LIKI ROON
Territory - 1084 km2 Population - 65368 Centre - Lerik It holds the world record of human longevity: a chap called Shirali Baba Muslimov, born in the village of Barzavu, who is claimed to have died at the respectable age of 168! Like Muslimov the population of the Lerik 'rayon' is mostly Talysh (Indo-Iranian group - population is spread across both sides of the border). The Talysh number about 200.000, of which 130.000 live in the south-east of the Republic of Azerbaijan, near the Iranian border in and around Lenkoran, Astara and Lerik. The rest of the Talysh live across the border in the Iranian province of Gilan, in a long strip of territory along the Caspian coast, from Astara to the Rasht area. They occupy a land of sharp contrasts, ranging from the high, forested Talysh Mountains, to the subtropical coastal land along the Caspian Sea. Often the Talysh populated area is referred as...
