| Iğdır | |
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| Iğdır at night. | |
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Iğdır
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Region | Eastern Anatolia |
| Province | Iğdır |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mehmet Nuri Güneş (BDP) |
| Area | |
| • City | 1,479 km2 (571 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 850 m (2,789 ft) |
| Population (2009)TÜİK | |
| • Urban | 76,950 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | 76000 |
| Area code(s) | 0476 |
| Licence plate | 76 XX XXX |
| Website | Iğdır Municipality |
Iğdır (pronounced [ˈɯɰdɯɾ]; Armenian: Իգդիր, Igdir, also Ցոլակերտ, Tsolakert, after the ancient city nearby; Azerbaijani: İğdır, Idir; Kurdish: Îdir, Idir) is the capital of Iğdır Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, and borders Armenia, Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan) and Iran. The border with Armenia is formed by the Aras River. Turkey's highest mountain, Ağrı Dağı, (the Biblical Mount Ararat) is in Iğdır province, but much of the land is a wide plain far below the mountain.
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The area's name came from "Iğdır Bey", the oldest son of Cengiz Alp who was one of six sons of Oghuz Han belonging to internal Oghuz three arrows branch considered to be the 21st of the 24 Oghuz branches. They spread throughout Anatolia and there are towns and villages named Iğdır in Malatya and other parts of Turkey today.
Historians believe that Igdir went by the Armenian name of Tsolakert during the Middle Ages.[1]Before the first division of Armenia by Roman Empire and Persia Tsolakert was a inside of Chakatk canton of a larger province of Ayrarat. At the end of XV cen. Turks and Kurds settled in some villages near Tsolakert. And Tsolakert became a target for numerous attacs on it. So this Armenian village was forced to self-defence itself. As a center of a district Tsolakert has a fortress. The traveller R.G. Klavio gives the following description to this fortress "At the year of 1403 I was visiting the Tsolakert fortress and at the time this fortress was ruled by a women". In 1555, the town became a part of Safavid Empire and remained under Persian rule (with brief military occupations by the Ottomans between 1578–1605, 1635–36 and 1722-46) until it fell into the hands of the Russians after the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828.
Igdir was brought under Russian sovereignty by the Treaty of Turkmenchay and became a part of the Armenian Oblast organized in 1828. Then Igdir became a part of the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate in 1840, of the Surmalu Uyezd of the Erivan Governorate in 1850.
Under Russian rule, two primary schools, one for boys and the other for girls, and three churches were opened and 100 Armenian families were allowed to move to Igdir. The town's population rose to 10,000 in 1914 and largely busied itself with agriculture and commerce.[1]
When the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, the land came under the control of the newly established Democratic Republic of Armenia.
The Ottoman forces captured Igdir on May 20, 1918.[2] However, the Ottoman forces left Igdir in accordance with the Armistice of Mudros. After the Ottoman troops evacuated the town, the Armenian troops took it and controlled the Markara Bridge over the Aras River to isolate Zengibasar. Armenian population suffered heavily during the grueling winter of 1918-19, as famine, disease and the cold swept away the lives of many.[3][4] In May 1919, its status was elevated to that of city.[5] Based on the boundaries drawn by US State Department in November 1920, Igdir was envisaged to become an integral part of the Armenian republic. But in September 1920, the Government of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey led by Mustafa Kemal launched a war to eliminate the republic and overran Igdir.[6] The Eastern Front under General Kâzım Karabekir took Erzurum, Sarıkamış. Kâzım Karabekir ordered the offensives towards Igdir and Shahtahti on October 18, 1920, to support the offensive toward Kars.[7] However, Turkish forces couldn't put Igdir under their control, because of the strong defences of the Armenian forces in the vicinity of Igdir.[8] According to the British document, the Armenian forces were forced out of Igdir on October 20, 1920.[9] According to the Turkish official document, after the defeat in Shahtahti area, the Armenian forces abondaned Igdir. They burned down the Markara Bridge and retreated to the northern bank of the Aras River on November 13, 1920. Then the Turkish forces entered the town of Igdir.[10] Turkey retained Kars and Ardahan, annexed the region of Igdir by the Treaty of Alexandropol.[11] As Armenia folded away to become a part of Soviet Russia, the Turks' territorial gains were confirmed in the 1921 Treaty of Kars.
The city of Iğdır sits on a plain at a lower altitude than most of Turkey's eastern provinces. This allows agricultural production including apples, tomatoes, cucumbers, peaches, pears, sugar beet, watermelons and melons. However, the most famous produces of Iğdır are cotton and apricots.
Iğdır has a semi-arid continental climate with hot and dry summers and cold and snowy winters. Iğdır is the driest city in Turkey close to the borderline of the arid climate which nevertheless does not exist in Turkey.
| Climate data for Iğdır | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.3 (64.9) |
18.4 (65.1) |
27.0 (80.6) |
33.4 (92.1) |
35.0 (95.0) |
38.0 (100.4) |
41.0 (105.8) |
42.0 (107.6) |
37.8 (100.0) |
33.0 (91.4) |
25.2 (77.4) |
22.2 (72.0) |
42 (107.6) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 2.2 (36.0) |
5.7 (42.3) |
13.1 (55.6) |
19.9 (67.8) |
24.3 (75.7) |
29.5 (85.1) |
33.6 (92.5) |
33.4 (92.1) |
29.1 (84.4) |
21.2 (70.2) |
12.8 (55.0) |
5.0 (41.0) |
19.15 (66.47) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.5 (25.7) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
6.6 (43.9) |
13.3 (55.9) |
17.6 (63.7) |
22.2 (72.0) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.1 (77.2) |
20.0 (68.0) |
12.8 (55.0) |
5.6 (42.1) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
12.08 (53.74) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −8 (17.6) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
0.5 (32.9) |
6.5 (43.7) |
10.6 (51.1) |
14.5 (58.1) |
18.3 (64.9) |
17.6 (63.7) |
12.4 (54.3) |
6.3 (43.3) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
5.74 (42.34) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −23.6 (−10.5) |
−21.6 (−6.9) |
−22.2 (−8.0) |
−6 (21.2) |
0.9 (33.6) |
6.0 (42.8) |
8.0 (46.4) |
8.6 (47.5) |
1.8 (35.2) |
−7 (19.4) |
−13.5 (7.7) |
−30.2 (−22.4) |
−30.2 (−22.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 13.2 (0.52) |
17.2 (0.677) |
22.2 (0.874) |
36.7 (1.445) |
48.1 (1.894) |
32.0 (1.26) |
14.1 (0.555) |
9.2 (0.362) |
10.2 (0.402) |
26.4 (1.039) |
18.6 (0.732) |
11.8 (0.465) |
259.7 (10.224) |
| % humidity | 75 | 71 | 54 | 52 | 59 | 52 | 48 | 48 | 55 | 61 | 68 | 74 | 59.8 |
| Avg. rainy days | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.7 | 11.8 | 15.1 | 10.7 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 8.6 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 94.1 |
| Sunshine hours | 80.6 | 112.0 | 167.4 | 180.0 | 235.6 | 288.0 | 316.2 | 303.8 | 261.0 | 198.4 | 132.0 | 77.5 | 2,352.5 |
| Source no. 1: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü [12] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: Weatherbase [13] | |||||||||||||
On a peninsula close to the Armenian border, and currently within a military zone, stands Sürmeli castle, a medieval citadel whose surviving walls dating from 1224. A ruinous thirteenth century Armenian caravanserai known as the "Caravanserai of Zor" is another historical structure near Iğdır.[14]
In August 1997, construction started on the "Iğdır Soykırım Anıt-Müzesi" (Iğdır Genocide Monument and Museum). Turkish authorities erected the monument to commemorate the alleged massacres of Turks by Armenians during World War I and the Turkish–Armenian War during the Turkish War of Independence. The Turkish argument states that "The expressed for the erection of this monument and this opinion was stated as follows in the final declaration "Resolved, that a monument of martyrs should be erected in Iğdır and a cemetery for martyrs should be established in Oba Village in order to eternalise the memories of more than one million Turks that fell in Eastern Anatolia and to give a similar answer to those declaring the 24th April as the genocide day and to the monuments erected in many places of the world for the genocide alleged to have been perpetrated against the Armenians."[15]
It was opened on October 5, 1999 by Turkish Minister of State Ramazan Mirzaoğlu. Its height from ground level is 43.5 metres. The monument's design contains symbolism related to Turkish self-identity, history, and legends. The upper structure consists of five upright swords, their points touching to resemble Mount Ararat. On the hilt of the swords are a series of reliefs. Beneath the monument are a series of rooms intended to house a museum. The granite for the monument's swords was brought from China and other materials, such as marble, granite, and ceramics, were brought from other regions of Turkey.[15]
Its construction is intended as a counter argument by the Turks that Armenians also perpetrated massacres against Turks and is seen as a part of Turkey's ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide.[16][17]
Iğdır's culture is a subculture of the larger Culture of Turkey.
The agricultural production has caused the town to be livelier and wealthier than its neighbours in the generally impoverished eastern Turkey. There are many cafes and restaurants. The best-known dish is an oily meat stew called bozbaş.[18]
Iğdır has 12 local daily and weekly newspapers.[19] The most prominent of these is Yeşil Iğdır which has been published since 1 September 1955.
The city of Iğdır is located between Kars and Ağrı, and also neighbours with three countries; Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Despite the fact that it has three strategically important neighbours, the border gate to Armenia is closed and there is no direct access to Iran, therefore this situation diminishes economic possibilities.
About 70% percent of Mount Ararat's area lies within Iğdır's borders, however the investments for developing tourism in Mt. Ararat is paid to Ağrı Municipality.
Today, Iğdır has a mixed population of Azerbaijanis (who form the majority[20]) Turks and Kurds.[21] The spring festival nevruz which is native to Iran is widely celebrated in Iğdır.
| Iğdır centrum population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 75,927 | ||
| 2000 | 59,880 | ||
| 1997 | 44,334 | ||
| 1990 | 35,858 | ||
| 1985 | 29,460 | ||
| 1980 | 24,352 | ||
| 1975 | 29,542 | ||
| 1970 | 21,420 | ||
Iğdır is twinned with:
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