Van Province

Infobox Province TR
region = Eastern Anatolia
name = Van
licence = 65
total population = 1,012,707
area_code= 276
area=19,069|

Van is a province in eastern Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km² in area and has a population of 1,012,707.

Its adjacent provinces are Bitlis to the west, Siirt to the southwest, Şırnak and Hakkari to the south, and Agri to the north. The capital is Van. The province and the surrounding area is the home of famous Van kedisi (Van cat).

Districts

Van province is divided into 12 districts (district capitals in bold):
*Bahçesaray
*Başkale
*Çaldıran
*Çatak
*Edremit
*Erciş
*Gevaş
*Gürpınar
*Muradiye
*Özalp
*Saray
*Van

History

In the 9th century BC, the Van area was the center of the Urartian kingdom [European History in a World Perspective - Page 68 by Shepard Bancroft Clough] . In Ancient - part of Greater Armenia. In 908-1021 was central part of Armenian Kingom of Vaspurakan, then joined Byzantine Empire. With the Seljuk victory at the Battle of Malazgirt in 1071, just north of Lake Van [http://historymedren.about.com/od/aentries/a/11_alparslan.htm] , it became a part of Seljuk Empire and later the Ottoman Empire. For centuries after that, the area was a major Armenian population center. After World War I, the Armenian population was forced to leave or was ethnically cleansed (see Armenian Genocide).

ee also

*Ottoman Armenian Population
*Van Resistance

Notes

External links

* [http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/van Pictures of the capital of this province]