There are several views about the origin of the Qusar toponymy. There is argued that the word "qusar" comes from the Russian language which means "cavalry warrior". "Qusar" regiment was organized in this territory in 1783–1784. The district was named as "Qusar" according to the name of the regiment. There is another view that the word "qusar" derived from ancient Turkish tribe called "qus/ quz" and "ar" means male. A. Bakikhanov also used the word "qusar" in his book called Gulistani – Iram. He described the events took place in the village called Qusar.
History
The earliest sediments in the district belong to the Jurassic Period, 135–145 million years old. It is estimated that the life in Qusar district has been existing from the 2nd millennium B.C. Mahmudtapa, the hills of Monsar, the Govdushan hills, the hills of Hafla belonging to the Bronze Age, the hills of Kyzylgul and Agahan, the Halakhur hills belonging to the Middle Ages are ancient dwellings dating back to the 1st millennium B.C. The district was originated in 1930, and called Gil Rayon with a center in Gil village. In 1934, the center of the rayon was moved to Qusar, and in 1938 it was renamed to Qusar Rayon. Administrative structure:
Qusar is located in Eurasian continent, in the north-eastern inclination of the main Caucasus Mountain ridge. It is located between 41°11’41°45’ latitude North and 47°52’48°41’ longitude East. Mountains, among which is also Shahdagh Mount, take the great part of the rayon. Territory of the rayon occupies the northeastern part of Azerbaijan. Qusar is a unique gate of the republic. Even in the ancient times the territory of the rayon took a good position on a junction of the main trade roads. It is from Qusar to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The local relief within Qusar district consists of mountains and valleys. Mineral sources such as limestone, chalcopyrite, limonite, and marble are common in the district. Qusar and Samur are main rivers of the Qusar District. Qusar rayon is located far from sea routes. The most nearest seas to it are the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Area of the rayon consists of, occupying 1.7% of the area of Azerbaijan. Qusar is the 14th largest rayon in Azerbaijan. The Qusar rayon spans east-west, by north-south. Extreme points of the rayon are:
Length of the rayons borders is. Extension of the borders in kilometers:
Dagestan Republic .
Qabala Rayon.
Quba Rayon.
Khachmaz Rayon.
Flora and Fauna
, peanut and hornbeam are often found in the forest areas. Natural herbs such as cranberry, sumac, hawthorn, wild grapes and blackberries are also grown in the forests. Wolf, fox, bear, boar, mountain goat and rabbit are particular for forests of the district. There is wild pigeon, quail, green duck and partridge birds in the fields and lakes. On the territory of the district, Qusar State Nature Sanctuary was established according to the resolution of the Council of Ministers of Azerbaijan SSR dated February 24, 1964 on an area of 15,000 hectares with the purpose of preserving and increasing the number of animals and birds inhabiting here.
Population
According to data of 2007, population of the rayon consists of people; 98.67% are Lezgins and 0.86% are the Azerbaijanis. According to the data of 2009, Lezgins are 90.5%, Azerbaijanis are 9.1%, and other nationalities comprise 0.4%. As of 2016, population of rayon grew to people. Lezgins constituted 2% of the total population of Azerbaijan in 2009 who commonly settled in Qusar district. National composition was indicated below in accordance with statistics in 2009.
Nationalities
Percent
lezgins
90.63
Azerbaijanis
9.06
Turkish people
0.12
Russians
0.10
Khinalug people
0.02
Qrız
0.01
Tatars
0.01
Ukrainians
0.01
Other nationalities
0.04
The urban population in 2017 accounted for 21% and 79% of the district's population lives in the village. According to the State Statistics Committee, as of 2018, the population of city recorded 97,200 persons, which increased by 15,400 persons from 81,800 persons in 2000. 48,600 of total population are men, 48,600 are women. More than 26,9 percent of the population consists of young people and teenagers aged 14–29.
Region
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Gusar region
81,8
82,6
83,2
83,7
84,2
84,9
85,7
86,4
87,2
87,7
88,4
89,3
90,5
91,5
92,6
93,8
95,1
96,2
97,2
urban population
17,6
17,7
17,8
17,8
17,9
18,0
18,1
18,3
18,4
18,5
18,6
18,9
19,5
19,7
19,8
20,1
20,3
20,4
20,6
rural population
64,2
64,9
65,4
65,9
66,3
66,9
67,6
68,1
68,8
69,2
69,8
70,4
71,0
71,8
72,8
73,7
74,8
75,8
76,6
Religion
Muslims 98%
Sports and Tourism
Qusar is home of Shahdag Mountain Resort one of the biggest ski resorts in Caucasus and Azerbaijan's first and largest winter resort. Tourist facilities also include such recreational areas as "Alpine Gusar", "Star Gusar", "Gayi Bulak", mountain tourism recreation area "Suvar" and Olympic Sports Complex.
Sightseeing
There are 2 architectural and 46 archaeological monuments in Qusar. The remains of the 13th century fortress in the village of Anigh, the Shaykh Junayd Mausoleum built in 1544 in the village of Hazra, are protected by the government as significant architectural monuments of the country. There are also Kohne Khudat and Huray mosques, belonging to the 18th century, Gil, Gyunduzgala and Hasangala mosques, belonging to the 19th century. There is a museum named after Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov.
is a basis of the region's economy. Sown area comprises of the of land suitable for agriculture. The area of irrigated lands is. Agriculture of this region is based on two main fields – crop production and animal husbandry. Wheat, barley, corn, beans, potatoes, apples, pears, nuts, tomatoes and cabbage are the main crops grown in Qusar. There are more than 5000 hectares of fruit gardens. Nearly 68% of these gardens constitute apple gardens. In order to keep the fruits, cold storage rooms in Chubuglu village, Samur settlement and in Yeni hayat village were built with the governmental support.
Health-care
There are 3 hospital establishments, 19 health posts, 38 medical centers and 61 medical institutions in Qusar district.
