Arabkir (district)

Arabkir Արաբկիր
The Northern Ray residential area at the Arabkir district
Arabkir district shown in red
Country	Armenia
Marz (Province)	Yerevan
Government
• Mayor of District	Hrayr Antonyan
Area
• Total	12 km2 (5 sq mi)
Elevation	1,150 m (3,770 ft)
Population (2011 census)
• Total	117,704
• Density	9,800/km2 (25,000/sq mi)
Time zone	AMT (UTC+4)

Arabkir (Armenian: Արաբկիր վարչական շրջան, Arabkir varčakan šrĵan), is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Located to the north of the city centre, Arabkir is bordered by the Davtashen District from the northwest, Ajapnyak District from the west, Kentron District from the south, and Kanaker-Zeytun District from the east.Hrazdan River forms the natural border of the district from the north and the west. At the north, Arabkir has common borders with the community of Kanakeravan of Kotayk Province.

With an area of 12 km² (5.38% of Yerevan city area), Arabkir is the 8th-largest district of Yerevan in terms of area. It is unofficially divided into smaller neighborhoods such as Nor Arabkir, Mergelyan, Aygedzor, Kanaker Hydropower Plant and Raykom. Arabkir's main thoroughfare is the Komitas Avenue, while the streets of Kiev, N. Zarian, Hrachya Kochar, Mamikonian, Al. Griboyedov, A. Khachaturian, V. Vagharshyan, V. Papazian, and N. Adontz are among the notable ones. The two main squares of the district are Barekamutyun and Mher Mkrtchyan. Arabkir is separated from Kanaker-Zeytun by the Liberty Avenue and Tbilisi Highway.

Arabkir is mainly a commercial district with a large number of retail shops, shopping and service centres. However, a large industrial district was formed at the northern part during the Soviet period. The majority of the residents of the district are middle class.

The district has many parks with the most notable ones are Vahagn Davtyan Park and Nor Arabkir Park.

As of 2016, the population of the district is around 115,800.

On the eve of World War I, there were about 9,523 Armenians (1,300 houses) and 6,774 Turks living in the town of Arapgir near Malatya (modern-day Turkey). After the 1915 Armenian Genocide, most of the Armenian population of Arapgir was either killed or deported. In 1922 the 800 survived Armenians of Arapgir found refuge in Soviet Armenia. Consequently, Arabkir District was officially founded as a settlement north of the Yerevan city centre on November 29, 1925, to become the new home of the genocide survivors of Arapgir.