Shirak Province

Shirak is a province of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering the provinces of Lori to the east and Aragatsotn to the south and southeast, and the countries of Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north. Its capital and largest city is Gyumri, which is the second largest city in Armenia. It is as much semi-desert as it is mountain meadow or high alpine. In the south, the high steppes merge into mountain terrain, being verdant green in the spring, with hues of reddish brown in the summer. The province is served by the Shirak International Airport of Gyumri. Etymology Shirak Province is named after the Shirak canton of the historical Ayrarat province of Ancient Armenia. The early medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi writes that the name Shirak derives from Shara, who was the great-grandson of Hayk, the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. Modern scholars connect Shirak with the name of the Siraces, a North Caucasian people who may have settled in Shirak and given it its name. According to another view, Shirak derives from /, which is the name given to the region in a cuneiform inscription of the Urartian king Argishti I. Geography