Yevlakh

Coordinates: 40°37′02″N 47°09′00″E / 40.61722°N 47.15000°E / 40.61722; 47.15000

Yevlakh (Azerbaijani: Yevlax) is a city in Azerbaijan, 265 km west of capital Baku. It is surrounded by, but administratively separate from, the rayon of the same name. The city forms a distinct administrative division of Azerbaijan.

Etymology

The name of the city comes from an Old Turkic word meaning 'swampy place.'

Climate

Economy

Yevlakh is one of the important rayons of the country. The grain and cotton growing, as well as cattle breeding sectors have played an important role in city economy. The farmers grow potato, vegetable, water-melon and fruits, as well.

Yevlakh City is also rich with natural resources like clay mixture sand deposits, as well as clay, sand and gravel deposits needed for brick making.

Culture

Music and media

The regional channel El TV is headquartered in the city.

Transport

Public transport

Yevlakh has a large urban transport system, mostly managed by the Ministry of Transportation.

Air

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan (ⁱ/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ AZ-ər-by-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan [ɑzærbɑjdʒɑn]), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short border with Turkey in the northwest.

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence in 1918 and became the first Muslim-majority democratic and secular republic. It was also the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theaters and modern universities. The country was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920 as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, before the official dissolution of the USSR. In September 1991, the disputed Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh region re-affirmed its willingness to create a separate state as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The region, effectively independent since the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1991, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan until a final solution to its status is found through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE.

Facebook

Facebook is a corporation and online social networking service headquartered in Menlo Park, California, in the United States. Its website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg with his Harvard College roommates and fellow students Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The founders had initially limited the website's membership to Harvard students, but later expanded it to colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added support for students at various other universities and later to high-school students. Since 2006, anyone who is at least 13 years old was allowed to become a registered user of the website, though the age requirement may be higher depending on applicable local laws. Its name comes from the face book directories often given to American university students.

After registering to use the site, users can create a user profile, add other users as "friends", exchange messages, post status updates and photos, share videos, use various apps and receive notifications when others update their profiles. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics, and categorize their friends into lists such as "People From Work" or "Close Friends". Also users can complain or block unpleasant people. Facebook had over 1.18 billion monthly active users as of August 2015. Because of the large volume of data users submit to the service, Facebook has come under scrutiny for their privacy policies. Facebook, Inc. held its initial public offering in February 2012 and began selling stock to the public three months later, reaching an original peak market capitalization of $104 billion. On July 13, 2015, Facebook became the fastest company in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to reach a market cap of $250 billion. Following its Q3 earnings call in 2015, Facebook's market cap soared past $300 billion.

Ilham Aliyev

Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth and current President of Azerbaijan, in office since 2003. He also functions as the Chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party and the head of the National Olympic Committee. Ilham Aliyev is the son of Heydar Aliyev, who was President of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003.

Early life

Aliyev was born in Baku in 1961. In 1977, Aliyev entered the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-MSIIR) and in 1982 continued his education as a postgraduate. In 1985 he received a PhD degree in history. From 1985 to 1990 Aliyev lectured at MSUIR.

Personal life

Ilham Aliyev married Mehriban Aliyeva in Baku on 22 December 1983. They have three children: Leyla, Arzu and Heydar. Apart from his native Azerbaijani, he is fluent in English, French, Russian and Turkish.

Political career

Early years

In May or June 1994, Ilham Aliyev was appointed as vice-president of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR). He participated as one of the key figures during the negotiations between the Azerbaijani government and Western oil companies during the conclusion of new contracts now known as the "Contract of the Century". In 1995, Aliyev was elected to the National Assembly of Azerbaijan; later he became president of the National Olympic Committee (still incumbent) and head of the Azerbaijan delegation to the Council of Europe. In August 2003, two months prior to the presidential elections, he was appointed as Prime Minister. In October 2003, Heydar Aliyev, suffering failing health, stepped down as President.

Qakh District

Qakh, also Kakhi (Georgian: კახი) or sometimes Gakh (from Russian: Гах), is a raion (district) in the north of Azerbaijan, on the border with Georgia.

Geography

The area of the region occupies 1,494 km² (577 sq mi) and borders Russia on the north, Georgia on the west. It also shares the internal boundaries with Zaqatala Rayon in the northwest, Yevlakh and Samukh regions in the south and Shaki region in the east.

History

The Qakh region of Azerbaijan has a long history dating back to ancient times. Archaeological excavations the area had been populated during Eneolithic, Bronze and early Iron Ages. What remains of these early inhabitants' activities indicates they engaged largely in sedentary cultivation, animal-breeding and art. Qax (Kakhi) region was part of Kakheti-Hereti Kingdom and than part of united Georgian kingdom. In 1921 Kakhi Region became part of Azerbaijan.

With the spread of Christianity throughout the region during the existence of Caucasian Albania, some Churches were built in the Qakh district. In the 8th century A.D., Qakh fell under Arab occupation. Starting from the 11th century first Oghuz Turks and later Qipchaq Turks inhabited the area, the region was incorporated into the Seljuq Empire. Qakh was later a part of Atabeg and Shirvanshah states. With invasion of Hulaguids in Azerbaijan in the 13th century, Mongolian nomadic tribes populated the region. In 1562, by the order of the Safavid Shah Tahmasp I, Ilisu Sultanate was established in Qakh. In the 18th century, Ilisu Sultanate became so powerful that, the Ottoman Emperor conferred its ruler Ali Sultan Bey the highest title of Pasha recognizing him as the Beylerbey of Shaki.