Naftalan | |
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Coordinates: 40°30′24″N 46°49′30″E / 40.50667°N 46.82500°E | |
Country | Azerbaijan |
Rayon | Naftalan |
Population (2010)[1] | |
• Total | 7,800 |
Time zone | UTC+4 (AZT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+5 (AZT) |
Naftalan is a sahar (ceety) in Azerbaijan, surroondit bi the rayon o Goranboy. It is on an agricultural plain near the Lesser Caucasus Muntains. The wird naftalan means a petroleum product an aw, ane that can be obtained thare.
The wird Naftalan, can be tracit tae the Greek wird "naphtha" ("νάφθα"), meanin pertainin tae ile, an the Azerbaijani suffix "-alan", which is o the verb "tae tak" (an literally meanin "ile buyer").[2] It is the centre o a unique petroleum industry, wi a grade o ile referred tae as "Naftalan"[3]. While Naftalan crude ile is too hivy for normal export uises (unlik Azerbaijan's plentiful Caspian Sea ile), it contains aboot 50 percent naphthalene, a hydrocarbon that is the active ingredient in coal tar soaps, which are uised tae treat psoriasis.[4] As sic, it is anerlie uised for medicinal purposes.[2] Fowk uisin the ile generally sit in a bath an are covered in ile up tae thair necks (see petroleum spas belaw).[4]
Airchaeological fyndins in the region date tae the 12t century AD. The qualities o Naftalan ile haes been kent syne early times; Marco Polo notit them.[3] The ile in the aurie wis kent tae fowk as far as Cheenae an Indie, an wis tradit bi caravans ootower kintras o the Near East. Modren uise o the ile haes datit tae the 1870s unner Czarist Roushie. Bi 1912, a German jyint-stock company wis foondit tae export an tred the ile, whilk wis usied as a treatment in the Russo-Japanese War. Research on the properties o the ile continues tae be duin at Azerbaijan Medical University an the Scienteefic Arthritis Center o Azerbaijan.
The aurie is hame tae petroleum spas (or "ile spas"), ance popular vacation spots o the Soviet Union that is makkin a return in popularity.[4] Ile frae thir spas is claimit tae be an effective treatment again psoriasis, arthritis an rheumatism.[2] At the hicht o thair Soviet-era popularity, the spas in Naftalan haed 75,000 visitors a year. The combination o violent ethnic conflict in nearbi Nagorno-Karabakh an the end o Soviet-sponsored free trips brocht the industry tae its knees in the late-1980s.[4] Aw but ane o the aulder spas wur convertit intae refugee hoosin. The naphthalene in the ile gies it therapeutic properties, housomever it isna clear whether it mey be a carcinogen an aw. The remainin spa, the Naftalan Therapeutic Center, haed 1,000-beds.[2] New spas are planned tae attract tourists.[4]
Destricts (Raions) | Absheron · Agdam · Agdash · Aghjabadi · Agstafa · Agsu · Astara · Babek · Balakan · Barda · Beylagan · Bilasuvar · Dashkasan · Fizuli · Gadabay · Goranboy · Goychay · Goygol · Hajigabul · Imishli · Ismailli · Jabrayil · Jalilabad · Julfa · Kalbajar · Kangarli · Khachmaz · Khizi · Khojali · Khojavend · Kurdamir · Lachin · Lankaran · Lerik · Masally · Neftchala · Oghuz · Ordubad · Qabala · Qakh · Qazakh · Gobustan · Quba · Qubadli · Qusar · Saatly · Sabirabad · Sadarak · Salyan · Samukh · Shabran · Shakhbuz · Shaki · Shamakhi · Shamkir · Sharur · Shusha · Siazan · Tartar · Tovuz · Ujar · Yardymli · Yevlakh · Zangilan · Zaqatala · Zardab |
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Ceeties | |
Names in italics indicate pairts o the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic |
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