Istisu resort

Istisu resort (Azerbaijani: İstisu kurortu) or Istisu sanatorium (Azerbaijani: İstisu sanatoriyası) is a treatment and recreation centre established in 1927 in Istisu (literally warm water), Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan.

In 1970, the Soviet government included the Istisu resort in the list of resorts that have all-union importance. During the Soviet period, about 50 thousand people were treated here every year. In the 1980s, a water filling plant was built as part of the sanatorium. More than 800 thousand litres of mineral water were produced daily from the Upper Istisu, Lower Istisu, Goturlu and Tutgun mineral water fields. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, after the occupation of Kalbajar by Armenian forces in 1993, the resort was completely destroyed. The town subsequently became part of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh as part of its Shahumyan Province, referred to as Jermajur (Armenian: Ջերմաջուր). In 2018, it was reported that work has begun on a privately funded factory to produce mineral water. Kalbajar was returned to Azerbaijan on 25 November 2020, as part of a tripartite ceasefire agreement signed by the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.