Boyuk Zira

The modern name of the island - “Boyuk-Zira”, which was also the original name, comes from the merger of two words, the Azerbaijani “boyuk” ( Azeri “böyük” ), which means “large” and the Arabic word “jazir”, which means “island ".

Most of the names of the islands of the Baku archipelago , including Boyuk-Zira, were changed by Russians , in particular Cossacks , who appeared on the Caspian in the 17th century . So Boyuk-Zira became known as Nargen, which was associated with the name of Peter I. It is believed that after the war with the Swedes, this island reminded the Russian emperor in form of the island of Nargen (now Naissaar) , located next to Revel (Nane Tallinn ) in the Gulf of Finland . German “Nargen” ( German: Nargen ), Swedish Swede. Nargö and the Estonian "Nartingen" mean "narrow strait". In 1990, the island of Nargen was returned to its original name. ^{[5] [6]}

Boyuk-Zira Island, located in the Caspian Sea, fifteen kilometers from Baku, is of strategic importance for Azerbaijan and is subordinate to the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The island is a rocky area. ^[7] In January 2008, the SOCAR completed the construction of a water line from the village of Lokbatan to the island of Boyuk-Zira, 17 km long, stretching to a depth of 12-14 meters. ^[eight]

Lighthouse

The lighthouse on the island began to operate on December 11, 1884 . It was built on the western reaches of the island and provided ships with the opportunity to enter Baku Bay at night. It was a one-story stone residential building with a three-meter tower on the roof, where the lantern was located. The ship’s path was illuminated by a kerosene-wick burner, and then a gas lamp, with a 4th category light-optical apparatus, which was specially made in Sweden .

In 1941 , in connection with the outbreak of World War II , the lighthouse building was blown up by order of the Soviet military command. Since the lighthouse building could be a good reference point for German aviation, anti-aircraft guns began to be installed on the island to protect Baku from German air raids. The lighthouse was restored only in 1958 and is valid to the present. On a hill in the middle of the island, a stone 18-meter tower was built, equipped with a complex optical-navigation system. The lighthouse is serviced on a shift basis; staff is replaced every two weeks. Light from the lighthouse is visible at a distance of 20-30 km from Baku. The lighthouse is powered by solar panels, which provide a charge of up to 7 days and also by a diesel generator. ^[9]

World War I

During World War I , Nargen Island witnessed some tragic events in the history of Azerbaijan and Turkey . At the beginning of 1915 a transit camp was created here , through which in 1915-17. more than 20 thousand captured Turkish soldiers and officers passed (slightly less than half of all Turkish prisoners of war in Russia). It also contained interned citizens of Russian, Turkish and Persian citizenship, as well as German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war ^[10] . According to some reports, for the most part, prisoners of war died from hunger, dehydration, snake bites, and killing and torture by prison guards. According to Turkish Deputy and Advisor to the Cabinet of Ministers Gunrud Zapsu, his grandfather Abdurrahim Zapsu was also held captive on the island of Nargen, and he managed to escape with the help of one of the nurses. With the help of local residents, the Turkish pilot Vejihi Hurkush, about whose life in Turkey they are going to make a film, also managed to escape from the hellish island. ^[11] However, Russian documents do not confirm this statement: although typhoid and cholera epidemics erupted in some cases, and the sanitary condition left much to be desired before the beginning of 1916, the Russian authorities tried to take care of prisoners of war if possible. By November 1916, the basic infrastructure was created to ensure the prisoners' health, namely, equipped barracks, a large church, a bathhouse, a laundry, premises for an electric station and water pumps, a bakery, a desalination refrigerator, electric lighting throughout the island, a tailor and a shoe workshop ^{[ 10]} . By order of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, a documentary was shot that reflects the tragic events that Turkish soldiers survived on the island of Nargen at the beginning of the 20th century . The film, entitled “Hell Island Nargen,” used archival documents and footage of those years, as well as the recollections of 11 Turkish soldiers who were in camps on the island of Nargen and were able to return home alive ^[12] . In recent years, the idea that a monument to the dead Turkish soldiers has been erected on the island of Nargen has been increasingly heard in Turkey. In particular, Turkhan Chomez, a deputy of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, made such a proposal. ^{[13] [14]}

Victims of Repression

During the period of Stalinist repressions, the island of Nargen was called the Azerbaijani Gulag . It was a place of mass executions and burials of victims of the Stalin-Beria terror, who were brought here on barges. Tens of thousands of people convicted by the communist judicial “troika” were shot on this island, far from people's eyes. There is a version that whole barges clogged by living people were flooded in order to save ammo. According to the stories of Azerbaijani scuba divers, they still find under water the remains of people who were tortured by the communist regime, connected by chains. ^[15]

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan, the construction of a modern recreation center is planned on the Boyuk-Zira island. The project, called Dream Island, is valued at approximately $ 2 billion. The complex will include one thousand villas, three thousand buildings, an international university, a hospital, a golf course with a total area of ​​100 hectares and other administrative and public buildings and complexes. ^[sixteen]

• Zira Island (Nargin) Project (Baku Bay, Azerbaijan) - Zirə Adası layihəsi (Eng .)