Kiğı ( ku, Gêxî, hy, Քղի, translit=Kʿġi) is a town and district of
Bingöl Province in the
Eastern Anatolia
The Eastern Anatolia Region ('' tr, Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ.
It is bordered by the Bl ...
region of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. The mayor is Hikmet Özüağ (
AKP). The district has a population of 3,188 out of which 1,604 live in the town of Kiğı.
History
Historically this area was ruled by different Armenian, Byzantine, Kurdish and Turkic dynasties. During the Middle Ages, Kiğı had been a
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
town of the
Ilkhanids
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...
The town became a 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) ...
was a
sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
of the
Erzurum Eyalet
The Erzurum Eyalet ( ota, ایالت ارضروم, ''Eyālet-i Erżurūm'') was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the conquest of Western Armenia by the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was .
History
T ...
. Historically a nearby iron mine was used but mining stopped in 17th century.
The main sights in the town are the citadel, the mosque built in 1401/02 and commissioned by ''Pir Ali'' son of the
Aq Qoyunlu ''Kutlu''.
The medieval Muslim tomb and bathhouse of ''Yazıcızadeler'' and the ruins of a church.
There were battles in this area between the Russians and Ottomans during World War I. The current location of the town was moved here after a
Safavid raid in the 16th century, the old site was near the citadel.
But the present structure is largely a restoration from later times.
Notable people
*
Munzur Çem
References
External links
District governor's official website
Populated places in Bingöl Province
Districts of Bingöl Province
Kurdish settlements in Turkey
{{Bingöl-geo-stub