Gavar

Gavar (Գավառ ɡɑˈvɑr) is a town in Armenia serving as the administrative centre of the Gavar Municipality and the Gegharkunik Province. It is situated among the high mountains of Gegham range to the west of Lake Sevan, with an average height of 1982 meters above sea level. Located 98 kilometers east of the capital Yerevan, the town had a population of 20,765 as per the 2011 census. As per the 2016 official estimate, the population of Gavar is 19,500. Gavar is the seat of the Diocese of Gegharkounik of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The town was known as Nor Bayаzet (Նոր Բայազետ) or Novo-Bayazet (Новобаязет) until 1959, named after the Western Armenian town of Bayazet (historically known as Daroynk and Arshakavan). Between 1959 and 1995, the town was known as Kamo, named after the Bolshevik revolutionary Kamo (Simon Ter-Petrosian). On December 4, 1995, the town was renamed back to its ancient name of Gavar, meaning county in the Armenian language. However, Gavar is colloquially known as Kyavar (Քյավառ) since the 19th century. The modern town of Gavar was founded as Novo-Bayazet (New Bayazit) in 1830 around west of the Lake Sevan, on the site of the ancient city of Gavar or Gyavar, following the immigration of 8,557 Armenians from the town of Bayazit (historically known as Daroynk and Arshakavan) of the Ottoman Empire due to the Russo-Turkish war of 1828-1829. The settlement achieved the status of a town in 1850. However, the area of modern-day Gavar has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. Many historical tombstones, dating back to the 2nd millennium BC are founded in Gavar. The remains of a cyclopean fort dating back to the early Iron Age, are found on a hill at the centre of the town. It is believed that the fortress was the royal capital of the Uelikuhi region within the Urartu kingdom. It was surrounded with more than 22 minor fortifications. The region of Uelikuhi was conquered by the Urartian king Sarduri II. His son, Rusa II renamed the fortress in honour of Khaldi; one of the three chief deities of Ararat.