A Forgotten Point on the Map: Dastakert
Abandoned villages and abandoned towns evoke different emotions — from fear to admiration. Some of them have almost completely disappeared into the ground, while in others it is still possible to find old belongings and traces of the past.
A city is a living organism. It exists as long as blood flows through its streets — its arteries — and we, the residents, are its white blood cells. But sometimes people leave for various reasons, whether it is radiation, a disaster, or perhaps simply a political situation. And the city turns into a mummy: it does not decay, but dries out, losing its blood. Its arteries crack, and its empty eye sockets open. I had a similar feeling in Dastakert, the smallest and one of the most compact towns in the Republic of Armenia.
According to the available information, which is not very extensive, the town has also been referred to as Dastakern and Dastakyurd. It was part of the Tsghuk district of Syunik Province. It was mentioned as early as the 12th–13th centuries by Stepanos Orbelyan. In ancient times, it was an ordinary village. According to the old tax register of Tatev Monastery, the village’s tax amounted to 10 units. It has been considered an urban-type settlement since 1951, and from that period began the town’s second biography, when a copper-molybdenum processing plant was built in the area.
As a result of the consolidation program, Dastakert was incorporated into the Sisian community. In the not-so-distant past, life in Dastakert was vibrant. During the Soviet years, Azerbaijanis also lived there. Today, Dastakert is considered one of the poorest settlements in Armenia, and the buildings of the processing plant and the medical instruments factory have turned into ruins.
Most often, ghost towns in Armenia are abandoned settlements where the architectural landscape remains almost unchanged, just as the last residents left it. Among the reasons for the depopulation of such towns are the depletion of local natural resources, the closure of factories, and the relocation of economic activity to other places.
