Cors
Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, the French world traveler, traveled to Iran more than six times. He has mentioned Cors in his travel book. There, we know Cors was a touristic place back in the 11 century AH.
To talk about Cors, we have to mention that you would be visiting an eight-thousand-year-old village in Chaypareh city. Cors is a mysterious village that was the cradle of Urartu civilization. A while ago, Iranian and Austrian archaeologists excavated the Anaghizli hill of this village and found artifacts related to human habitation in the Neolithic period.
Cors has had different names in different historical periods like Kors, Churech, Chosun, Chor, and Khers. This word seems to mean 4 in Armenian. Some believe that Cors was the fourth city in the region under Armenian rule.
You can find Cors at 6 km southeast of the city of Qarah Zia al-Din, at the foot of Safardaghi and Qareh Tappeh mountains, and 46 km from the city of Khoy in the province of West Azerbaijan.
In addition to the historical monuments of Cors village, the beautiful nature of it is also remarkable. Cors lies at the foot of a mountain called Safardaghi, and therefore, bestows a beautiful landscape.
There are several springs in and around the village, and the spring called Ishiq Bolaghi or Sheikh Bolaghi is the most famous spring of Cors.
According to many historical sources, in the Safavid period, when people left Khoy, this village was the center of West Azerbaijan. The Khan of Cors was the focus of the Safavid kings.
The ancient village of Cors is reminiscent of the Iran-Russia wars in a land called Camp Hill. The place where the beloved prince and the viceroy of Fath-Ali Shah Qajar, Abbas Mirza, once camped.
The village of Cors was the campus of the constitutionalists for a time during the constitutional revolution. The constitutionalists, who included the scholars of Khoy, Sadat, Kasbah, and a group of ordinary people, camped for a time in the village of Cors.
When there was a war between the people of Khoy and Sardar Mako during the Qajar dynasty, Cors, this historical village, also hosted a group. They stayed there for a month on behalf of the Tabriz Provincial Association to reconcile the two sides. In the end, the army of Sardar Mako’s defeated the camp.
This eight-thousand-year-old age tourist village has many places to visit. As mentioned above, Cors has a rich historical background.
The archaeologist had reasons to excavate an ancient hill near Cors. In the first season of excavating Anaghizli hill from 13 to 25 October 2016, they found eight thousand years old antiquities containing stone tools, stone chips and stone blades of granite, and flints.
Austrian and Persian archaeologists also dug up shiny red and painted pottery belonging to the Urartian period. These objects indicate the existence of urban civilization in Cors in the Neolithic period.
This hill presented not only items from the Neolithic era but also showed traces of the Urartian civilization in the region. Therefore, it opened a new chapter for historians to do their research.
One of the Urartian works of Cors is a large millstone. This millstone is visible near the Red Mosque (Qirmizi Masjid), but most of it is buried underground.
Among other Urartian historical monuments in the region, we have to mention the Great Fortress and Mulla Junaid Fortress. They both stand in the east of Cors village. Mulla Janid Castle/ Fortress and the Great Castle/ Fortress were inhabited after the Urartian period and during the Islamic period.
There is a weird place that only historical books have mentioned. These archeologists believe that the region of Susmar-ha, meaning the district of crocodiles, lies beneath the houses of this village, and it has given Cors a sort of spooky air.
On the other side of history, places like Morteza Gholi Khan mosque known as Qirmizi (the red) Masjid, Buzkhana or Glacier, Ishiq Bolaghi spring, Anaghizli hill, and mount Safardaghi are also eye-catching and have less weird stories about them.
The expert on restoration and restoration of historical buildings and textures of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism of West Azerbaijan has said:
Today, there are six registered works in the village of Cors, which are scattered in and around the village. These works include the construction of the Red Mosque of Cors (Safavid period), the construction of the glacier (Safavid period), the hill and castle of Mullah Junaid (Islamic Middle Ages), the construction of the old bath (Qajar), the Great Hill (Urartu) and the Anaghizli hill (Old Bronze Age and Urartu).
In historical sources, there are several baths, caravanserais, mosques, and other public buildings in the village. Unfortunately, there is no trace of these places today.
In addition, inside the village of Cors and its surrounding areas, there are various Armenian cemeteries, parts of which have been destroyed over time. On the body of the rocks around the village, various Armenian motifs, including a beautiful cross, are there for us to see.
However, we must say that it is better to visit Cors for its nature and not its significant historical aspect. There are old buildings that tell stories but nature brings peace. This is why Cors is gaining a reputation today; Not for its past but its present status in the wilderness.