Yüksekova
Yüksekova | |
|---|---|
Yüksekova in 2011, near the Ihsaniye Mosque and city center | |
Yüksekova Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates: 37°34′08″N 44°16′59″E / 37.569°N 44.283°E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Hakkâri |
| District | Yüksekova |
| Population (2023)[1] | 84,800 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
Yüksekova (Kurdish: Gever;[2] Syriac: ܓܵܘܵܪ, romanized: Gāwār[3]) is a municipality (belde) in the Yüksekova District of Hakkâri Province in Turkey and is the largest city in the province.[4] The city is populated by Kurds of diverse tribal backgrounds, as well as non-tribal Kurds and is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan. The city also had a sizeable Assyrian Christian population,[5] whose numbers declined due to the Ottoman Empire's genocide of Assyrian Christians. Yüksekova had a population of 84,800 in 2023.[6][1]
Name
Yüksekova was historically known as Dize meaning fortress in Kurdish.[7]
This region is attested as early as the 4th century in the Syriac text Acts of Mar Mari as Gāwār, a region that Christianity was introduced in, and whose inhabitants were converted to Christianity from paganism by Saint Ţomīs.[8]
The word Yüksekova means 'plateau' and is a Turkification of the original name Gever which in Kurdish means 'raised meadow'. In Armenian, however, the word refers to an administrative unit such as district of province, while the word refers to Zoroastrians in Persian. For Muslims, Gavur means infidel and refers to all non-Muslims.[7]
History
Early history
It is believed that a permanent settlement was established in Yüksekova (Gever) in 7000 BC. The city was ruled by the various early age civilizations and empires of the Hurrians, Medes, Persians and Urartians. A remaining ruin of the Urartian civilization is the Ordu Road, which has inscriptions written in Urartian language.[9]
The city was conquered by the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent.[9]
During World War I, the city was briefly occupied by the Russian Empire.[9]
Kurdish-Turkish conflict
2014–2016
It is estimated that around 100 young people went from Yüksekova (Gever) to Syrian Kurdistan, to help Kurdish forces during the Siege of Kobanî in 2014, after the war against ISIS revived pan-Kurdish sentiment.[10][11]
In the late summer and fall of 2015, following the 2014 Kobanî protests, which were part of the broader third phase of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, local Kurdish youth and activists, with some of them being affiliated with the YDG-H, and later YPS, organized popular protests, riots, and declared "self-management" in the city of Yüksekova (Gever).[10][12][13] This led to Turkish government imposed curfews and heavy fighting between the Kurdish side and Turkish security personnel, which included the deployment of the Turkish army in the city.[12][14] In March 2016, Deutsche Welle described the situation as a military siege imposed by the Turkish armed forces.[15] Apartment buildings were flattened, houses were left without roofs, large holes pierced house walls, and bomb craters covered the streets following the Turkish Army's "operation" in the city.[16] According to a report of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects 3,637 houses were made uninhabitable and 35% of the population was left homeless.[17] In 2022, the Human Rights Association (İHD) reported that, despite six years having passed, the effects of the destruction caused during the period of curfews remained visible.[18]
2016-present
Remziye Yaşar (Peoples' Democratic Party) was elected mayor in 2019.[19] She was arrested in October 2019 over terrorism-related charges and replaced by a trustee appointed by the central government.[20]
Neighborhoods
The city is divided into the neighborhoods of Akalın, Aksu, Altınoluk, Beşbulak, Bölük, Cumhuriyet, Dedeler, Dize, Esen Yurt, Esentepe, Eskikışla, Güçlü, Güllüce, Güngor, Güvenli, İnanlı, İpek, Kerem Zeydan, Merkez, Mezarlık, Sarıyıldız, Vezirli, Yeni, Yeşildere, Yeşilova and Yılmaz.[21]
Demographics
Population history from 1997 to 2023:[22][1]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 54,739 | — |
| 2007 | 59,410 | +8.5% |
| 2012 | 68,230 | +14.8% |
| 2017 | 69,346 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 72,745 | +4.9% |
| 2023 | 84,800 | +16.6% |
Anthropological and sociological studies have characterised Yüksekova as a predominantly Kurdish settlement. Ozcan (2021), in a study of spatial sovereignty and political violence, describes Yüksekova as "a Kurdish border town" within Turkish Kurdistan.[23] The Kurdish population speaks Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish) as its principal language, characteristic of the broader Hakkari region.[24]
Climate
Yüksekova has a dry-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dsb),[25] with warm, dry summers, and very cold, snowy winters.
| Climate data for Yüksekova (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.3 (27.9) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
4.7 (40.5) |
11.5 (52.7) |
18.0 (64.4) |
24.5 (76.1) |
29.1 (84.4) |
29.7 (85.5) |
25.4 (77.7) |
18.2 (64.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
0.9 (33.6) |
14.1 (57.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −8.4 (16.9) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
6.6 (43.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
17.5 (63.5) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.7 (71.1) |
17.3 (63.1) |
10.8 (51.4) |
3.2 (37.8) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
7.7 (45.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −13.6 (7.5) |
−12.0 (10.4) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
1.9 (35.4) |
6.3 (43.3) |
9.6 (49.3) |
13.4 (56.1) |
12.9 (55.2) |
8.8 (47.8) |
4.1 (39.4) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
−9.3 (15.3) |
1.3 (34.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 105.0 (4.13) |
110.0 (4.33) |
120.4 (4.74) |
119.1 (4.69) |
58.3 (2.30) |
12.5 (0.49) |
7.5 (0.30) |
4.5 (0.18) |
7.1 (0.28) |
42.6 (1.68) |
74.7 (2.94) |
95.6 (3.76) |
757.3 (29.81) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 9.9 | 10.2 | 10.6 | 12.1 | 8.9 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 5.9 | 7.8 | 9.2 | 83.5 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 71.1 | 70.0 | 66.1 | 58.1 | 52.2 | 43.4 | 38.5 | 36.3 | 40.2 | 53.0 | 61.8 | 69.9 | 55.1 |
| Source: NOAA[26] | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ a b c "Population Of Municipalities, Villages And Quarters". TÜİK. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
- ^ Sediyani, İbrahim (2009). Adını arayan coğrafya (in Turkish). Özedönüş Yayınları. p. 211.
- ^ Payne Smith, Robert (1879–1901). Thesaurus Syriacus (in Latin). Oxford: Clarendon Press. 688.
- ^ "Türkiye Mülki İdare Bölümleri Envanteri". T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Kaza Gavar / Gever / Tergavar / Mergavar / Dize". Virtual Genocide Memorial. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ Peter Alfred, Andrews; Benninghaus, Rüdiger, eds. (1989). Ethnic Groups in the Republic of Turkey. p. 218.
- ^ a b "Kaza Gavar / Gever / Tergavar / Mergavar / Dize". Virtual Genocide Memorial. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ Chabot, J.B., Synodicon Orientale, Paris, 1902, p. 285
- ^ a b c "YÜKSEKOVA DISTRICT REPORT" (PDF). Yüksekova Chamber of Commerce and Industry: 1. 2020.
- ^ a b "'Yüksekova'da barış olursa her yerde olur'". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "Economist: Özerklik isteyen Kürtlerin hükümetle dansı". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ a b "Yüksekova'da sokağa çıkma yasağı ve çatışma: 3 kişi öldü". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 2015-08-27. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ Revolution in Rojava: Democratic Autonomy and Women's Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan (PDF). Pluto Press. 2016. p. 240.
- ^ Orient Kurdi (2016-03-20). Li Geverê hêzên Tirk çekên kîmiyawî bikar tînin. Retrieved 2025-10-18 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Turkey prepares military siege of two Kurdish cities". Deutsche Welle. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ Sim, David (2016-05-31). "Kurds return to Yuksekova to find homes devastated by raging civil war". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "The conditions in Yüksekova district, six years after 'self-governance' was declared". Medya News. 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "'We will not forget the rights violations in Hakkari'". Bianet. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "Hakkari Yüksekova Seçim Sonuçları: 31 Mart 2019 Hakkari Yüksekova Yerel Seçim Sonuçları". Sözcü (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ "Trustees appointed as mayors in southeastern province, districts". Hürriyet Daily News. 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Türkiye Mülki İdare Bölümleri Envanteri". T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "1997 Population Count" (PDF) (in Turkish). Turkish Statistical Institute. 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 October 2022.
- ^ Ozcan, Ozge (2021). "Curfew 'until further notice': Waiting and spatialisation of sovereignty in a Kurdish bordertown in Turkey". Social Anthropology/Anthropologie sociale. Berghahn Journals. doi:10.1111/1469-8676.12964.
- ^ Zeyneloğlu, Sinan; Sirkeci, Ibrahim; Civelek, Yusuf (2016). "Kurdish identity, demographics and related issues". Kurdish Studies. 4 (1): 37–60.
- ^ "Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria". Nature: Scientific Data.
- ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Yüksekova". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 16, 2024.