Julfa

Julfa is a placename used for several places in the South Caucasus and western Iran. The best-known are Julfa District and its capital town in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, and Jolfa, a city in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Both towns lie along the Aras River and near the border between Azerbaijan and Iran.

Julfa, Azerbaijan, refers to the town that serves as the administrative center of Julfa District in Nakhchivan. The district borders Armenia and Iran and is characterized by cross-border trade, agriculture, and light industry. The town of Julfa is a local economic and cultural hub within the autonomous republic, and the surrounding area contains several historical sites, including a prominent Armenian necropolis that is associated with Jugha.

The Jugha (Julfa) cemetery near the town of Julfa in Nakhchivan was a medieval Armenian burial ground and a major example of Armenian khachkar art, dating from roughly the 9th to the 17th centuries. At its height it attracted scholarly attention for the density and variety of carved stelae. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the site suffered extensive damage and removal of khachkars amid regional conflict, leading to international discussion about cultural heritage preservation and the fate of the cemetery. Accounts of the event are disputed, with different parties giving competing interpretations of responsibility and intent.

Jolfa, Iran, is a city and the administrative center of Jolfa County in East Azerbaijan Province. It lies on the Aras River opposite Julfa in Azerbaijan and serves as a regional border town with historical Armenian ties. The area is involved in cross-border trade and regional cultural exchange and reflects a long history of multiethnic communities along the Aras.