Ulupamir is a village in Erciş district,

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 a ...

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 ...

History

Ulupamir (meaning ''Great Pamir'') is a village of mostly

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

. They came from the

Great Pamir The Great Pamir or Big Pamir ( Wakhi: ''Past Pamir''; Kyrgyz: ''Chong Pamir''; fa, پامیر کلان, translit=Pāmīr-e Kalān) is a broad U-shaped grassy valley or ''pamir'' in the eastern part of the Wakhan in north-eastern Afghanistan and t ...

and

Little Pamir The Little Pamir ( Wakhi: ''Wuch Pamir''; Kyrgyz: ''Kichik Pamir''; fa, rtl=yes, پامیر خرد, translit=Pāmīr-e Khord) is a broad U-shaped grassy valley or ''pamir'' in the eastern part of the Wakhan in north-eastern Afghanistan. The vall ...

in the

Wakhan Wakhan, or "the Wakhan" (also spelt Vakhan; Persian and ps, واخان, ''Vâxân'' and ''Wāxān'' respectively; tg, Вахон, ''Vaxon''), is a rugged, mountainous part of the Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakoram regions of Afghanistan. Wakha ...

, northern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

, in 1982. They fled to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1978 in the aftermath of the

Saur Revolution The Saur Revolution or Sowr Revolution ( ps, د ثور انقلاب; prs, إنقلاب ثور), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) ...

. However they did not adjust well to the hot Pakistani climate and the unsanitary conditions of the refugee camp, so much so that 450 of them lost their lives. They requested 5,000 visas from the United States Consulate in

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

for resettlement in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

(a region that shares the climate and temperature of the Wakhan). Their request was denied. To solve this situation the group leader proposed to go to Turkey as immigrants and submitted a request for help to the Turkish Embassy in Pakistan.

from

region of

moved to

in the 1970s. Nearly 1,100 of these were accepted by

to settle in Ulupamir (or “Great Pamir” in Kyrgyz), their resettlement village in

. The Turkish Military Government, led by

Kenan Evren Ahmet Kenan Evren (; 17 July 1917 – 9 May 2015) was a Turkish politician and military officer, who served as the seventh President of Turkey from 1980 to 1989. He assumed the post by leading the 1980 military coup. On 18 June 2014, a Turkis ...

, having recently taken power in the September 12th coup, accepted this request. 1,150 of the Kyrgyz were taken to

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

by plane. After this they were separated between

Malatya Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...

and Van Provinces. In 1983, the government of

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...

settled them in the village of Ulupamir where 3,850 Kyrgyz Turks now live. The documentary film '' 37 Uses for a Dead Sheep - the story of the Pamir Kirghiz'' was based on the life of these Kyrgyz in their new home.

Culture

The village has a cultural organization called the "Pamir Cultural Education Organization" ( tr, Pamir Kültür Eğitim Derneği) which attempts to preserve their cultural and family traditions and hand crafts. .Türk Dünyası Kültür ve Sanat Dergisi ''Türksoy'' Sayı : 22 Ocak 2007 .

Traditions

Generally speaking, they have an older Turkish culture. They are very hospitable and are known for their folk dances and colorful weddings. Every year in June there is an ''

Ayran Ayran, doogh, dhallë, daw, xynogala or tan is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage popular across Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeastern Europe, North Asia and Eastern Europe. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and sa ...

Fair'' which works to preserve the village's identity and unique culture. The event starts by reading the

Epic of Manas The Epic of Manas ( ky, Манас дастаны, Manas dastanı, ماناس دستانی), is a traditional epic poem dating to the 18th century but claimed by Kyrgyz tradition to be much older. Manas is said to be based on Bars Bek who was ...

, with traditional clothes, handcrafts, decorations and symbols on display. The national sport of the Kyrgyz, the mounted "Kökbörü" (Gökböğrü or

Buskashi Buzkashi ( Pashto/ fa, بزکشی, lit=goat pulling) is a traditional Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. It is played primarily in Afghanistan. Similar games are known as kokpar, ...

) is played as well as an eating contest.

Food

The traditional foods include manti stuffed with Five Fingers, Kyrgyz rice, bread and meat, different types of meat and cheese

börek Börek or burek are a family of pastries or pies found in the Balkans, Middle East and Central Asia. The pastry is made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach or potatoes. Boreks are mainly ...

and various types of doughy food.

Geography

The village is located 132 kilometres from

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

and 32 kilometres from Erciş.

Climate

The village shares Turkey's continental climate zone.

Economy

The village's economy is based primarily on agriculture and animal husbandry.

References

{{Authority control Villages in Van Province Turkish people of Afghan descent