Tsalka (Georgian: წალკა, romanized: ts'alk'a [tsʼaɫkʼa], Greek: Τσάλκα, Armenian: Թռեղք, romanizedT’ṙeġk’ or Ծալկա, Azerbaijani: Barmaqsız) is a town and municipality center in southern Georgia's Kvemo Kartli region.

Tsalka
წალკა
Flag of Tsalka
Official seal of Tsalka
Tsalka is located in Georgia
Tsalka
Tsalka
Location of Tsalka in Georgia
Tsalka is located in Kvemo Kartli
Tsalka
Tsalka
Tsalka (Kvemo Kartli)
Coordinates: 41°35′0″N 44°05′0″E / 41.58333°N 44.08333°E / 41.58333; 44.08333
Country Georgia
MkhareKvemo Kartli
DistrictTsalka
Population
 (2014)
 • Total2,326
Time zoneUTC+4 (Georgian Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+5
ClimateDfb
Map

Population edit

 
View of Tsalka.

The district had a population of 2,326. According to the 2014 census, 47% of its population is Georgian, 38% Armenian, 7% Caucasus Greeks, and 7% Azerbaijanis. Up until the 1990s, Russian served as the language of inter-ethnic communication and was the language of education in most of the schools in the Tsalka district. It was the only area in the USSR where the Greek language was taught in schools. The population in Tsalka district before 1990 was 55,000 people, and more than 90% Greeks (about 50,000). Before 1990, it was the only city in the USSR with such a high Greek population. There were 49 villages in the district, and 44 were Greek villages. In the past, Greeks used to be the majority of Tsalka, but now their numbers have considerably decreased due to emigration to Greece. Several thousand ethnic Georgians who had suffered from landslides in Svaneti and Adjara were settled in Tsalka in 1997–2006.[1] The settlement of these newcomers sometimes led to ethnic tensions with Tsalka's Greek and Armenian population. According to the 2014 Georgian census, there were only 2,113 Greeks in all of Kvemo Kartli, indicating a further massive drop in numbers of Tsalkan Greeks.

There are important historical monuments in Tsalka: Kldekari Fortress (ninth century) and the church of St. George in Dashbashi (tenth-eleventh centuries). Dashbashi Canyon and its new bridge are also interesting tourist attractions.[2][3]

Climate edit

Climate data for Tsalka (1991–2020)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.5
(56.3)
16.1
(61.0)
23.0
(73.4)
25.9
(78.6)
26.7
(80.1)
29.4
(84.9)
33.6
(92.5)
33.0
(91.4)
29.7
(85.5)
27.0
(80.6)
21.4
(70.5)
16.8
(62.2)
33.6
(92.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 2.2
(36.0)
3.2
(37.8)
6.9
(44.4)
12.0
(53.6)
16.5
(61.7)
20.4
(68.7)
23.1
(73.6)
23.5
(74.3)
19.3
(66.7)
14.6
(58.3)
8.6
(47.5)
4.1
(39.4)
12.9
(55.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −8.6
(16.5)
−7.9
(17.8)
−3.9
(25.0)
0.7
(33.3)
5.2
(41.4)
8.7
(47.7)
11.4
(52.5)
11.1
(52.0)
7.5
(45.5)
2.9
(37.2)
−2.8
(27.0)
−6.7
(19.9)
1.5
(34.7)
Record low °C (°F) −31.0
(−23.8)
−33.4
(−28.1)
−21.6
(−6.9)
−12.8
(9.0)
−5.6
(21.9)
−3.0
(26.6)
2.0
(35.6)
3.3
(37.9)
−3.0
(26.6)
−10.3
(13.5)
−20.6
(−5.1)
−25.6
(−14.1)
−33.4
(−28.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 18.5
(0.73)
22.9
(0.90)
37.2
(1.46)
73.8
(2.91)
109.0
(4.29)
115.4
(4.54)
54.4
(2.14)
56.4
(2.22)
47.8
(1.88)
47.2
(1.86)
30.6
(1.20)
22.3
(0.88)
635.5
(25.02)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 5.0 5.6 7.5 10.9 14.5 12.7 8.8 8.1 7.7 8.5 5.8 5.0 100.1
Source: NOAA[4]

Notable people edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Georgia’s Armenian and Azeri Minorities, 22 November 2006 (free registration needed to view the full report) Archived September 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Dashbashi canyon
  3. ^ "Tsalka Canyons and Kldekari Fortress - Georgian Tour Magazine". Georgian Tour Magazine. 2015-12-21. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  4. ^ "Tsalka Climate Normals 1991–2020". World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.

Further reading edit