Soyudlu

Söyüdlü (also transliterated Soyudlu, Segyutlyu, or Sogyutlu) is a village and municipality in the Gədəbəy District of western Azerbaijan, with a population of roughly 2,372. It lies on the Shamkir River in the Lesser Caucasus and is best known for the nearby Çarəkvəng (Charekavank) monastery, a 17th-century Armenian Apostolic religious complex, and for the medieval Namərdqala (Qız Qalası) fortress in the surrounding hills. The area was historically part of the Khojaly-Gədəbəy archaeological culture, with Bronze Age remains documented across the wider district.

Söyüdlü is also the site of the Gədəbəy gold mine, operated since 2012 by the British firm Anglo Asian Mining. A large tailings pond associated with the mine, holding arsenic and cyanide byproducts, sits a few hundred metres from the village, and local residents have raised concerns over contamination of land and water. Plans for a second tailings facility prompted local protests in June 2023, after which mining operations were temporarily suspended. Visitors should be aware this is an active industrial and environmental issue in the area, not merely a historical footnote.

By Plane

Ganja International Airport (KVD IATA) is the nearest airport.

By Car / Road

Accessible by road from Gadabay and Ganja.

Walkable.

• Çarəkvəng (Charekavank) Monastery — 17th-century Armenian Apostolic monastery on the Shamkir River.

• Namərdqala (Qız Qalası) — a medieval hilltop fortress in the forested hills nearby.

• Visiting the monastery site and the surrounding river valley and hill landscape.

• Gadabay — district centre.
• Ganja (100 km north) — major city.