Dashalty

Dashalty (Azerbaijani: Daşaltı) or Karin Tak (Armenian: Քարին Տակ) is a village in the Shusha District of Azerbaijan, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The village had an ethnic Armenian-majority population prior to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, and also had an Armenian majority in 1989.[2]

Dashalty / Karin Tak
Daşaltı / Քարին Տակ
Village in June 2015
Dashalty / Karin Tak
Dashalty / Karin Tak
Coordinates: 39°44′30″N 46°44′57″E
Country Azerbaijan
 Republic of Artsakh (claimed)
DistrictShusha
Population
 (2015)[1]
 • Total660
Time zoneUTC+4 (AZT)

About 3 km downriver there is a mossy waterfall named "Zontik" (Russian: Зонтик, literally, "Umbrella"), because of its resemblance to an umbrella in the rain. The village is an overnight stopping point along the Janapar hiking trail.

Etymology

Both the Azerbaijani and Armenian names of the village mean "below the rock", referring to the sheer vertical cliffs towering above the village, on top of which Shusha is built.

History

During the Soviet period, the village was a part of the Shusha District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

The village was administrated by the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh as part of its Shushi Province after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Shusha, located just above the village, was the last Azerbaijani stronghold in Nagorno-Karabakh to be captured by Armenian forces in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.[3] On January 26, 1992 Azerbaijani Defense Minister Mehdiyev "led a disastrous sortie out of Shusha to capture the Armenian village of Karintak",[4] in which dozens of Azerbaijani soldiers died.[5]

On 9 November 2020, the last day of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Azerbaijani troops captured the village, and after that, the city of Shusha itself.[6]

The village monument dedicated to the fallen in World War II was destroyed by Azerbaijani forces after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.[7]

Historical heritage sites

Historical heritage sites in and around the village include a 13th-century khachkar, the St. Astvatsatsin Church built in 1862, an 18th/19th-century cemetery, an 18th/19th-century bridge, and a 19th-century watermill.[1]

The old town square is relatively well preserved, showing some traditional pre-Soviet architecture of the region. There is also a plain village church that was restored by Land and Culture Organization volunteers in 1999–2000. It was originally built in 1816 in the place of a previously existing chapel.[8]

Demographics

The village had 588 inhabitants in 2005,[9] and 660 inhabitants in 2015.[1]

  • Village street
  • Monument dedicated to the fallen in WWII and the First Nagorno-Karabakh War
  • St. Astvatsatsin Church
  • "Zontik" (Umbrella) waterfall in the Karkar Canyon
  • Karkar river canyon
  • Section of the Janapar hiking trail passing by the village
  • Destroyed military vehicle
  • General view

References
  1. Hakob Ghahramanyan. "Directory of socio-economic characteristics of NKR administrative-territorial units (2015)".
  2. Андрей Зубов. "Андрей Зубов. Карабах: Мир и Война". drugoivzgliad.com.
  3. Carey Goldberg (1992-05-10). "Armenians Capture Key Karabakh Town : Republics: Both sides agree the fall of the last Azerbaijani stronghold marks a turning point in the four-year struggle over the disputed enclave". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
  4. Black Garden, Thomas de Waal, page 176
  5. Black Garden, Thomas de Waal, page 292
  6. https://mod.gov.az/az/news/isgaldan-azad-olunan-seher-kend-ve-qesebelerimiz-28583.html
  7. "Russian MFA considers vandalism against monuments to heroes of Great Patriotic War in Artsakh by Azerbaijanis unacceptable and immoral". aysor.am. 2021-03-12.
  8. Mkrtchyan, Shahen. Historical-Architectural Monuments of Nagorno Karabagh. Yerevan, 1989. (Շահեն Մկրտչյան, «Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի պատմաճարտարապետական հուշարձանները»)
  9. "The Results of the 2005 Census of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" (PDF). National Statistic Service of the Republic of Artsakh.
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