Time zone AZT (UTC+4) | Local time Friday 5:38 PM | |
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Country Azerbaijan (Occupied by Armenia) Weather 6°C, Wind SE at 5 km/h, 58% Humidity Rayons Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Sadarak District | ||
Karki (also Kərki, Kiarki, Kyarki) or Tigranashen is a village that is de jure an exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. The village is near the border with Armenia, located on the bank of the Arpachay River near the Yerevan-Jermuk highway, which is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away from the district center. The area of the village itself is 950 hectares (2,300 acres). Karki is de jure within the administrative territory of the Sadarak Rayon of Nakhchivan. It was occupied on January 19, 1990, by Armenian forces.
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Map of Tigranashen 0619, Armenia
Since May 1992, following the Nagorno-Karabakh War, Karki has been controlled de facto by Armenia, which administers the 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi) territory as part of its Ararat Province. The main highway connecting northern Armenia with southern Armenia passes right by the village, which is today mostly inhabited by Armenians, both locals and refugees from Azerbaijan. The village has been renamed Tigranashen by the Armenian government after the ancient king Tigranes the Great, under whose reign the Kingdom of Armenia attained its greatest power.
After the war, many of the former inhabitants of Karki resettled in a new village, Yeni Kərki (New Karki), created within the Kangarli District of Azerbaijan.
Etymology
The village's name reflects the name of the Karki tribe. Sources indicate that the Karki tribes came to Azerbaijan as part of the Turkic Kipchaks in the early Middle Ages. There is information about the existence of a tribe of the kərkibaşlı (karki-bashly), which was the one of the arms of the qazakhly tribe, at the beginning of the 19th century. One of the arms of the Ersari tribe of Turkmens was called Karki. Karki tribes were registered on the territories of Uzbekistan and Turkey. In the territory of Turkmenistan there exist a city, district, settlement and Kərkidag mountain, all also named Karki.