Ömerli, formerly known as Amara, is a village in

Halfeti Halfeti ( ku, Xelfêtî) is a town and district on the east bank of the river Euphrates in Şanlıurfa Province in Turkey, from the city of Şanlıurfa. Population (2000 census) 33,467 (of which 2,608 were in the town of Halfeti, the majority be ...

Şanlıurfa Province Şanlıurfa Province ( tr, Şanlıurfa ili; ku, Parêzgeha Rihayê) or simply Urfa Province is a province in southeastern Turkey. The city of Şanlıurfa is the capital of the province which bears its name. The population is 1,845,667 (2014). The ...

, southeastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The population is estimated at 1,182. Many of the population have moved to Germany for employment.

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

is spoken widely in the village. It has a small primary school with nearby villages providing secondary or further education. The village was founded by the

Paulicians Paulicianism (Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; grc, Παυλικιανοί, "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the ...

. The village is the birthplace of

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish and Kurdish for "uncle"), is a political prisoner and founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from ...

, the leader of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

(PKK), who was born there on April 4, 1949. Every year on his birthday thousands of

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

celebrate his birthday. On April 4, 2009, a group of 3.000 Kurds was marching towards Amara to celebrate Öcalans 60th Birthday. The march was interrupted by Turkish authorities resulting in clashes. Two men lost their lives. In the municipal elections on the 31 March 2019 Hüsamettin Altındağ of the AKP was elected Mayor.

Notable people

(*1949), Founder of the

Osman Öcalan Osman Öcalan (14 August 1958 - 15 November 2021) was a Turkish- Kurdish militant, politician, and ex-commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Biography The younger brother of Abdullah Öcalan, Osman studied at teachers' training college bef ...

(1958-2021), Kurdish Military commander. * Ömer Öcalan (*1987), politician of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and a current member of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

References

Kurdish settlements in Turkey Villages in Halfeti District Populated places in Şanlıurfa Province {{Şanlıurfa-geo-stub