Şırnak Province (Turkish: Şırnak ili, Kurdish: Parêzgeha Şirnex) is a province in Turkey in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Şırnak Province was created in 1990, with areas that were formerly part of the Siirt, Hakkâri and Mardin Provinces. It borders both Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Syria. The current Governor of the province is Cevdet Atay.
The province had a population of 570,745 in 2023. Its area is 7,078 km. It encompasses 19 municipalities, 240 villages and 192 hamlets.
Tur Abdin (Arabic: طور عبدين; Kurdish: Tor; Latin: Turabdium; Syriac: ܛܽܘܪ ܥܰܒ݂ܕܺܝܢ or ܛܘܼܪ ܥܲܒ݂ܕܝܼܢ, Ṭūr ʿAḇdīn) is a hilly region situated in southeastern Turkey, including the eastern half of Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the border with Syria and famed since Late Antiquity for its Christian monasteries on the border of the Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire. The area is a low plateau in the Anti-Taurus Mountains stretching from Mardin in the west to the Tigris in the east and delimited by the Mesopotamian plains to the south. The Tur Abdin is populated by more than 80 villages and nearly 70 monastery buildings and was mostly Syriac Orthodox with a Syriac Catholic minority until the early 20th century. The earliest surviving Christian buildings date from the 6th century.
The name "Tur Abdin" is Syriac: ܛܘܪ ܥܒܕܝܢ, lit. 'Mountain of the Servants [of God]'. Tur Abdin is of great importance to the Syriac Orthodox, for whom the region used to be a monastic and cultural heartland. The Assyrian community of Tur Abdin natively refer to themselves as Sūryāyê/Sūryōyê or Sūrāyê/Sūrōyê (Syriac: ܣܘܪ̈ܝܐ), and traditionally speak a central Neo-Aramaic dialect called Turoyo.
Van Province (Turkish: Van ili, Kurdish: Parezgêha Wanê, 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 km, and its population is 1,128,749 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are Bitlis to the west, Siirt to the southwest, Şırnak and Hakkâri to the south, and Ağrı to the north. The capital of the province is the city of Van, with a population of 525,016 as of 2022. The second-largest city is Erciş, with 92,945 inhabitants in 2022. The province was part of ancient province of Vaspurakan and is considered to be one of the cradles of Armenian civilization. Before the Armenian genocide, Van Province was one of the six Armenian vilayets. A majority of the population of the province is Kurdish and considered part of Turkish Kurdistan.
37°3′N 43°9′E / 37.050°N 43.150°E
Duhok Governorate (Kurdish: پارێزگای دھۆک, Parêzgeha Dihok, Syriac: ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܘܗܕܪܐ, romanized: Hoparkiya d’Nohadra, Arabic: محافظة دهوك, romanized: Muḥāfaẓat Dohūk) is a governorate in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its capital is the city of Duhok. It includes Zakho, near the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Şırnak Province, Turkey. It borders the Al-Hasakah Governorate of Syria. It was established on 27 May 1969, previously part of Nineveh Governorate.
Hakkari (Kurdish: حەکاری, Syriac: ܚܟܪܝ Ḥakkāri, or ܗܟܪܝ Hakkāri), was a historical mountainous region lying to the south of Lake Van, encompassing parts of the modern provinces of Hakkâri, Şırnak, Van in Turkey and Dohuk in Iraq. During the late Ottoman Empire it was a sanjak within the old Vilayet of Van.
Gordyene or Corduene (Armenian: Կորդուք, romanized: Korduk'; Greek: Κορδυηνή, romanized: Kordyene; Hebrew: קרטיגיני, romanized: Kartigini) was an ancient historical region, located south of Lake Van, present-day eastern Turkey.
According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Gordyene is the ancient name of the region of Bohtan, now Şırnak Province. It is mentioned as Beth Qardu in Syriac sources and is described as a small vassal state between Armenia and Parthian Empire in the mountainous area south of Lake Van in what is now Turkey. Corduene must also be sought on the left bank of the Tigris. Corduene is documented as a fertile mountainous district, rich in pasturage.
Siirt Province, (Turkish: Siirt ili, Kurdish: Parêzgeha Sêrtê; Armenian: Սղերդ զավառ) 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 km, and its population is 331,311 (2022). Its capital is Siirt. It encompasses 12 municipalities, 280 villages and 214 hamlets.
The province is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan and has a Kurdish majority. The current Governor of the Siirt province is Kemal Kızılkaya.
Hakkâri Province (pronounced [hacːaːɾi], Turkish: Hakkâri ili; Kurdish: Parêzgeha Colemêrg), is a province in the southeast of Turkey. It borders Van Province to the north, and Şırnak Province to the west. The administrative centre is the city of Hakkâri. Its area is 7,095 km, and its population is 287,625 (2023). The current Governor is Ali Çelik. The province encompasses 8 municipalities, 140 villages and 313 hamlets. The province is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan and has a Kurdish majority.
The province is a stronghold for Kurdish nationalism and a hotspot in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict.
The Ilısu Dam (Turkish pronunciation: [ɯɫɯˈsu]) is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Tigris near the village of Ilısu and along the border of Mardin and Şırnak Provinces in Turkey. It is one of the 22 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project and its purpose is hydroelectric power production, flood control and water storage. When operational, the dam will support a 1,200 MW power station and will form a 10.4 billion m reservoir. Construction of the dam began in 2006 and was originally expected to be completed by 2016. As part of the project, the much smaller Cizre Dam is to be constructed downstream for irrigation and power. The dam has drawn international controversy, because it will flood portions of ancient Hasankeyf and necessitate the relocation of people living in the region. Because of this, the dam lost international funding in 2008. Most historical structures in Hasankeyf were moved to the new Hasankeyf prior to the filling of the dam. The dam began to fill its reservoir in late July 2019. Due to rainfall, the dam has achieved water levels up to 100m above the river bed and stored 5 billion cubic meters of water. The water level had reached an elevation of 498.2m on 1 April 2020.
DSI has started testing 2 turbines for energy production after completing the spillway testing. The dam reservoir has attained a water volume of 7.6 billion cubic meters. Water storage crest level was 513m on 19 April 2020. It would need 12m rise to achieve the maximum storage level.