Khirdalan (Azerbaijani Xırdalan) is a city in Azerbaijan, the administrative center of the Absheron region of the country. The city is located in the western part of the Absheron Peninsula, 5 kilometers northwest of Baku.

Toponym
The toponym of the word “Khirdalan” has several interpretations. Some scholars associate the name of the city with the numerous sown areas once located on this territory (in Azerbaijani “khirlar”).
There is also a version that the first “A” is missing in the word Khirdalan, that is, Khirdalan is an unvoiced form of the word Akhirdalan, which is not uncommon in the Turkic languages. Akhirdalan (Azerb. Axır dalan) means “the last dead end (turn)”. This name is explained by the fact that Khirdalan is the last transit point on the way to Baku.

History
Khirdalan arose at the beginning of the 20th century as a village. In 1936, he received the status of an urban-type settlement, and then the district center of the Absheron region of the Azerbaijan SSR.
After receiving the city status, Khirdalan is a city of regional subordination. On October 2, 2006, the Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan adopted a decision to grant Khirdalan the status of a city, and on November 30, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the application of the law “On awarding the status of a city to the village of Khirdalan in the Absheron region.”

Geography
The city of Khirdalan is located in the western part of the Absheron Peninsula, south of the Jeyranbatan reservoir, between the cities of Baku and Sumgayit, at an altitude of 71 meters from sea level. The distance to the capital of Azerbaijan is 5 km. The seismic activity of the region is 8 points on the Richter scale.

Climate
The region is dominated by a warm temperate semi-desert and dry steppe climate. The average annual air temperature is 13.1 degrees, the average monthly maximum temperature is 24.6, the minimum is 2.4 degrees. Air humidity 76%, annual precipitation 163 mm. The main wind directions are north, northwest, south and southwest. The average wind speed is 6.8 meters per second.

Main technical and economic indicators
The master plan of the city of Khirdalan, prepared in 2011 and calculated until 2030, was approved on April 8, 2013. The total area of ​​the city, according to this plan, is 1702.00 hectares.
The city has 20 industrial enterprises, the total number of workers of which is 1698 people. The total area of ​​the housing stock is 1297.8 sq.m. Among the objects of education we should mention kindergartens and schools, where 920 and 7304 children study respectively. The healthcare system includes hospitals with 80 beds and polyclinics with a capacity of 575 visitors per day.
The water supply of the city is provided with the help of the Jeyranbatan reservoir, the Zyali lake located in the Masazir settlement and the Shollar reservoir. The main objects of the sewer system include: a sewage pumping station, a sewer collector and a gravity sewer line.
The main sources of electrical energy are the Khirdalan and Aliaga Vahid substations, with a productive capacity of 220/110/35/10 and 110/35/10 kW, respectively. The city still lacks a centralized heating system. Heating is supplied by 53 boilers. The source of gas supply is the GPS in the Masazir settlement and 71 gas stations. The capacity of ATS 341/342, which is part of the Absheron telecommunications center, is 54,620 numbers.

Famous Natives
– Nabi Khazri – People’s Poet of Azerbaijan.
– Ziyad Aliyev is the world champion in freestyle wrestling.
– Magomedhuseyn Adygezalov – one of the first professional oil drillers of Azerbaijan, chairman of the Khirdalan Council of People’s Deputies (1918), member of the social democratic party “Gummet” (since 1906), chairman of the Khirdalan Revolutionary Council (1920-1921), chairman of the Binagadi Executive Committee (1921), holder of the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1928).
– Abdulrahman Mamedhuseyn oglu Adygezalov – Honored Engineer, First Deputy Minister of the Building Materials Industry of the Azerbaijan SSR (1950-1957), head of the Baku-Shollar water canal, chief engineer of the People’s Industry Council under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan SSR (1958).
– Agahuseyn Javadov – theater and film actor, People’s Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.
– Atababa Hajibabaev – Azerbaijani theater critic, writer, publicist, one of the co-authors of the Azerbaijan Soviet Encyclopedia, artistic director of the Union of Theater Workers of Azerbaijan SSR (1981-1987), Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.