Dashalty () or Karin Tak () is a village in the

Shusha District Shusha District () is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Khojaly, Lachin, and Khojavend. Its capital and largest cit ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, in the region of

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

. Until 2020, the village was controlled by the

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

. The village had an ethnic

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 Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

-majority population prior to the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989. About 3 km downriver there is a mossy waterfall named "Zontik" (, literally, "Umbrella"), because of its resemblance to an umbrella in the rain. The village is an overnight stopping point along the

Janapar Janapar Trail () was a marked trail through mountains, valleys, and villages of the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which passed by monasteries and fortresses along its route. The trail consisted of several day hikes, taking hikers to a different vill ...

hiking trail. As of 2024, the entire village of Karin Tak has been razed to the ground by Azerbaijan.

Etymology

Both the Azerbaijani and Armenian names of the village mean "below the rock", referring to the sheer vertical cliffs towering above the village, on top of which

Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...

is built.

History

During the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

period, the village was part of the

of the

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) was an Autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union, autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its capital was the city of Stepanakert. The majori ...

. After the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, the village was administrated as part of the Shushi Province of the breakaway

, located just above the village, was the last Azerbaijani stronghold in Nagorno-Karabakh to be captured by Armenian forces in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. On January 26, 1992 Azerbaijani Defense Minister Mehdiyev "led a disastrous sortie out of Shusha to capture the Armenian village of Karintak", in which dozens of Azerbaijani soldiers died. On 9 November 2020, the last day of the

, Azerbaijani troops captured the village, and after that, the city of

itself. The village monument dedicated to the fallen in World War II was destroyed by Azerbaijani forces after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.

Destruction of the village

On April 5, 2024,

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

updated satellite images of the Nagorno Karabakh. The Monument Watch team documented that Azerbaijan razed the village to the ground, including its old neighborhoods, springs, civil infrastructure and natural environment.

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a 13th-century

khachkar A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosette (design), rosettes ...

, an 18th/19th-century cemetery, an 18th/19th-century bridge, a 19th-century

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

, and the church of ''Surb Astvatsatsin'' (, ) built in 1862. The old town square is relatively well preserved, showing some traditional pre-Soviet architecture of the region. There is also a plain village church that was restored by Land and Culture Organization volunteers in 1999–2000. It was originally built in 1816 in the place of a previously existing chapel.Mkrtchyan, Shahen. Historical-Architectural Monuments of Nagorno Karabagh. Yerevan, 1989. (''Շահեն Մկրտչյան, «Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի պատմաճարտարապետական հուշարձանները»'')

Demographics

The village had 588 inhabitants in 2005, and 660 inhabitants in 2015.

Gallery

Dashalti155.jpg, Village street The monument devouted to the victims of the war.jpg, Monument dedicated to the fallen in WWII and the First Nagorno-Karabakh War Astvacacin.jpg, The church of Surb Astvatsatsin, built in 1862 Waterfall, Karabakh Azerbaijan.jpg, "Zontik" (Umbrella) waterfall in the Karkar Canyon Kaňon řeky Karkar, Náhorní Karabach.jpg, Karkar river canyon Karintak-IMG 1445.JPG, Section of the

hiking trail passing by the village Destroyed Military Vehicle , Karintak, NKR.jpg, Destroyed military vehicle Dashalti village of Shusha District.jpg, General view

References

External links

*
Population statistics (2005)
{{Portal bar, Geography Populated places in Shusha District