Bahçesaray (, ) is municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Van Province Van Province (, , Armenian: Վանի մարզ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. Its area is 20,921 km2, and its population is 1,128,749 (2022). ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 426 km², and its population is 13,495 (2022). It was a bucak in

Pervari District Pervari District is a district of Siirt Province in Turkey which has the town of Pervari as its seat. The district had a population of 30,276 in 2021. Its area is 1,651 km2. The district is fully Kurds, Kurdish. Settlements The district ...

Siirt Province Siirt Province, (, ; ) is a province of Turkey, located in the southeast. The province borders Bitlis to the north, Batman to the west, Mardin to the southwest, Şırnak to the south, and Van to the east. Its area is 5,717 km2, and its pop ...

until 1964 and in

Gevaş Gevaş (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Van Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,544 km2, and its population is 26,918 (2022). In the last 2019 Turkish local elections, elections of March 2019, Murat Sezer from the Justic ...

district of Van Province between 1964 and 1987. It is at a distance of from

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

. The town is built on the banks of the Bahçesaray River.

Etymology

The name comes from Persian , which means "the Garden Palace". Its former name was Müküs, derived from

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

'' Mokkʿ'' () region. The Kurdish derives from the Armenian. The word "Mokk in classical Armenian language means: "the place of the magic". According to the legend, Amenap'rkich ( hy) ("All-Saving") monastery that was nearby Moks, has the grave of a magician by name Gaspar. Probably name of "the place of the magic" or just "Mokk" is connected with this mysterious personality. But scientific sources say that in the Urartu era there existed the Moxene tribe and

Moxoene Moxoene or Mokk' () was a territory of Kingdom of Armenia and later Sasanian Armenia, located east of Arzanene from south of Lake Van to north of Bohtan river. The territory was ruled by a local dynasty. Toponymy The name ''Moxoene'' only app ...

, so the names Mokk' and Moks originated from this tribe's name.

History

The district corresponds to Historical Armenia's Mok Arandznak district, which was part of the greater province of

. The district has several ancient Armenian monasteries and churches. The

Aparank monastery Aparank Monastery or Aparanq (), or Holy Cross Aparank, is an Armenian monastery located in modern-day Turkey, Van province near the city of Bahçesaray (District), Van, Bahçesaray. It was found within the borders of the historical Historical reg ...

is located in the vicinity of the town. In the 19th century Bahçesaray was the center of the Kurdish

Emirate of Miks An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalent ...

, until the emirate was defeated by the troops of Ottoman Empire in 1846.

2020 avalanches

On 4 and 5 February 2020, a pair of avalanches struck a highway in the district, leaving at least 41 people dead and 84 others injured.

Composition

There are 20

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Bahçesaray District:Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023. * Akyayla * Altındere * Altıntaş * Arvas * Bağcılar * Çatbayır * Cevizlibelen * Çiçekli * Çömlekçi * Elmayaka * Fekiye Teyran * Güneyyamaç * İslam * Kaşıkçılar * Paşaköy * Şişli * Ulubeyli * Ünlüce * Yaşlıkavak * Yaylakonak

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahcesaray, Van Populated places in Van Province Districts of Van Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Kurdish settlements in Turkey