Tatvan

Coordinates: 38°30′08″N 42°16′53″E / 38.50222°N 42.28139°E / 38.50222; 42.28139
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Tatvan
Overview of Tatvan from the volcano Nemrut
Overview of Tatvan from the volcano Nemrut
Tatvan is located in Turkey
Tatvan
Tatvan
Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 38°30′08″N 42°16′53″E / 38.50222°N 42.28139°E / 38.50222; 42.28139
CountryTurkey
ProvinceBitlis
DistrictTatvan
Government
 • MayorMehmet Emin Geylani (AKP)
Elevation
1,690 m (5,540 ft)
Population
 (2021)[1]
79,214
Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)
Postal code
13200
Websitetatvan.bel.tr

Tatvan (Kurdish: Tetwan;[2] Armenian: Դատվան, romanizedDatvan) is a city on the western shore of Lake Van, in Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Tatvan District.[3] Its population is 79,214 (2021), making it the most populous municipality of the province.[1] The current mayor is Mehmet Emin Geylani (AKP).[4]

The town is populated by Kurds of the Bekiran tribe.[5]

History[edit]

The citadel of Eski Tatvan possibly dates back to the Urartian period; it was used at least until the 17th century.[6] Sayf al-Dawla, the Arab Hamdanid emir of Aleppo, visited Tatvan in 939/40;[6] while he was here, he received the submission of the Armenian prince Ashot III of Taron.[7] The town was historically a stage on the route from Van to Bitlis.[6] By the 20th century, though, Tatvan had dwindled to a mere village, little more than "a cluster of houses by a jetty".[6] It only developed back into a town when transport links improved around mid-century, with the construction of the railway in the 1950s and the improvement of the road to Van in 1964.[6] In the 1980s, T.A. Sinclair wrote that the Denizcilik Bankası (Shipping Company) ran a good hotel on the south side of town, which was often full; the other hotels at the time, he wrote, were in the town center and were not good.[6]

Transport[edit]

The Tatvan Pier railway station, which is the eastern terminus of the railway line between Ankara and Teheran, with freight and passenger trains.[8] It is connected eastwards to Van, 100 km away, and westwards to the rest of Turkey, by State Road D300. There is also a train ferry across the lake Van.[8] The ferry was upgraded in 2015.

There is no railway around the lake to Van; it is intended eventually to build one but to date there are no plans. This would actually create an unbroken rail link between Europe and the Indian subcontinent, as Van is effectively the western terminus of the Iranian railway network.

There is a bus station about 500 meters from the train station.[9]

Climate[edit]

Climate data for Tatvan
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 0.6
(33.1)
1.5
(34.7)
5.1
(41.2)
11.5
(52.7)
17.2
(63.0)
23.3
(73.9)
28.1
(82.6)
28.0
(82.4)
23.8
(74.8)
16.1
(61.0)
8.9
(48.0)
2.9
(37.2)
13.9
(57.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −5.0
(23.0)
−5.5
(22.1)
−2.1
(28.2)
2.8
(37.0)
6.9
(44.4)
10.8
(51.4)
14.5
(58.1)
14.2
(57.6)
10.6
(51.1)
5.7
(42.3)
0.7
(33.3)
−3.2
(26.2)
4.2
(39.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 89
(3.5)
107
(4.2)
111
(4.4)
124
(4.9)
79
(3.1)
26
(1.0)
6
(0.2)
6
(0.2)
13
(0.5)
80
(3.1)
108
(4.3)
95
(3.7)
844
(33.2)
Source: Climate-data.org

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2021" (XLS) (in Turkish). TÜİK. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ^ Avcıkıran, Adem (2009). Kürtçe Anamnez, Anamneza bi Kurmancî. p. 55.
  3. ^ İlçe Belediyesi, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  4. ^ Şafak, Yeni (2019-05-11). "Bitlis Tatvan Seçim Sonuçları – Tatvan Yerel Seçim Sonuçları". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  5. ^ Bekiran, Mehmet Fatih (2018). Bekiran Aşireti Tarihi (in Turkish). Berikan Yayınları. p. 220.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Sinclair, T.A. (1987). Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume I. London: Pindar Press. pp. 227, 325. ISBN 0-907132-32-4. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  7. ^ Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
  8. ^ a b "Transasia Express (Ankara Tehran train)". Rail Turkey En. 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  9. ^ "Tatvan train station". Rail Turkey En. 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2019-11-06.

External links[edit]

Media related to Category:Tatvan at Wikimedia Commons