Goychay ( az, Göyçay, russian: Геокчай) is a city, municipality and the capital of the
Goychay District
Goychay District ( az, Göyçay rayonu) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the centre of the country and belongs to the Central Aran Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Agdash, Qabala, Ismayilli, Kurdam ...
of
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 t ...
. The municipality includes the city of Goychay and the nearby village of
Qızılqaya.
As of December 2016 the urban population of Goychay was estimated at 42,500, an increase of around 20% since 2004 when the population was recorded as being 35,344.
History
The settlement dates back to the late 1850s following the devastating 1859 earthquake in
Shemakha, though the town was only officially incorporated as such in 1916. Goychay was the administrative center of the
Geokchay Uyezd of the
Baku Governorate. During the Soviet era, the city was often known by its Russian pronunciation as used in 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. ...
, Geokchay.
On 2 June 2018 the main bridge carrying the M4 highway across the Goychay River near the city's Olympic Centre was washed away, leading to criminal accusations against several business leaders associated with its construction.
Climate
Göyçay has a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ''BSk'').
Notable natives
*
Anvar Mammadkhanli — writer, Honored Art Worker of Azerbaijan SSR.
*
Mirza Khazar — prominent radio journalist, essayist, translator of the Bible in
Azeri language
Azerbaijani () or Azeri (), also referred to as Azeri Turkic or Azeri Turkish, is a Turkic language from the Oghuz sub-branch spoken primarily by the Azerbaijani people, who live mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan where the North Azerbaija ...
.
*
Rasul Rza
Rasul Rza (real name Rasul Ibrahim oghlu Rzayev – az, Rəsul İbrahim oğlu Rzayev) (1910 – 1981 in Baku), was an Azerbaijani writer, Hero of Socialist Labour (1980), People's Poet of Azerbaijan, Laureate of Soviet State Award and the Chair ...
— writer, People's Poet of Azerbaijan (1960).
*
Rauf Atakishiyev – singer, pianist, People's Artist of Azerbaijan (1967).
*
Sadykh bey Aghabekov — general in the Russian Imperial Army, founder and reformer of Azerbaijani Police, Major General, Orientalist.
Twin towns – sister cities
Goychay is
twinned with:
*
Lida
Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region.
Etymology
The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuan ...
, Belarus
*
Valmontone
Valmontone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome.
Geography
The historic part of the town is situated on a tuffaceous hill, above sea level, part of a mor ...
, Italy (2014)
References
External links
*
Populated places in Goychay District
Baku Governorate
{{Goychay-geo-stub