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`Noah's Harbor': New railway as another guarantee of Turkey-Azerbaijan
fraternity includes Nakhijevan-Igdir section
Analysis | 05.05.11 | 13:46
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
A railway directly linking Azerbaijan and Turkey will start operating
in the nearest future and, as Turkish mass media report, the
construction of the Nakhijevan-Igdir railway bed has been completed.
According to CNN Turk, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
stressed: `Nakhijevan is our issue. No one should expect a different
approach from us.'
There is a word `ijevan' in the Armenian language. Depending on the
degree of land development it means `hotel', `inn', `caravanserai'.
Armenian toponymy (place-name study) knows many ijevans, however
Nakhijevan has always been mentioned in singular -it is the `first
harbor' of humanity after surviving the Great Flood.
For thousands of years the area has been held sacred as `Noah's
wharf'. The legend says it was in this part of the Ararat Valley that
Noah's marquee (tent) was put up.
In the period of cooperation between Bolsheviks and Turkey, this land
was given to Azerbaijan along with Nagorno-Karabakh. The act of
transfer was consolidated in the Treaty of Kars signed on October 13,
1921.
Ever since then a program has been carried out pursuing complete
extrusion of the Armenian demographic presence from the region and
total destruction of the millennial traces of Armenian material
culture.
In the period of independence [from the Soviet Union] the last
`Armenian traces' were erased. In 1999 the then Azeri president Heydar
Aliyev stated: `Nakhijevan is one the most ancient lands of
Azerbaijan, a part of Azerbaijan that has a very rich history, it's an
Azeri land with a 3,500-year-old history... That has to be proved.'
This statement officially launched the final stage of obliterating the
traces of Armenian presence `on the lands of the autonomy'.
The final chord in this venture was struck in 2001-2006, when
thousands of Armenian tomb-stones were wiped off the face of the earth
in the historic cemetery of Jugha - a medieval city of merchants and
craftsmen. The mission on the ultimate and irreversible liquidation of
all the traces of the Armenian presence in the region was implemented
by Azeri army units.
In summer 2009 Azeri president Ilham Aliyev stated: `Nakhijevan is an
ancient Azeri land. For centuries our nation lived and created on that
wonderful land. The historic and architectural monuments there
demonstrate how extremely talented the Azeri people is... Nakhijevan has
given outstanding people to Azerbaijan. Nakhijevan has given to
Azerbaijan the great leader Heydar Aliyev.'
The following step was the announcement on the `construction of a
railway connecting Turkey with all of the Turkic world', referring to
the Nakhijevan-Igdir railroad that would link Azerbaijan and Turkey
with other Turkic states.
In October 2009, Nakhijevan hosted the eleventh summit of Turkic state
leaders, during which Turkish president Abdullah Gul stated:
`Nakhijevan matters greatly to Turkey. The border between Azerbaijan
and Turkey in the Nakhijevan region is physically small, but
politically this 10-12 km-long border is of great importance.
Geographically it links Turkey with Turkic republics.'
On May 2 this year, the Turkish premier stressed that the newly-built
railroad is a highly significant stage in Turkey-Azerbaijan
cooperation.
Moreover, he said: `Azerbaijan's sorrow is our sorrow, Azerbaijan's
joy is our joy. Here, I am stating again: until the Karabakh issue is
resolved, the rapprochement process with Armenia is impossible. We
have always backed Azerbaijan, and we always will.'
Because of its strategic importance Nakhijevan, bordering with Turkey,
was naturally doomed to Turkey's support. Nakhijevan has highway
communication with Turkey and Iran; it is also linked with Baku by a
major highway, partly running through Iran (a small sector of the road
runs along the Armenia-Iran border stretching along the right bank of
the River Arax). Hence, the new road will become Azerbaijan's ninth
railway exit to the outer world.
From: A. Papazian
fraternity includes Nakhijevan-Igdir section
Analysis | 05.05.11 | 13:46
By Aris Ghazinyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
A railway directly linking Azerbaijan and Turkey will start operating
in the nearest future and, as Turkish mass media report, the
construction of the Nakhijevan-Igdir railway bed has been completed.
According to CNN Turk, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
stressed: `Nakhijevan is our issue. No one should expect a different
approach from us.'
There is a word `ijevan' in the Armenian language. Depending on the
degree of land development it means `hotel', `inn', `caravanserai'.
Armenian toponymy (place-name study) knows many ijevans, however
Nakhijevan has always been mentioned in singular -it is the `first
harbor' of humanity after surviving the Great Flood.
For thousands of years the area has been held sacred as `Noah's
wharf'. The legend says it was in this part of the Ararat Valley that
Noah's marquee (tent) was put up.
In the period of cooperation between Bolsheviks and Turkey, this land
was given to Azerbaijan along with Nagorno-Karabakh. The act of
transfer was consolidated in the Treaty of Kars signed on October 13,
1921.
Ever since then a program has been carried out pursuing complete
extrusion of the Armenian demographic presence from the region and
total destruction of the millennial traces of Armenian material
culture.
In the period of independence [from the Soviet Union] the last
`Armenian traces' were erased. In 1999 the then Azeri president Heydar
Aliyev stated: `Nakhijevan is one the most ancient lands of
Azerbaijan, a part of Azerbaijan that has a very rich history, it's an
Azeri land with a 3,500-year-old history... That has to be proved.'
This statement officially launched the final stage of obliterating the
traces of Armenian presence `on the lands of the autonomy'.
The final chord in this venture was struck in 2001-2006, when
thousands of Armenian tomb-stones were wiped off the face of the earth
in the historic cemetery of Jugha - a medieval city of merchants and
craftsmen. The mission on the ultimate and irreversible liquidation of
all the traces of the Armenian presence in the region was implemented
by Azeri army units.
In summer 2009 Azeri president Ilham Aliyev stated: `Nakhijevan is an
ancient Azeri land. For centuries our nation lived and created on that
wonderful land. The historic and architectural monuments there
demonstrate how extremely talented the Azeri people is... Nakhijevan has
given outstanding people to Azerbaijan. Nakhijevan has given to
Azerbaijan the great leader Heydar Aliyev.'
The following step was the announcement on the `construction of a
railway connecting Turkey with all of the Turkic world', referring to
the Nakhijevan-Igdir railroad that would link Azerbaijan and Turkey
with other Turkic states.
In October 2009, Nakhijevan hosted the eleventh summit of Turkic state
leaders, during which Turkish president Abdullah Gul stated:
`Nakhijevan matters greatly to Turkey. The border between Azerbaijan
and Turkey in the Nakhijevan region is physically small, but
politically this 10-12 km-long border is of great importance.
Geographically it links Turkey with Turkic republics.'
On May 2 this year, the Turkish premier stressed that the newly-built
railroad is a highly significant stage in Turkey-Azerbaijan
cooperation.
Moreover, he said: `Azerbaijan's sorrow is our sorrow, Azerbaijan's
joy is our joy. Here, I am stating again: until the Karabakh issue is
resolved, the rapprochement process with Armenia is impossible. We
have always backed Azerbaijan, and we always will.'
Because of its strategic importance Nakhijevan, bordering with Turkey,
was naturally doomed to Turkey's support. Nakhijevan has highway
communication with Turkey and Iran; it is also linked with Baku by a
major highway, partly running through Iran (a small sector of the road
runs along the Armenia-Iran border stretching along the right bank of
the River Arax). Hence, the new road will become Azerbaijan's ninth
railway exit to the outer world.
From: A. Papazian