Seldek, formerly known as Seldik, is a village in the municipal area of

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 ...

, in the province of

Urfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ex ...

, south-eastern

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 population is 1,588 (in 2018). The village is situated about 2 miles east of the town of Old Halfeti, which lies on the river

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

(partially submerged by the reservoir behind the

Birecik Dam The Birecik Dam, one of the 21 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project of Turkey, is located on the Euphrates River downstream of Atatürk Dam and upstream of Birecik town west of Province of Şanlıurfa in the southeastern region of Turke ...

The population of the village has been consistently declining in recent years, falling from 2,523 (in 2007) to 1,588 in ten years.Census of Turkey www.nufusune.com/80376-sanliurfa-halfeti-seldek-mahallesi-nufusu retrieved February 2019 The name of the village is Kurdish, derived from the personal name Salman. It is attested as Seldik in 1915 and 1928, but is now named Seldek.Index Anatolicus - a database of Turkish toponyms nisanyanmap.com/?yer=32834&haritasi=seldek retrieved February 2019 About a mile north-west of the village lies an historic mound or

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bu ...

(Höyüktepe Höyüğü). This was declared a 1st Degree Archaeological Site in 2017 by the Şanliurfa Cultural Assets Protection Board.Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey 2018 www.resmigazete.gov.tr/ilanlar/eskiilanlar/2018/01/20180105-4-1.pdf retrieved February 2019 The village, with the immediate surroundings, including the tumulus, is constituted a

Mahallah is an Arabic word variously translated as district, quarter, ward, or "neighborhood" in many parts of the Arab world, the Balkans, Western Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and nearby nations. History Historically, mahallas were autonomous social i ...

(mahalle in Turkish), headed by a

Mukhtar A mukhtar ( ar, مختار, mukhtār, chosen one; el, μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule". According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the muk ...

, currently Cengiz Büyüertaş (2019). Halfeti municipal web site www.halfeti.gov.tr/muhtar retrieved February 2019

References

Villages in Şanlıurfa Province {{Şanlıurfa-geo-stub