| Akhalkalaki ახალქალაქი |
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Akhalkalaki
ახალქალაქი |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Georgia |
| Mkhare | Samtskhe-Javakheti |
| Elevation | 1,707 m (5,600 ft) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 60,975 |
| Time zone | Georgian Time (UTC+4) |
| Website | Official |
Akhalkalaki (Georgian: ახალქალაქი for New City; Armenian: Ախալքալաք) is a small city in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe-Javakheti with a population of 60,975. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti Volcanic Plateau. The city is located about 30 km from the border with Turkey. 90 percent of the city's population are ethnic Armenians after expulsion of Meskheti Turks in 1944. The city was passed from Ottomans to Russians after Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829). On January 4, 1900, an earthquake destroyed much of the town and killed 1,000 people in the area.[1]
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Akhalkalaki was founded in 1064. in 1066 the city was destroyed during the Seljuq invasions of the Kingdom of Georgia.[2] In 11th century Akhalkalaki became political and economical centre of Javakheti. In 16th century the city came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and became a sanjak centre in Çıldır Eyaleti. Under the Ottoman rule, the town was known as "Ahılkelek". The city was passed from Ottomans to Russians after Russo-Turkish War in 1828–1829. After the establishment of a Russian regime, Georgian Muslims were deported to Turkey and Armenians were settled down from the Vilayet of Erzurum.[3] Meskhetian Turks are the former Turkish inhabitants of Meskheti (Georgia), now known as Samtskhe-Javakheti, along the border with Turkey. They were deported to Central Asia during November 15–25, 1944 by Joseph Stalin and settled within Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Of the 120,000 forcibly deported in cattle-trucks a total of 10,000 perished.[4] Today they are dispersed over a number of other countries of the former Soviet Union.
In April 2005, an agreement was signed to build a new railway connecting Turkey with Georgia and Azerbaijan, passing through Akhalkalaki. This would bypass an existing line through Gyumri in Armenia which has been closed by Turkey, blockading Armenia, for political reasons since the 1990s.[5] It is not clear where the break-of-gauge will be.
The city was a home to the Soviet-era 147th Motor Rifle Division (part of the 9th Army of the Transcaucasian Military District) up until the early 1990s. After the fall of the Soviet Union the Division became the Russian 62nd Military Base which was officially transferred, according to the Sochi agreement, to Georgia on June 27, 2007.[6]
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