօծվել է Սուրբ Կարապետ եկեղեցին|website=armenpress.am|date=19 November 2012 }}</ref>

The [[Noratus cemetery]] archaeological site is located in the [[Noratus]] village just 4 kilometers east of Gavar. It is home to a large number of impressive medieval [[khachkar]]s (cross-stones).{{cn|date=February 2023}}

[[Association football|Football]] and [[chess]] are popular in the town. The sports school of Gavar was opened in 1971 and currently provides trainings in many team and individual sports, including martial arts, [[basketball]], [[futsal]], [[boxing]], [[Olympic weightlifting|weightlifting]], etc.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gavariqaghaqapetaran.am/structures/gavarhi-marzadprots-hoak|title=Gavar sports school|access-date=2017-02-20|archive-date=2020-07-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724213144/http://www.gavariqaghaqapetaran.am/structures/gavarhi-marzadprots-hoak|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* [http://norbayazet.am/ Nor Bayazet Community Development Charitable Fund of Gavar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825083707/http://norbayazet.am/ |date=2016-08-25 }}

* [http://www.gsu.am/?lang=en Gavar State University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623115014/https://gsu.am/?lang=en |date=2021-06-23 }}

* [http://www.kyavari.am/ Kyavari Cuisine in Yerevan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329133614/http://kyavari.am/ |date=2018-03-29 }}