Bingöl

This article is about the city. For the province, see Bingöl Province.
Bingöl
Municipality
Bingöl
Coordinates: 38°53′10″N 40°30′6″E / 38.88611°N 40.50167°ECoordinates: 38°53′10″N 40°30′6″E / 38.88611°N 40.50167°E
Country Turkey
Province Bingöl
Government
  Mayor Yücel Barakazi (AKP)
Area[1]
  District 1,789.86 km2 (691.07 sq mi)
Population (2012)[2]
  Urban 98,424
  District 142,455
  District density 80/km2 (210/sq mi)
Website www.facebook.com/Bingolluyuz

Bingöl (Armenian: Ճապաղջուր Chapaghjur, Zazaki: Çewlîg, Kurmanji Kurdish: Çewlîg) is a city in Eastern Turkey. It is surrounded by mountains and a large number of glacier lakes, hence the name (Turkish for a thousand lakes). Lately, the town has become a popular tourist destination. According to 2009 estimates, it has a population of 87,918 .[3]

Bingöl is the capital of Bingöl Province, one of the 81 provinces of Turkey.

On May 1, 2003 the whole area suffered from a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, leaving 177 dead and 520 injured. On 8 March 2010, the area suffered another earthquake, of magnitude 5.9, with its epicenter in Elâzığ Province, 45 km (28 mi) west of Bingöl.

History

In the Middle Ages, Bingöl was known as Romanoupolis (Greek: Ῥωμανοῦπολις) after the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos, who incorporated it permanently into the Byzantine Empire in 942. It initially formed a subdivision of the thema of Mesopotamia, but it was later (ca. 970) elevated into a separate theme.[4]

Geography

Bingöl is 144 km east of Elâzığ and is situated in the high region of Eastern Anatolia. Bingöl is a mountainous area with heights reaching 10,000 feet.[5]

Climate

Bingöl has a continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dsa), with hot and dry summers and cold and snowy winters. The driest months are July and August and the wettest are February and December.

Climate data for Bingöl (1960-2012)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.3
(55.9)
16.2
(61.2)
22.3
(72.1)
30.3
(86.5)
33.4
(92.1)
39.0
(102.2)
42.0
(107.6)
41.3
(106.3)
37.8
(100)
32.1
(89.8)
25.5
(77.9)
22.8
(73)
42
(107.6)
Average high °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8)
3.3
(37.9)
9.1
(48.4)
16.2
(61.2)
22.7
(72.9)
29.3
(84.7)
34.5
(94.1)
34.5
(94.1)
29.7
(85.5)
21.5
(70.7)
12.4
(54.3)
4.9
(40.8)
18.35
(65.03)
Daily mean °C (°F) −2.5
(27.5)
−1.5
(29.3)
3.8
(38.8)
10.6
(51.1)
16.3
(61.3)
22.1
(71.8)
26.7
(80.1)
26.4
(79.5)
21.1
(70)
14.0
(57.2)
6.6
(43.9)
0.5
(32.9)
12.01
(53.62)
Average low °C (°F) −6.1
(21)
−5.4
(22.3)
−0.5
(31.1)
5.6
(42.1)
10.1
(50.2)
14.6
(58.3)
18.9
(66)
18.5
(65.3)
13.5
(56.3)
8.1
(46.6)
2.1
(35.8)
−2.9
(26.8)
6.37
(43.48)
Record low °C (°F) −23.2
(−9.8)
−21.6
(−6.9)
−20.3
(−4.5)
−9.2
(15.4)
1.0
(33.8)
3.5
(38.3)
8.8
(47.8)
7.8
(46)
4.2
(39.6)
−2.4
(27.7)
−15.0
(5)
−25.1
(−13.2)
−25.1
(−13.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 132.6
(5.22)
133.5
(5.256)
127.4
(5.016)
122.2
(4.811)
75.3
(2.965)
20.8
(0.819)
5.8
(0.228)
3.4
(0.134)
10.2
(0.402)
64.2
(2.528)
110.8
(4.362)
136.1
(5.358)
942.3
(37.099)
Avg. precipitation days 12.6 12.4 13.5 15.2 13.5 5.5 1.8 1.4 2.4 8.3 9.3 12.7 108.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 105.4 123.2 155 168 238.7 291 310 294.5 258 195.3 135 93 2,367.1
Source: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü [6]

Transport

Bingöl Airport opened on 12 July 2013.

References

  1. "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  3. Statistical Institute
  4. Oikonomides, Nicolas (1972). Les Listes de Préséance Byzantines des IXe et Xe Siècles (in French). Paris, France: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. p. 359.
  5. "All About Turkey". Retrieved 2011-03-19.
  6. http://www.dmi.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?m=BINGOL