Zernek (formerly: ''Hamurkesen'', ''Zernak'' or ''Zerinak'') is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Gürpınar,

Van Province Van Province ( tr, Van ili, ku, Parezgêha Wanê, Armenian: Վանի մարզ) is a province in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 at ...

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 ...

. Its population is 122 (2022). The village became part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in the 16th century and was invaded by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

during the First World War. Zernek lies in a valley near the road from Gürpınar to Hoşab and has several ruined historical monuments. Such as an Ottoman mosque in the village which was built in 1710. But its dome was probably destroyed during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Close to the village is a ruined castle, probably medieval with Ottoman repairs. Nearby the castle is another old mosque. There is also a ruined bathhouse and ''Han'' (roadside inn) and a medieval Muslim cemetery but some of the stones have been smashed. The Zernek Dam is located near the village. Other historic castles in the region are

Hoşap Castle Hoşap Castle ( tr, Hoşap kalesi, hy, Խոշաբ բերդ) is a large medieval castle located in the village of Güzelsu (previously Hoşap), Gürpınar District, Van Province, Eastern Anatolia and/or Western Armenia, Turkey. It is at a dist ...

and the ancient

Urartian Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushpa, ...

fortress of Sardurihinilli, excavated between 1961 and 1986 by Afif Erzen.

References

Neighbourhoods in Gürpınar District Kurdish settlements in Turkey {{Van-geo-stub