| Ardanuç | |
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| Location of Ardanuç within Turkey. | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Region | Black Sea |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Yıldırım Demir (CHP) |
| • Governor | MUSTAFA GÜNDÜZ |
| Area | |
| • Town | 969 km2 (374.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 558 m (1,831 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Urban | 6,200 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | 08 |
| Area code(s) | 466 |
| Licence plate | 08 |
| Website | http://www.ardanuc.bel.tr/ |
Ardanuç is a town and district of Artvin Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey located 32 km east of Artvin..
Contents |
Ardanuç is a mountainous district, rising from 250 m in the Şavşat River basin (Şavşat district) up to the highest point, 3050 m Mount Çadır. Other high mountains are Kürdevan, Yalnızçam and Mount Horasan. The town of Ardanuç is on the western side of Yalnızçam Mount and at the conjunction of Bulanık, Aydın and Horhot streams.
The history of this area goes back to the settlement of the banks of the Çoruh River by the Hurri and Mitanni branches of the Hittites in 2000BC. The first mention of Ardanuç was in a Urartu monument to the defeat of the local people in battle by King Sarduri II in 753 BC. Then in the 7th century BC the Saka or Scythians are known to have settled and they dominated Ardanuç until it was taken by the Bagrationi dynasty of the Georgian Tao-Klarjeti kingdom with the help of the Byzantines. The Gevhernik Castle was built in this period and was besieged by the Muslim Ummayads in 744 AD.
Fighting between the Bagrationi and Anatolian beyliks began in 1080. Ardanuç being a mountain stronghold was hard to capture, although it did fall to the Mongols during their wars with the Turks and Georgians in the 13th century and was brought into the Ottoman Empire in 1551 by Suleiman the Magnificent following yet another siege, this time to overturn the local ruler, Atabeg of Samtskhe.
Following the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) Ardanuç was ceded to Russia and after the Russian Revolution was returned to the Ottomans and a plebscite was planned to decide its final status.
The short lived, newly independent Democratic Republic of Georgia tried to claim the area but withdrew in 1921. with the Soviet invasion and a petition by the newly formed republic of Turkey.
The most famous sight of Ardanuç is the İskender Pasha Mosque and Tombs (İskender Paşa Camii ve Türbeleri). The mosque was commissioned by İskender Pasha and opened in 1553. It is built in classic Ottoman style and has four domes. Its also contains the tombs of Hatice Hanım, Ali Pasha and Süleyman Pasha.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||