Hanak

Hanak
Hanak
Coordinates: 41°14′10″N 42°50′50″E / 41.23611°N 42.84722°ECoordinates: 41°14′10″N 42°50′50″E / 41.23611°N 42.84722°E
Country Turkey
Province Ardahan
Government
 • Mayor Ayhan Büyükkaya (CHP)
 • Kaymakam Süleyman Ovalı
Area[1]
 • District 546.78 km2 (211.11 sq mi)
Population (2012)[2]
 • Urban 3,943
 • District 9,891
 • District density 18/km2 (47/sq mi)
Post code 75900
Website www.hanak.bel.tr

Hanak is a district of Ardahan Province of Turkey, on the road from Ardahan to Posof, in kurdish Xanek

Hanak sits in the valley of the Hanak River with high mountains on all sides, Ilgar to the north being the highest at 2915m. The weather, like all districts of Ardahan, is very, very cold and dry especially on the mountainsides where the cold weather begins in September, the snow will not melt until May, avalanches are common and the road to Posof is frequently closed. In summers it rains.

Until the 18th century, these mountains were covered in forest, but now they are bare hillsides apart from one or two patches of pine forest. The local economy depends on grazing cattle.

History

See Erusheti and Ardahan Province for the history of this area, including Hanak, long settled by the Kipchak branch of the Oghuz Turks, apart from brief periods of occupation by Russia in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Villages

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.

See also