Tsakuri () or Hunarli (, previously ) is a village in the

Khojavend District Khojavend District () is one of the 66 Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan, districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country in the Karabakh Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Lachin District, Lachin, Shush ...

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

disputed Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an oppo ...

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 ...

. 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. The village is located 13 km from the town of

Hadrut Hadrut (, ) is a town in the Khojavend District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The town had an ethnic Armenian-majority population prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Numerous Armenian civilians were killed in and around H ...

and a 57 km drive over the north-south highway from the regional capital of

Stepanakert Stepanakert officially Khankendi is a city in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. It was the capital city of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh prior to the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in ...

. Hikers reach Tsakuri in the Togh (Tugh) section of the marked

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 ...

trail.

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, Tsakuri was part of the Hadrut District 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

Hadrut Province Hadrut Province () was a province of the Republic of Artsakh. The provincial capital was Hadrut city. The last governor was Valery Gevorkian. The province was captured by the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan during the 2020 Nagorno-Ka ...

of the breakaway

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 came under the control of Azerbaijan on 7 October 2020, during the

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around Tsakuri include the monastery complex of ''Tsaghkavank'' (), of which only the Holy Mother of God Church has been preserved, the Ptkatagh Monastery () built in 1670, a cemetery from between the 17th and 19th centuries, a 17th-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 ...

, and a 19th-century spring monument.

Holy Mother of God Church

The Holy Mother of God Church (, also known as St. Mary's Church and Tsaghkavank Church) was founded in the 12th century and contains a khachkar from 1198, with the current church dating from 1682. The church is the only remaining structure of the Tsaghkavank monastery complex in Tsakuri. Efforts to rehabilitate the church were initiated by a group of international benefactors, and preparation work and fundraising started in the 2010s. In July 2013, the Primate of the

Diocese of Artsakh The Diocese of Artsakh () is one of the largest dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Nagorno-Karabakh. It is named after the historic province of Artsakh; the 10th province of the Kingdom of Armenia. The diocesan headquarters are locat ...

of the

Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Church () is the Autocephaly, autocephalous national church of Armenia. Part of Oriental Orthodoxy, it is one of the most ancient Christianity, Christian churches. The Armenian Apostolic Church, like the Armenian Catholic ...

, Archbishop

Pargev Martirosyan Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan (; born 20 March 1954) is an Armenian clergyman who served as the Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church from the re-establishment of the diocese in 1989 until 2021. He retired from his ...

, gave his blessing to the project and construction work started in May 2019. The second phase of the project for the renovation of the church's interior was planned to be partly funded by an international

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

campaign. After the

, Azerbaijani president

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

visited the Holy Mother of God Church in Tsakuri,

denying Denial, in colloquial English usage, has at least three meanings: * the assertion that any particular statement or allegation, whose truth is uncertain, is not true; * the refusal of a request; and * the assertion that a true statement is fal ...

the church's Armenian identity, and describing the church's inscriptions in

as "fake".

Geography

The area of the Tsakuri community is lowland with a total area of 307.4 hectares, of which 241.68 hectares are of agricultural importance and 32.9 hectares consists of forested land. The area has an especially mild micro-climate thanks to its apple, pear, mulberry and walnut trees. Deposits of Icelandic spar can be found in and around the village.

Economy and culture

In 2015, the population was mainly engaged in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

, and the village had a municipal building, a house of culture, the Tsakuri branch of Mariamadzor Secondary School, and a medical centre. The village had access to electricity, TV and radio, mobile and wireless telephony and internet services. The water supply is provided to the village through a gravity system fed from the two springs of ''Aknen'' () and ''Nerses'' ().

Demographics

The village had 100 inhabitants in 2005, and 109 inhabitants in 2015, in approximately 28 households.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Geography Populated places in Khojavend District Former Armenian inhabited settlements