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Jewish Quarter, Oghuz, Azerbaijan
The Jewish Quarter in Oghuz (Oğuz, אוגוז), Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan, אזרבייג'ן).
Description
The small town of Oghuz (also formerly known as Vartashen) has a long multi-ethnic history, one that includes Jews for several hundred years. Various origin stories account for the presence of the community, some stemming from the original migration to Azerbaijan in early-middle 1st Millenuium. Others place the communities origins in connection to population transfers which occured at various points during the Shirvanshah dynasty (861-1538). The Jewish Quarter appears to have been several blocks on the western side of the center of the town. Many buildings still retain Jewish symbols and embossments, some reportedly more than 150 years old. According to local sources, the current remaining Jewish population is 10 families, 55 individuals (2019).
Sources
Interview with R. I. Avraham. See also Boris Khaimovic article in The Mountain Jews: Customs and Daily Life in the Caucasus Edited by Liya Mikdash-Shamailov, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2002.
Coordinates, pictures, and write-up provided by Arieh Scharnberg/Moreshet Adventures.