Nahdak Temple

In the village of Boyuk Ayrim, in the Loru-Borchali district of the Tbilisi province, and later in the Allahverdi district

Allahverdi district – from 19.09.1969 – Tumanyan. Currently it is called Big Ayrım – Mets Ayrım. On 07.11.1995 it was included in the administrative territory of Lori province.

Architecture

Until the mass deportation of Azerbaijanis from their historical lands in 1987–1991, the temple was in a partially usable condition, visited and preserved by Azerbaijanis. After the last deportation of Azerbaijanis in 1988, the temple was appropriated by Armenians and is currently presented as an "Armenian monument".

The temple of Nahdak was located in the forest of the village of Boyuk Ayrim. The temple was built by Christian Kipchaks in the 10th century and was not visited by Armenians. Since it does not have an Armenian monument, it has not been studied by Armenian researchers. There is no information about the temple of Nahdak in the Armenian list, it was a very magnificent temple in the thick of the forest.
It was visited by Azerbaijanis and people of Kipchak origin. Slaughtering a rooster as a sacrifice is a custom of the Turks left over from Dede Gorgud, the golden rooster is considered sacred in Turkish mythology. When people living in the surrounding villages had a wish, they would slaughter a rooster or a sheep in the temple of Nahdak and pray to God. These customs are religious customs of the Christian Kipchak Turks, inherited from Zoroastrianism, shamanism, and belief in God.
In the village of Boyuk Ayrim, 171 Azerbaijanis lived in 1886, 223 in 1897, 390 in 1908, and 381 in 1914. In 1918–1920, Azerbaijanis were expelled by Armenians. Only after the establishment of Soviet power in present-day Armenia did the survivors return to their native villages. In 1922, 454, in 1926, 282, in 1931, 530, in 1939, 550, and in 1970, only Azerbaijanis lived here. In various years (1873, 1886, 1908, 1897, 1922, 1926, 1931) the population censuses show that only Azerbaijanis lived in the village. Armenian sources falsify this historical fact and in the “Dictionary of Toponyms of Armenia and Surrounding Provinces” the Azerbaijanis living in the village in those years are shown as Armenians. In 1950, it was merged with the Shnogh fruit-growing state farm. In November 1988, the Azerbaijanis living in the village were expelled. Now Armenians live in the village.

The toponym was formed on the basis of the ethnonym "ayrim", which is a phonetic variant of the Oghuz tribal name "ey-mur" (eymir, imir) and the word "boyuk", which denotes a distinctive feature in Azerbaijani toponymy. M. Valili (Baharli) considers the Ayrim tribe to be a branch of the Seljuks. It is an ethnotoponym. It is a structurally complex toponym. The toponym also proves that the territory belongs to Azerbaijanis.