Başkale
Başkale (Kurdish: Elbak,[4] Armenian: Ադամակերտ, romanized: Adamakert) is a town and district located in south-eastern Turkey in Van Province. There is one municipality in the Başkale district, the town centre, which was established in 1937. The neighbourhoods of the town of Başkale are: Tepebaşı, Yeni mahalle, Camii-Kebir, Samandöken, Cevkan, Kale, Hafıziye, Tarım, and Yakınyol. In the local elections of March 2019 Erkan Acar from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was elected mayor.[5]
Başkale | |
|---|---|
  Başkale | |
| Coordinates: 38°02′51″N 44°00′54″E | |
| Country |  Turkey |
| Province | Van |
| Government | |
| • Elected Mayor | Erkan Acar (HDP) |
| • State appointed trustee | Asim Solak |
| Area | |
| • District | 2,730.89 km2 (1,054.40 sq mi) |
| Population (2012)[2] | |
| • Urban | 12,784 |
| • District | 62,550 |
| • District density | 23/km2 (59/sq mi) |
| Post code | 65600 |
| Website | www.baskale.bel.tr |
Geography
Başkale is situated 20 km (12 mi) west of the Turkey-Iran border. 138 km (86 mi) of the national border is on the east and north-east of the Başkale district. Başkale shares district borders with Yüksekova district of Hakkari Province to the south, Saray and Özalp districts of Van Province to the north, and Gürpınar district of Van Province to the west.
Başkale is situated 2460 metres above sea level, in the valley of the Great Zab River (Zapsuyu), and the town stands on the eastern slope of the south-eastern Taurus Mountains. The majority of the 2,599 km2 (1,003 sq mi) Başkale district is mountainous. The agricultural portion is only 355 km2 (137 sq mi), approximately 14% of the total area. Başkale is enclosed by Mount (Yiğit)/Haravil (3468 m) in the east, Mount Başkale/İspiriz (3668 m) in the west, and Mount Gökdağ (3604 m) in the south-east. The mountains of Mor, Haravil, Mengene and Çekvan are in the district of Başkale. Other geographical features in Başkale include the Karasu river, and the plateaus of Nebirnav, Kevçikan, Hanasor, Çekvan, Aşkitan (Ülya), Perihan, Meydan, Harinan, Terazın, Sülav, Medgezeren, Pistekan, Herevil-Şirez, Derevan, Derik, Bağarük, Düava and Mengen.
Demographics
According to Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition from 1911, the town included 10 thousand people, mostly consisting of Kurds but also 1.5 thousand Armenians and 1 thousand Jews.[6]
References
- "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
- "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- Bulut, Uzay (15 February 2022). "The Destruction of Christian Cultural Heritage". Providence. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Avcıkıran, Adem (2009). Kürtçe Anamnez, Anamneza bi Kurmancî (in Kurdish and Turkish). p. 57.
- "Van Başkale Seçim Sonuçları - 31 Mart 2019 Yerel Seçimleri". www.sabah.com.tr. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
- Maunsell, Francis Richard (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 465-466.
Further reading
- Maunsell, Francis Richard (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 465–466.
- "www.Baskale.gov.tr" (in Turkish).
- "Audio slideshow on the town of Baskale, documenting the local election campaign in 2009. Basque captions" (in Basque).
