Vayqan-e Maqadas وايقان مقدس | |
|---|---|
village | |
 Village view in June 2011 | |
  Vayqan-e Maqadas | |
| Coordinates:38°54′39″N46°46′00″E / 38.91083°N 46.76667°E /38.91083; 46.76667 | |
| Country |  Iran |
| Province | East Azerbaijan |
| County | Khoda Afarin |
| Bakhsh | Minjavan |
| Rural District | Minjavan-e Gharbi |
| Population (2006) | |
• Total | 46 |
| Time zone | UTC+3:30 (IRST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+4:30 (IRDT) |
Vayqan-e Maqadas (Persian:وايقان مقدس, alsoRomanized asVāyqān-e Maqadas; also known asVayān,Vayghan,Vāyqān,Vāyqān-e Ā’īnehlū, andVoyān; inArmenian:Ողան)[1] is a village inMinjavan-e Gharbi Rural District,Minjavan District,Khoda Afarin County,East Azerbaijan Province,Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 46, in 13 families.[2]
Online edition of theDehkhoda Dictionary, quoting Iranian Army files,[3] reports a population of 137 people in late 1940s.[4] According to locals, by 1978 a middle school had been built and the village, housing 120 families, was planned to be expanded to receive more families from surrounding villages, which would be evacuated by the environment organization of Iran. During the turbulent year of the Islamic Revolution, many families emigrated to the suburbs ofTehran and joined those who had been settled there in the earlier mass immigration of 1964-1970 following the land reform. Consequently, by the year 2000, the village was at the verge of total desertion.
In a dramatic change of course, the expatriates have started building summer residences in the village since 2007. At the moment the village is experiencing a construction boom. This is evident from a more recent statistics (2011) which reported the population of 88 people in 40 families.[5]
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Before the Islamic revolution, Vayqan was known as the most religious among the villages of the district. An established family of clerics and a family of piousSayyids were living in the village; a feature quiet unique for the region and sufficient to provide the village with the epithetMoqadas (meaning holy). In addition, a holy icons, known astoq, was placed in the mosque and allegedly showed miraculous feats during the mourning period ofMuharram.
Vayqan is home to a family of snake catchers, whose members have an intrinsic ability to effortlessly catch any poisonous snake.
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