Marneuli
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Marneuli მარნეული |
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| State : |
 Georgia
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| Region : | Niederkartlien | ||
| Municipality : | Marneuli | ||
| Coordinates : | 41 ° 28 ′ N , 44 ° 49 ′ E | ||
| Residents : | 20,211 (2014) | ||
| Time zone : | Georgian Time (UTC + 4) | ||
| Telephone code : | (+995) 257 | ||
| Postal code : | 3000 | ||
| Community type: | city | ||
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Marneuli ( Georgian მარნეული ) is the administrative seat of the municipality of the same name in the Niederkartlien region in southeastern Georgia .
geography
The city is located near the border with Azerbaijan and Armenia . It has 20,211 inhabitants (as of 2014) and is mostly inhabited by members of the Turkic peoples: Azerbaijanis and Karapapaks (also called Terekeme ) make up 83.1% of the population. The Azerbaijani minority - in contrast to many Armenians in Javakhetia - does not advocate secession from Georgia. The Azerbaijani government and nationalist forces in Azerbaijan do not question the territorial integrity of Georgia.
history
Until 1736 Marneuli was the capital of the Bortschali Sultanate. Until 1947 the city itself was called Bortschali . It comes from the Azerbaijani language and was at the same time the name of a surrounding historical landscape that included the present-day municipalities of Marneuli , Gardabani and Bolnissi .
The Georgian Air Force operates the Tbilisi Marneuli military airfield near Marneuli . During the 2008 Caucasus conflict , the airport was the target of Russian air strikes. On August 8, four people were killed and five injured.
religion
The strongest denomination in the city is the Islamic Shia . Under the rule of the Persian Safavids it was the state religion in Marneuli . The religious center of the city is now the Ahli Beyt Foundation , which is run by an Iranian clergyman, a mujahed . In addition to teaching sacred texts, the foundation also offers English, computer science and Georgian courses.
In May 2016, Ayatollah Sayyid Jawad Sahrestani, Ali as-Sistani’s Iran representative, attended the opening of a new mosque and hospital in Marneuli.
traffic
The city has a train station on the Tbilisi – Yerevan line . A route to Kasreti that used to branch off from here has been closed.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Uwe Halbach: Ethnic Diversity in Georgia , in: Bernd Schröder (ed.): Georgia: Society and Religion on the Threshold of Europe , St. Ingbert 2005, p. 28. Google Books page here. .
- ↑ Associated Press: Georgia says Russian aircraft bombed its air bases , Aug. 8, 2008
- ↑ Bayram Balci: Is there a place for Islam in Christian Georgia by Mikhail Saakashvili? , August 18, 2005
- ↑ Devi Dumbadze: Iran Builds Soft Power in Georgia to Foster Tighter Nexus With Russia , jamestown.org March 29, 2017.