Azerbaijan, Ganca, Azerbaijan

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Ganca (pronounced 'Ganja') is Azerbaijan's second largest city (population 300,000). The city is located on the Ganca river, south of the Kura River in a rich agricultural area. Ganca has for long been the main industrial centre of western Azerbaijan. A heavy industrial heritage from Soviet times comprises aluminium, porcelain, instrument making, furniture, textile and other factories which are now mostly stopped, while new investment is slowly bringing new plants to Ganca, usually with smaller scales companies.

The city was the centre of the caucasian Albanian Christianity till the 11th century, when it fell to the Seljuk Turks. It was rebuilt in the 12th century after an earthquake in 1139 destroyed the original town that was founded in the 5th century, east of the modern city.

Being located on the main caravan routes it became an important centre of trade but was again destroyed by a Mongol invasion in 1231. In the 15th century Ganca was included in the state of Garagoyunlu. In 16th century the town was taken by the Sefavids.

Ganca was part of the Persian Empire from 1606, as the capital of a khanate, until the Russian Empire annexed it in 1804. Russian troops defeated Persian forces here in 1826. Numerous Armenian, Russian and German settlers moved to Ganca developing a significant industrial and commercial momentum.

For some time in 1918 Ganca was the provisional capital of a briefly independent Azerbaijan. Changes in history were also reflected on the city's name. The toponym 'Ganja' is not drug related... it originates in the Ganjak tribe. The city was named Elisavetspol from 1804 to 1918, after the wife of tsar Alexander I. It reverted to the name of Ganca until 1935, when it was renamed Kirovabad. It reverted to Ganca in 1989. In recent history Ganca was the scene of a military uprising in June 1993 that toppled the government of president Abulfaz Elchibey.

The road from Baku to Ganca is one of the country's most scenic. The area is famous for the Kapaz mountain and the 7 lakes near it, particularly the Geygel - the blue lake. The territory is perfect for canoeing, swimming, walking and trekking or for the simple joys of a family pic-nic.

The city was the birthplace of poets Abil-Ula, Mahsati hanum Ganjavi and Nizami - is considered the country's literary centre. Today the Hassan Aliyev University, the Academy of Sciences, Medical School and the Ganja State University (formerly the Pedagogical Institute) ensure that the scholastic tradition is continued. Ai all four state and two private higher educational institutions function in the city with 24.000 students.

With ample streets and avenues and well designed parks, Ganca is prettier than most Azeri towns. The city retains a strong German influence in its architecture. (After the collapse of the Soviet Union; without travel restrictions; worried about the war with Armenia, and with strong incentives from the fatherland, most ethnic Germans left in the early 1990s.)

With a vast main square, the city has its fair share of Soviet architecture, some of it quite good, like the grand city hall with its immense colonnade. Lenin's statue is now gone from the main square, but the city retains a lot from previous times, both in architecture and in character.

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