when a decision to break away from it was passed by an autonomous republic, not even a fully-fledged republic. Sadarak acquired district status after detaching from Sharur District on August 28, 1990. On 19–20 January 1990, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, local Armenian forces seized Sadarak's Karki village. Historical sites Sadarak was an important medieval settlement on the Yerevan-Nakhchivan trade road. There are remains of the Sadarak fortress 955 meters above sea level, three medieval mosques, ruins of defence structures, a caravansary, the Agoglan shrine, and a 19-20th century bath-house here. Sadarak's archaeological sites were registered in 1958. The best-known of them is the Agoglan shrine attributed to the 7-11th centuries. Archaeology An important archaeological site in the district of Sadarak is an ancient settlement of Chalcolithic period that stretches over five acres. The settlement is located on the plain, east of the village of Karaagaç. It is known as Kultepe Sadarak, and is of remarkable importance because of its multiple cultural layers that go back to the late Paleolithic period. Many ceramic products were unearthed here, such as chaff faced pottery, and tableware with painted red lines. The settlement is a testimony of local culture in the V millennium BC, and it brings in new information about the Paleolithic Period in Nakhchivan. Proto Kura-Araxes pottery is found here, black-burnished pottery, as well as all the other types of Kura-Araxes pottery which followed later. Other related Nakhchivan sites with similar early pottery are Ovcular, and Khalaj (archaeology). Geography Sadarak District borders Turkey in the south-west (the only bordering zone with Turkey and Azerbaijan is here - 11 km), with Armenia in the north-west – 24 km and Sharur District in the south-east – 27 km. The climate of Sadarak is continental with hot summer and cold winter. Mineral water springs similar to Istisu and Jeleznovodsk were discovered in Sadarak in 1980. The territory of the district consists of plains, surrounded by the Ujubiz, Aghdakan, Validag and Tekgar massifs. The Aras River flows along the border between Turkey and Sadarak District. Population According to the State Statistics Committee, as of 2018, the population of the region recorded 15.9 thousand persons, which increased by 3.7 thousand persons (30 percent) from 12.2 thousand persons in 2000. 8.1 thousand of total population are men, 7.8 thousand are women. Transportation Plans for a railway into Nakhchivan from Turkey have been proposed by the Turkish government.