Boyuk Zira (Böyük Zirə), also known as Nargin, is an island in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. It is one of the islands of Baku Archipelago located in the Baku bay near

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

city. Nargin Island is part of the Baku Archipelago, which consists of the following islands: Boyuk Zira, Dash Zira, Qum Island, Zenbil, Sangi-Mugan, Chikil, Qara Su, Khara Zira, Gil, Ignat Dash and a few smaller ones. Boyuk Zira is the biggest island that separates the

Bay of Baku Bay of Baku (Baku Bay) is a natural harbor of the Baku port and local yacht club, on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula and on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Description It has an area of 50 km² and a coastline of 20&nb ...

from the sea south of the Absheron Peninsula. It has a length of 3.1 km, and a width of 900 m. The northwestern side of the island is vertical and steep. There is little vegetation. Caspian seals,

sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

, and numerous types of birds, such as

teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue color. Its name comes from that of a bird—the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'')—which presents a similarly colored stripe on its head. The word is often used ...

ducks, herring gulls, and grebes are some of the species that can be found on and around Boyuk Zira Island.

Toponym

A modern name of the island is “Boyuk Zira”, which was also its initial name, and it is originated from the merging of two words – “boyuk” means “big” in Azerbaijani and “jazira” means “island” in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. Most of the names of islands in the Baku archipelago, including Boyuk Zira, were changed by the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

and partially by

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

, who appeared in the Caspian Sea region in the 17th century. Boyuk Zira was also called Nargin, which is related to the name given by

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

. The shape of this island reminded the

Russian emperor The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's victory in the Great Nor ...

of the island Nargen (now Naissaar) near

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

“Nargen” and

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

“Nartingen” mean a “narrow strait”. In 1990, Nargin Island reverted to its indigenous name.

Strategic significance

Boyuk Zira Island, located in the Caspian Sea, 5 km directly offshore from Baku port, is strategically significant for Azerbaijan and is under the authority of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The island is stony. In January, 2008 SOCAR finished construction of a 17 km long, 12–14 meters deep water line extending from

Lökbatan Lokbatan is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 41.365 The municipality consists of the settlements of Lokbatan, Şubanı, Shubany, and Heybət, Heybat. It is the location of a large Lökbatan Mud Volcano, mud ...

township to Boyuk Zira Island.

History

Beacon

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

on the island began to function on December 11, 1884. The beacon was constructed on the southern part of the island and provided ships with an opportunity to enter Baku Bay at night. The beacon is a stone residential building with three-metered tower on a roof, along with a lamp. A kerosene-wick burner, and then a gas lamp with a light-optic apparatus of the 4th degree, which was specially produced in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, illuminates the way for ships. In 1941, because of the beginning of the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, the beacon building was blown up by order of the Soviet Military Command. Anti-aircraft guns were established on the island to defend Baku from

air raids, because the beacon building was a potential landmark for German aviators. The beacon was restored in 1958 and still functions. An 18m stone tower equipped with a complex optical-navigational system was built on the elevated middle part of the island. Servicing of the way is carried out by a watching method and personnel are changed every two weeks. The beacon's light can be seen 20–30 km from Baku. The beacon's power is provided by solar batteries, which give a charge of up to 7 days, and also by a diesel generator.

World War I

Nargin Island was the scene of tragic events in the history of

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 ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. About ten thousand soldiers, as well as civilians, ( Turks, partially

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

and

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

) who were captured in 1914-1915 in

during the occupation of Eastern Anatolia by the Russian army, were held in captivity on the island. The captives died of starvation, snake bites, and murder and torture by prison guards. Few prisoners managed to escape the island. According to Hasan Cüneyt Zapsu, a deputy and counselor of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkey, his grandfather Abdurrahim Rahmi Zapsu was imprisoned on Nargin Island and escaped with the help of a nurse. Vecihi Hürkuş – a Turkish veteran pilot and aviation pioneer– also escaped from the island with the assistance of local residents, and a film dedicated to him is intended to be shot in Turkey. A documentary exposing the tragedy Turkish soldiers endured in Nargin island in the early 20th century was shot by order of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey. Archive documents and scenes of those years, and also memories of 11 Turkish soldiers, who were in camps in Nargin Island and returned to the motherland alive, were used in the film called ''Hellish Nargin Island''. In recent years, the erection of a monument on Nargin Island to the perished Turkish soldiers has been frequently proposed by Turhan Çömez, a former deputy of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

, and others.

Victims of repressions

Nargin Island was called the Azerbaijani

gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

during the Stalin-era repression. It was the place of mass shootings and burials of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

- Beria terror victims, who were taken there in barges. Ten thousand people condemned by judicial

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

“trios” were shot on the island, far from witnesses. Sometimes, barges full of people were sunk in order to save ammunition. According to scuba divers, there are still remains of people, tortured by the Soviet regime, tied with chains under water.

Development plans

In 2009 a plan was mooted for turning Boyuk Zira Island into a carbon-neutral eco-resort and recreation centre with a profile based on Azerbaijan's seven best-known peaks. The cost of the project, known as “The dream island”, by Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group (

BIG Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * ''Big!'', a ...

), would have been around two billion US dollars. But there is no sign of the project advancing.

Panoramic view

Places of interest

The Boyuk Zira Lighthouse in the island was begun to function since 1884. It illuminated road for ships entering Bay of Baku. Until 1907, Maiden Tower executed these functions. But later, Nargin Island detaching Baku Bay from the sea, became the main guide for sailors. A kerosene-wick burner, and then a gas lantern with a light-optic apparatus of the 4th degree illuminated a road for ships. The Nargin lighthouse illuminated by acetylene in 1912, became the first lighthouse in the Russian Empire illuminated by such a way.

References

External links

Nargin photos
* {{Caspian Sea Islands Uninhabited islands of Azerbaijan Islands of the Caspian Sea Islands of Azerbaijan Geography of Baku