Siirt ( ar, سِعِرْد, Siʿird; hy, Սղերդ, S'gherd; syr, ܣܥܪܬ, Siirt; ku, Sêrt) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of Siirt Province. The population of the city according to the 2009 census was 129,188.

History

Previously known as ''Saird'', in pre-Islamic times Siirt was a diocese of the Eastern Orthodox Church (''Sirte'', Σίρτη in

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

). In the medieval times, Arzen was the main city and it competed with Hasankeyf over the control the region, Siirt was only to become a center of the region in the 14th century. But it was still dependent from

Hasankeyf Hasankeyf ( ar, حصن كيفا, translit=Ḥiṣn Kayfa‘, ku, Heskîf, hy, Հասանքեյֆ, translit=, el, Κιφας, translit=Kifas, lat, Cepha, syr, ܚܣܢܐ ܕܟܐܦܐ, Ḥesno d-Kifo) is a town and district located along the Ti ...

until the 17th century. An illuminated manuscript known as the Syriac Bible of Paris might have originated from the Bishop of Siirt's library, Siirt's Christians would have worshipped in Syriac, a liturgical language descended from Aramaic still in use by the Syriac Rite, Chaldean Rite, other Eastern Christians in India, and the Nestorians along the Silk Road as far as China. The Chronicle of Seert was preserved in the city; it describes the ecclesiastical history of the Persian realm through to the middle of the seventh century. From 1858 to 1915 the city was the seat of a bishop of the

Chaldean Catholic Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = Assyrian Church.png , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Our Lady of Sorrows Baghdad, Iraq , abbreviation = , type ...

. Most of the city's

Assyrians Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

, including

Addai Scher Addai Sher ( syr, ܐܕܝ ܫܝܪ, ) Also spelled Addaï Scher and Addai Sheir (3 March 1867 – 21 June 1915), was the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Siirt in Upper Mesopotamia. He was killed by the Ottomans during the 1915 Assyrian genocide. Ear ...

their archbishop were murdered during the Assyrian genocide along with the loss of artefacts such as the Syriac manuscript of Theodore of Mopsuestia's De Incarnatione. Also during World War I, the Armenian population of Siirt became a victim of the Armenian genocide.

Demographics

İsmet İnönü referred to the city as an Arab city eager to get

Turkified Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly ...

, while Kurds lived in the outskirts. Kurds currently constitute a majority in the city with a significant Arab community.

Government

In the municipal elections of March 2019 Berivan Helen Işık of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was elected mayor. She was dismissed from her post on 15 May 2020 and detained over terror charges. Ali Fuat Atik, the Governor of the Siirt province was appointed trustee by the Ministry of the Interior.

Landmarks

The city's landmark is the Great Mosque (''Ulu Cami'') built in 1129 by the

Great Seljuk The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to t ...

Sultan Mahmud II who belonged to the main branch of the dynasty that ruled from Baghdad after this

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

Empire had split into several branches. The mosque was restored in 1965.

Trivia

Siirt was Turkish Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

's constituency from 2003 to 2007. His wife, Mrs.

Emine Erdoğan Emine Erdoğan (; ; born 16 February 1955) is the current first lady of Turkey, and the wife of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Family and education Early life Emine Erdoğa, was born as Cemal and Hayriye Gülbaran’s fifth child and only daug ...

, is from Siirt and the PM had been elected to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in a by-election held in Siirt in 2003. Although Siirt remains one of the poorer cities in Turkey, some neighbourhoods have fine and modern housing including new shops, banks and hotels.Siirt in South East Turkey Photo Gallery by Dick Osseman at
Pbase.com. Retrieved on 2011-04-16.

Climate

Siirt has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen: ''Csa,''

Trewartha Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan. According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Trew ...

'': Cs'') with very hot, dry summers and chilly, wet winters. During winter months there is frequent frost and occasional snowfall.

Notable people

Mehmet Güney Mehmet Güney (born 3 May 1936 in Siirt, Turkey) is an international judge and a Turkish diplomat. Biography Education Between 1954 and 1959, Mehmet Güney studied at the faculty of political science, then at the law faculty, of the Ankara ...

(1936*), Diplomat and judge *

Coşkun Aral Coşkun Aral (born May 1, 1956) is a Turkish war correspondent, photo journalist, television journalist and documentary film producer. Life and work Aral was born on May 1, 1956 in Siirt, Turkey. Aral finished the secondary school and the high ...

(1956*), correspondent,

photo journalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

, television journalist and documentary

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

. * Ethem Sancak (1958*), Businessmen *

Zübeyir Aydar Zübeyir Aydar (born 1961, in Eruh) is a Kurdish politician, lawyer and president of the Kongra-Gel (People's Congress of Kurdistan), which is the parliament of the Koma Civakên Kurdistan (KCK), making him the de jure political leader of the outla ...

(1961*), politician, lawyer and president of the

Kongra-Gel 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 ...

(People's Congress of Kurdistan) *

Yasin Aktay Yasin Aktay (born 1966 in Siirt, Turkey) is a deputy chairman of the AK Party and head of the Turkish Group of Inter-Parliamentary Union, Inter-Parliamentarian Union. He is also known as one of the chief aides to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip ...

(1966*), Chairman of

Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being: * Justice and Development Party (Morocco) * Justice and Development Party (Turkey) Justice and Development Party may also refer to: * Justice and Dev ...

in Turkey * Hasan Özer (1974*), footballer and manager *

Kerem Gürgen Kerem Gürgen is a Turkish amateur boxer in the featherweight (57 kg) division. He is currently a member of the squad at Gençlik Spor İl Müdürlüğü (GSİM) in Siirt. Career Gürgen boxed a gold medal in the featherweight division at ...

(1983*), boxer *

Evin Demirhan Evin Demirhan Yavuz (born 2 July 1995) is a Turkish freestyle wrestler competing in the 50 kg division. She is a member of Ankara Aski Spor Club. She won the gold medal at the 2022 European Wrestling Championships. Early life Demirhan was ...

(1995*), freestyle wrestler

Gallery

File:Bridge in siirt.jpg, A bridge in Siirt File:Ebul vefa mosque.jpg, Ebul Vefa Mosque File:Ibrahim hakkı shrine in siirt tillo.jpg, Ibrahim hakkı shrine in Siirt Tillo File:Siirt city hall(mayor).jpg, The city hall File:Siirt Tillo.jpg, Siirt Tillo File:Siirt Street scene 1526.jpg, Siirt Street scene File:Siirt Saat Kulesi 8416.jpg, Siirt Saat Kulesi File:Siirt Market area 8478.jpg, Siirt Market area File:Siirt Ulu Camii 1543.jpg, Siirt Ulu Camii File:Siirt Haci Abdulhakim Mosque 1512.jpg, Hacı Abdulhakim Sancak Çarşı Camii File:Siirt Haci Abdulhakim Mosque 1518.jpg, Hacı Abdulhakim Sancak Çarşı Camii Minber

References

External links

*
George_Grigore: Les principales caracteristiques de l'arabe parle a Siirt
{{Authority control Cities in Turkey Districts of Siirt Province Populated places in Siirt Province Kurdish settlements in Turkey Assyrian communities in Turkey Arab settlements in Turkey