Qabala () is a city and the administrative centre of the

Qabala District Qabala District () is one of the 66 Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan, districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country in the Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Oghuz District, Oghuz ...

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 ...

. The municipality consists of the city of Gabala and the village of Küsnat. Before the city was known as Kutkashen, but after the Republic of Azerbaijan's independence the town was renamed in honour of the much older city of Gabala, the former capital of

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus, mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...

, the archaeological site of which is about 20 km southwest.

History

Antiquity

Gabala is the ancient capital of

. Archaeological evidence indicates that the city functioned as the capital of Caucasian Albania as early as the 4th century BC. Up to the present time, there are the ruins of the ancient city and the main gate of Caucasian Albania. Ongoing excavations near the village Chukhur show that Gabala from the 4th – 3rd centuries BC and up to the 18th century was one of the main cities with developed trade and crafts. The ruins of the ancient town are situated 15 km from the regional centre, allocated on the territory between

Garachay The Garachay () is a river in Quba district of Azerbaijan. It flows through the western end of an ancient city of Qabala. In the suburbs of Qabala, it joins other small rivers Hamzali, Mirazabeyli and Gojalan. It flows into the Turyan near the v ...

and Jourluchay rivers. Gabala was located in the middle of the 2,500-year-old

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

, and was mentioned by

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

as "Kabalaka", Greek geographer

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

as "Khabala", Arabic historian

Ahmad ibn Yahya al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī () was a 9th-century West Asian historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and enjoyed great influence at the court of the caliph al-M ...

as "Khazar". In the 19th century, the

i historian

Abbasgulu Bakikhanov Abbasgulu agha Bakikhanov () (, – January 1847), Abbas Qoli Bakikhanov, or Abbas-Qoli ibn Mirza Mohammad (Taghi) Khan Badkubi was an Azerbaijani writer, historian, journalist, linguist, poet and philosopher. He was son of the third khan of Baku ...

mentioned in his book that Kbala or Khabala were in fact Gabala. In the 60s BC,

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

troops attacked Caucasian Albania but did not succeed in capturing the Qabala territory. In 262 AD, Caucasian Albania was occupied by the

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

, but preserved its political and economic status. In 464, it lost its independence due to years of invasions from the northern nomadic tribes and had to move its capital city to Partava (currently Barda in Azerbaijan).

Feudal era

Gabala was occupied by

Shirvanshah The Shirvanshahs (Arabic/) were the rulers of Shirvan (in present-day Azerbaijan) from 861 to 1538. The first ruling line were the Yazidids, an originally Arab and later Persianized dynasty, who became known as the Kasranids (also referred t ...

Fariburz Fariburz, known in Byzantine sources as Phabrizus (), was a 6th-century Iranian military officer from the Mihran family, who served under the Sasanian king Khosrau I (r. 531–579). Biography He was the brother of the diplomat and military offi ...

, King

David IV of Georgia David IV, also known as David IV the Builder ( ka, დავით IV აღმაშენებელი, tr; 1073 – 24 January 1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king ('' mepe'') of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1089 until his d ...

in 1120, Turco-Mongol conqueror Timurleng in 1386,

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

shah Tahmasib I in 1538, Afshar

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

in 1734 but was able to preserve its culture and identity. After the death of Nader Shah in 1747, the region split into independent khanates and sultanates and Gabala became a

Qutqashen Sultanate Qutqashen Sultanate () also known as Qabala mahaly () was feudal state which existed from the middle to the end of 18th century in the north of Azerbaijan, in the territories covering the present day Qabala Rayon. Historical background Qabala was ...

. It was also called Gabala Mahali. After what is today referred to as The Republic of Azerbaijan was annexed from the Persian Empire, under the Qajar dynasty, by the Russian Empire in 1813 through the consequences of the

Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) The Russo-Persian Wars ( ), or the Russo-Iranian Wars ( ), began in 1651 and continued intermittently until 1828. They consisted of five conflicts in total, each rooted in both sides' disputed governance of territories and countries in the Cauca ...

and the resulting

Treaty of Gulistan The Treaty of Gulistan (also spelled Golestan: ; ) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gülüstan, Goranboy, Gulistan (now in Goranboy District, the Goranboy District of Azerb ...

of 1813, it conducted administrative reforms and in 1841 the khanates of this region were terminated and the territories were incorporated into

governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...

s. Gabala area was added to

Nukha uyezd The Nukha ''uezd'' was a county (''uezd'') of the Elizavetpol Governorate of the Russian Empire and later of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic with its center in Nukha (present-day Shaki). it existed from 1868 until its formal abolition in 1921 ...

Elisabethpol Governorate The Elizavetpol Governorate, also known after 1918 as the Ganja Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja). The area of the governorate s ...

. Due to archaeological finds in Gabala, it was declared a National State Reserve in 1985.

Republic era

After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, Gabala embarked on a process of restructuring on a scale unseen in its history. Thousands of buildings from the Soviet period were demolished to make way for a green belt on its shores; parks and gardens were built on the land reclaimed by filling up the foothill of Gabala. Improvements were made in the general cleaning, maintenance, and garbage collection, and these services are now at Western European standards. The city is growing dynamically and developing at full speed on a north axis along the shores of 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, ...

. As of the 2010s, Gabala is emerging as a magnet for events, such as the summit of

Turkic Council The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an intergovernmental organization comprising all but one of the internationally recognized Turkic sovereign sta ...

in 2013. In 2013, the city was declared the Cultural Capital of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

, in recognition of its long contribution to the history of Azerbaijan and the region.

Geography

The geographical position and mountainous relief of the city greatly influenced on formation of complex climate conditions in the vertical droughty area, as well as on density of river network and richness of soil-vegetation cover. Relief and humid climate conditions of Gabala region led to formation of a thick river network in the area. The rivers of the city refer to the left branches of

Kura Kura may refer to: Places * Kura, Iran (disambiguation) * Kura Island, Azerbaijan * Kura, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Kano State * Kura (South Caucasus river), a river in Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan * Kura (Russia), a river in Ru ...

basin and run directly into Kura or the rivers of the Shirvan zone. The city is rich with

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

and

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to ...

trees. Flora and Fauna of the district is rich. Deer and mountain tours, wild boar, hare, bears, wolves, foxes and numerous birds – pheasant, grouse, francolin, etc. can be found in the woods. These features attract hunters.

Economy

The economy of Gabala is partially agricultural, partially tourist based, with some manufacturing industries, mainly for food preserves, tobacco and silkworm cocoon drying. The city's main manufacturing companies are involved in engineering, construction, brewing and distilling and food manufacturing. There is also "Beltmann" piano factory, whose piano-maker is Hans Leferink - the grandson of Johann Beltmann who, in 1901, founded a similar business in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Various factories operate in the district, such as juice factory and nut factory.

Tourism and shopping

Qabala is a tourist destination due to the combination of its spring climate, mountainous landscape, and diverse

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

. There are many world-class hotels and resorts, most part of the Qafqaz chain. Natural climatic conditions of the region create opportunities for the development of both summer and winter tourism in the region. The northern side of Qabala belongs to the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, the central part to Alazan-Haftaran valley, the southern part to Ajinohur upland. Furthermore, the highest mountain peak of the republic- Mount Bazarduzu (4466 meters) is situated in this region. Also located in Qabala is Yeddi Gozel Waterfall. The name means 'seven beauties' due to the seven stages of the falls but also reflecting a classic

Nizami Ganjavi Nizami Ganjavi (; c. 1141 – 1209), Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī,Mo'in, Muhammad(2006), "Tahlil-i Haft Paykar-i Nezami", Tehran.: p. 2: Some commentators h ...

story. The waterfall, situated in woodlands west of Vandam, is climbed by thousands of people each year - the lower levels being accessible by stairways. The city contains "Qabaland"

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

, an ice skating rink and a Greek-style theatre, rental houses, built especially for outside concerts. Gabala also has severa
qebelede kiraye evler
shopping malls. Qabala is home to the Tufandag Ski Complex, rated the best

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

in Azerbaijan and one of the foremost in the Caucasus. The complex serves up to 3,000 people a day.

Culture

Since 2009, city has been home of

Gabala International Music Festival Gabala International Music Festival is an annual festival of classical music held every summer beginning in 2009 in Qabala, Gabala, Azerbaijan. The festival is organised with the support of Heydar Aliyev Foundation at the initiative of the rector ...

, which included performances from classical and jazz performers such as

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

. Gabala also boasts many museums such as Historical Ethnography Museum of Gabala and Gabala Cultural Centre, most notably featuring Folk Theatre named after

Jalil Mammadguluzadeh Jalil Huseyngulu oghlu Mammadguluzadeh (, ; 22 February 1869 – 4 January 1932), was an Azerbaijani people, Azerbaijani List of satirists and satires, satirist and writer. He was the founder of Molla Nasraddin (magazine), ''Molla Nasraddin'', a ...

Landmarks

Receiver and Transmitter of Pechora Radar

Qabala is known for the ruins of an ancient walled city, Chukhur Gabala, dating back to the 4th century BC. The city has a large war memorial, numerous ancient stone houses and the Rashidbek monument, which is shaped like a huge book. Another landmark is the large

Qabala Radar Gabala Radar Station (; ) in some sources Gabala is spelled ''Qabala'', other names are Lyaki, Mingacevir and Mingechaur was a Daryal-type (NATO Pechora) bistatic passive electronically scanned array early warning radar, built by the Soviet Un ...

station, on the southern horizon as seen from Gabala, is one of only two Daryal-type missile early warning stations in the former

USSR 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 ...

Parks and gardens

Qabala has large sections of greenery either preserved by the National Government or designated as green zones. The city includes "Qabaland", which is the largest amusement park in Azerbaijan.

Sports

The city has one professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team competing in the top-flight of

i football – Gabala, currently playing in the

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

. The team was managed by former

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

player

Tony Adams Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. Known as Mr. Arsenal, he spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre-back t ...

in 2010–11 season. The clubs holds its home games in the

Gabala City Stadium Gabala City Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Gabala, Azerbaijan. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Gabala FK. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of 2,000 spectators. It is planned to start the rec ...

. The Qabala Horse Racing Complex is used for

horse-racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all spor ...

tournaments. As of 2013, there is Qabala Shooting Club functions in the city.

Cuisine

The district has rich cuisine as other Azerbaijani regions. Popular local dishes include Qabala plov (rice),

Dolma Dolma ( Turkish for "stuffed") is a family of stuffed dishes associated with Ottoman cuisine, typically made with a filling of rice, minced meat, offal, seafood, fruit, or any combination of these inside either a leaf wrapping or a hollow or h ...

with nut, Dovga, Uchgulag, and types of chigirtma (chicken chigirtma, , , fresh green beans chigirtma, etc.).

Transport

Public transport

Qabala is linked by regular bus and minibus to Baku, and less frequently to other regional centres. Within the city there are three numbered minibus routes running once or twice an hour.

Air

Qabala Airport is around 20 km south of the city. There are twice weekly flights to Baku and international connections to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Rail

The Baku-Gabala-Baku route is a speed rail line in Azerbaijan that connects the capital city of

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 ...

with the city of Gabala. The train is operated by

Azerbaijan Railways Azerbaijan Railways () is the national state-owned rail transport operator in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The , gauge network is electrified at 3 kV (3,000 V) DC. The headquarters of the Azerbaijan Railways is in the capital Ba ...

(ADY).

Education

There are 4 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 4 special schools in the town.

Healthcare

Qabala Central Regional Hospital is the largest hospital in the city, Qabala Children's Hospital and Qabala Treatment and Diagnostic Center, which specialises in rehabilitation and long-term illnesses and conditions.

Regional media

During the USSR period, "Galibiyyat" newspaper was published in Qabala. Currently, a group of young people created Gabalacity.net website which gives information about Qabala aiming to develop the tourism potential of the district. Today "Qabala" newspaper is being published in the region which was first published on 15 October 1933 as "Bolshevik Mubarizi". Qabala Region Executive Power manages the publication of "Gabala" newspaper. Nadir Atakishiyev is leading the newspaper. Qəbələ rayonu

Climate

Qabala has a humid continental climate (''Dfa'') close to the borderline of the humid subtropical climate (''Cfa''). Climate of Qabala is warm-temperate with dry winters in low areas, cold and damp in high mountains and the annual precipitation is 500–600 mm in the south, and up to 1600 mm in the northern high mountains.

Picture gallery

File:Qabala153.jpg, Gabaland amusement park File:Ancient Gabala00.jpg, Ancient Qabala fortress File:Ancient Gabala02.jpg, Archeological site of Qabala fortress File:Ancient Gabala05.jpg, Archeological excavations File:Ancient Gabala09.jpg, Archeological excavations in Qabala File:Ancient Gabala10.jpg, Ceramic finds File:Gabala lake.jpg, Qabala lake File:Handicraft Gabala Azerbaijan 01.jpg, Handcraft birds File:Handicraft Gabala Azerbaijan.jpg, Handcrafting is a special form of art in Qabala File:Waterfall Gabala Azerbaijan.jpg, Waterfall in Qabala File:Lavanda sahəsi - Çuxur Qəbələ k - Qəbələ r.jpg, Lavanda field File:Qabala09.jpg, Gabala District File:Qəbələ mənzərəsi.jpg, Gabala landscape File:Jotati Church.jpg, Jotati Church, Gabala

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Qabala is twinned with *

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

, South Korea

References

External links

*
Site of Executive Power of QabalaIntroducing Gabala
presented by Mark Elliott {{Authority control Populated places in Qabala District Capitals of former nations Elizavetpol Governorate Caucasian Albania