Bitlis Province (; ; ) is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of eastern

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 ...

, located to the west of

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

. It takes its name from the central city,

Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Western Armenia Western Armenia (Western Armenian: Արեւմտեան Հայաստան, ''Arevmdian Hayasdan'') is a term to refer to the western parts of the Armenian highlands located within Turkey (formerly the Ottoman Empire) that comprise the historic ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

. The province is considered part of

Turkish Kurdistan Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan () is the southeastern part of Turkey where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of them in the ...

and has a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

majority. The current

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the province is Erol Karaömeroğlu.

Demographics

History

The province was part of

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 ...

of the Kingdom of Armenia. Before the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

, the area was part of the Six Armenian Vilayets. The administrative center was the town of

Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Inspector General was created, which governed with martial law. The Bitlis province was included in the first Inspectorate General (''Umumi Müfettişlik,'' UM) over which the Inspector General ruled. The UM span over the provinces of

Hakkâri Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: * Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province ...

Siirt Siirt (; ; ; ) is a city in the Siirt District of Siirt Province in Turkey. It had a population of 160,340 in 2021. The city is predominantly inhabited by Kurds. Neighborhoods The city is divided into the neighborhoods of Afetevlerı, Alan, ...

, Van,

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

, Bitlis, Sanlıurfa, Elaziğ and

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

. The Inspectorate General was dissolved in 1952 during the Government of the Democrat Party.

Tourism

The main places with tourism potential in Bitlis are Lake Nemrut, Ahlat Seljuk Cemetery, Ahlat Museum,

Mount Süphan Mount Süphan (; ; ) is a stratovolcano located in eastern Turkey, immediately north of Lake Van. It is the second highest volcano in Turkey, with an elevation of , and has the third highest prominence of the Armenian Highlands, after Mount Arara ...

, Güroymak Hot Springs and Lake Nazik.

Districts

Bitlis Province is divided into 7

districts 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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(the capital district is in bold): * Adilcevaz *

Ahlat Ahlat (; ) is a town in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. It is the seat of Ahlat District.Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Güroymak * Hizan * Mutki * Tatvan

Geology and geomorphology

The main lakes in Bitlis province are Lake Sodalı, Lake Nemrut, Lake Aygır, Lake Batmış and Lake Nazik.

Economy

As of 1920, the province was producing small amounts of

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

, and

sulphur Sulfur (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundance of the chemical ...

. Even smaller amounts of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

were found in the areas of Sairt and Khairwan.

Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

made up the largest mineral industry in the province, so much that it was exported to surrounding provinces. The salt was produced in pans, using

evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization that occurs on the Interface (chemistry), surface of a liquid as it changes into the gas phase. A high concentration of the evaporating substance in the surrounding gas significantly slows down evapora ...

, and taking 8 to 10 days to mature. The technique and trade was mainly run by local

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

Attractions

Nemrut (volcano) Nemrut (, ''Sarakn'', "Mountain spring", , ) is a dormant volcano in Tatvan district, Bitlis province, Eastern Turkey, close to Lake Van. The volcano is named after King Nimrod who is said to have ruled this area in about 2100 BC. There is ...

* Lake Nemrut

References

External links

Pictures of the city of Bitlis, the capital of Bitlis province - and of nearby Siirt

Bitlis Weather Forecast Information

The Armenian History and Presence in Bitlis
{{coord, 38, 23, 13, N, 42, 07, 00, E, region:TR-13_type:adm1st, display=title Turkish Kurdistan