Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Lankaran

Official name	Lənkəran
Imagesize	300px
Image seal	Lenkaran23.png
Seal size	80px
Pushpin map	Azerbaijan
Pushpin mapsize	300
Coordinates region	AZ
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	City
Subdivision name1	Lankaran
Leader name	http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lankaran&action;=edit
Area total km2	70
Population as of	2008
Population total	50244
Timezone	AZT
Utc offset	+4
Timezone dst	AZT
Utc offset dst	+5

Lankaran (; also, Länkäran, Lencoran, and Lenkoran’) is a city in Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea, near the southern border with Iran. Has a population of 50,244 (2008, up from 48,400 in 2002). It is next to, but independent of Lankaran rayon. The city forms a distinct first order division of Azerbaijan.

Etymology

The old form of the name was "Langarkanan" that in Persian means "the place of pulling up the anchor(s)" : "Langar" (, anchor) + "kan" (, to pull) + "an"(, suffix of places). However, some sources state that Lankaran is said to come from the Talish words for 'Cane house', which sounds as 'Lan Karan'.

Geography

There are sandy beaches near Lankaran. Thermal sulphide, chloride, sodium-calcium waters of Andjin (Upper and Lower) mineral springs are situated 12 km west of the town. Also to the west are the ruins of Ballabur castle, near the village with the same name.

The region has a vast area of national parks, where a variety of fauna and flora are preserved. Gizil-Agach State Reserve hosts over 250 kinds of plants, 30 species of fish and more than 220 kinds of birds. Lankaran is also known for Parrotia persica, or ironwood. It is naturally grown in the region and could be seen in Hirkan National Park. Local myth has it that it is the only wood that sinks in water, hence the name (ironwood). Historically it has been used for heating, since it burns for a long time and is not easily extinguished. The Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) subspecies of the leopard, lives in the national park as well. In 1937, members of the Opilio lepidus species of harvestman were sited in the area.

Lankaran has a humid subtropical climate with a maximum annual precipitation of 1,600 to 1,800 mm, and is the highest precipitation in Azerbaijan.

History

The city was built on a swamp along the northern bank of the river bearing the city's name. There are remains of human settlements in the area dating back to the Neolithic period as well as ruins of fortified villages from the Bronze and Iron Ages. Lankaran's history is rather recent, dating from the 16th century. Lankaran was for a long time the capital of the Talysh Khanate, which enjoyed variable degrees of independence throughout history. It was first held by Russia from 1728 to 1735, but only fell definitively to Russia's General Kotlyarevsky in 1813, that status having been confirmed by the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828. Favourable humid subtropical climate, availability of good arable land, water and sufficient labour resources of city provides a good basis for agricultural activities as well as development of agro-processing enterprises. The city is also home of Azerbaijan's first tea plant, built in 1937.

Demographics

Lankaran is home to Azerbaijan's largest Talysh community.

* Talysh 35.9% (17.935)

Azerbaijanis 62.1% (31.151)

Others 2% (1.024)

Education

The following universities are located in Lankaran:

Lankaran State University - Founded in 1991, Lankaran State University is Lankaran's first university to start courses.

Culture

Performing arts

Lankaran is home to several national folk performers, including the Bacılar (The Sisters) national Talysh folk and dance collective.

Cuisine

.]] Lankaran's cuisine has largely been affected by its multicultural history, hence the large variety of food originating during Talysh Khanate. Lankaran’s signature cuisine includes lavangi, Lankaran kulcha, marji plov, white plov, pumpkin plov and turshu kebab.

Main sights

Lankaran Fortress - built in 18th century.

Boyuk Bazar Mosque

Kichik Bazar Mosque

Sports

.]] The city has one professional football team competing in the top-flight of Azerbaijani football - Khazar Lankaran, currently playing in the Azerbaijan Premier League.

15,000 capacity Lankaran City Stadium regularly hosts, apart from Azerbaijan Premier League games, many other Lankaran-based teams and Azerbaijan national football team matches.

Transportation

Lankaran is served by national and international flights through the Lankaran International Airport.

Connection with other cities and countries

Air: The Lankaran International Airport is well served with connections to Turkish and international destinations. Its new international terminal was opened in September 2008 and the airport is set on its way for becoming one of the busiest hubs in Azerbaijan.

*Rail: The city has rail service from historic terminals in downtown to Baku in the east and Astara in the south.

Notable natives

Jahan Talyshinskaya — folk singer and theatre actress. Hazi Aslanov — twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Pavlov — Hero of Socialist Labor. Pasha Tahmazov — National Hero of Azerbaijan.

Samedbey Mehmandarov — Russian army general, Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

References

External links

Official city webpage - (English version)

Lankaran State University

Soviet topographic map 1:100,000 (published in 1991)

Satellite photo via Google Maps

History

Economy

Category:Populated places in Azerbaijan Category:Districts of Azerbaijan Category:Populated places on the Caspian Sea

This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.