Garakilsa temple

In the village of Madina (Garakilsa), located in Garanlig district, Yeni Beyazid uezd, Iravan governate.

Garanlig district – Martuni, Madina (Garakilsa) village currently exists. Armenians write Madina in documents.

Architecture

The Garakilsa temple remained halfdestroyed until the mass deportations that took place in 1987-1991.

Another name of Madina village is Garakilsa. In the village, the 7th century Albanian temple is located on the high ground outside the village. The first written information about Madina village belongs to the period of Garagoyunlu rule. In the correspondence of 1452, the village is presented as "Garakilsa" after the name of the Albanian temple there. In the correspondence of 1555, the village is presented as "Madina village with another name Garakilsa" and it is indicated that it is one of the administrative units of Chukhursad Beylarbey. In 1723, after the Ottomans gained full control over the Goycha lake basin, the village was listed under its old name, i.e. Garakilsa, in the "Ijmal Daftar of Iravan province" which was compiled and approved by Ahmad Shah Mahmat Khan oghlu on April 12, 1728. The population of the village reached 208 in 1873, 296 in 1886, 346 in 1897, 736 in 1904, and 1023 in 1914. The Dashnak army of the so-called "Republic of Ararat", established in 1918 in the lands inhabited by Azerbaijanis, committed genocide against Azerbaijanis, Armenians did not leave the corpses of Madinans alone, but gathered them in a mosquemadrasa and burned them. In 1922, after the security guarantee of the Soviet government, the number of Turks who returned to Madina was only 94 people. In 1931, the number of Turkish population was 234 people. As a result of the deportation carried out by the Armenian government at the state level in 1948-1953 with the consent of I.Stalin, its population was transferred to Azerbaijan.
 

The toponym was created on the basis of the word Madina, which means "city" in Arabic. It is a simple toponym in structure. Until the village was abolished, only Azerbaijanis lived there.