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Eastern Anatolia Region Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi
Region of Turkey
Country	Turkey
Area
• Total	165,436 km (63,875 sq mi)

The Eastern Anatolia Region (Template:Lang-tr) is a geographical region of Turkey.

The region and the name "Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi" were defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941. It has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and lowest population density of the seven Turkish regions.

Kurdish people are the predominant ethnic group, and the region is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan. Until the 1915 Armenian Genocide, the region also had a large population of Armenians, and was known as Western Armenia.

Substitution with Armenia

Beginning in 1880, the name Armenia was forbidden to be used in official documents of the Ottoman Empire, in an attempt to play down the history of Armenians in their own homeland. The government of Sultan Abdul Hamid II replaced the name Armenia with such terms as "Kurdistan" or "Anatolia". The Sublime Porte believed there would be no Armenian Question if there was no Armenia. The process of “nationalization” of toponyms was continued and gained momentum under the Kemalists after the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. In 1923, the entire territory of Western Armenia was officially renamed “Eastern Anatolia” (literally The Eastern East).

The word Anatolia means “sunrise” or “east” in Greek. This name was given to the Asia Minor peninsula approximately in the 5th or 4th centuries B.C. During the Ottoman era, the term Anadolou included the north-eastern vilayets of Asia Minor, with Kütahya as its center. Numerous European, Ottoman, Armenian, Russian, Persian, Arabic and other primary sources made clear distinctions between Anatolia and Armenia. The Armenian Highlands have historically been considered to be east of Anatolia, with the border between them located near Sivas (Sebastia) and Kayseri (Caesarea).

In the 17th century the terms "Anatolia" or "Eastern Anatolia" were never used to indicate Armenia. The Islamic World Map of the 16th century and other Ottoman maps of the 18th and 19th centuries also indicate Armenia (Ermenistan) in a specific territory, as well as its cities.

Armenia, together with its boundaries, was mentioned in the works of Ottoman historians and chroniclers until the ban at the end of the 19th century. Kâtip Çelebi, a famous Ottoman chronicler of the 17th century, had a special chapter titled “About the Country Called Armenia” in his book Jihan Numa. However, when this book was republished in 1957, its modern Turkish editor H. Selen changed this title into “Eastern Anatolia”. Osman Nuri, a historian of the second half of the 19th century, mentions Armenia repeatedly in his three-volume Abdul Hamid and the Period of His Reign.

Subdivision

• Upper Euphrates Section (Template:Lang-tr)
• Erzurum - Kars Section (Template:Lang-tr)
• Upper Murat - Van Section (Template:Lang-tr)
  • Upper Murat Area (Template:Lang-tr)
  • Van Area (Template:Lang-tr)
• Hakkari Section (Template:Lang-tr)

Provinces

Provinces that are entirely in the Eastern Anatolia Region:

• Ağrı
• Bingöl
• Elazığ
• Hakkari
• Iğdır
• Kars
• Tunceli
• Van

Provinces that are mostly in the Eastern Anatolia Region:

• Ardahan
• Erzurum
• Şırnak

Location and borders

The Eastern Anatolia Region is located in the easternmost part of Turkey. It is bounded by Turkey's Central Anatolia Region to the west; Turkey's Black Sea Region to the north; Turkey's Southeast Anatolia Region and Iraq to the south; and Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia to the east, where Eastern Anatolia overlaps and converges with the South Caucasus region and Lesser Caucasus mountain plateau.

The area of the region is 146,330 km², which comprises 18.7% of the total area of Turkey.

Population

The total population of the region is 5,906,565 (2014 estimate), down from 6,100,000 at the 2000 census. The population density (40 person/km²) is lower than the average for Turkey (98 person/km²). The region has the second most rural population in Turkey after the Black Sea region. Migration, especially to Marmara Region, is high. Migration to other regions and abroad is higher than the natural population increase.

Geography

The average altitude is 2,200 m. Major geographic features include plains, plateaus and massifs. There is some volcanic activity today.

Massifs and mountains

• There are three massif lines running north–south:
  • To the north, the Çimen Dağı, Kop Dağı and Yalnızçam mountains
  • In the centre, the Munzur, Karasu Dağı, Aras Dağı mountains
  • To the south, Southeast Tauros, Bitlis, Hakkâri, and Buzul mountains.
• The volcanic mountains Nemrut, Süphan, Tendürek and Ararat are in the region.

Plateaus and plains

• The largest plateau in the region is Erzurum-Kars Plato.
• The region includes the Malatya, Elazığ, Bingöl, Muş plains and the Van Lake basin.

Lakes

• Balık
• Bulanık
• Çıldır
• Erçek
• Hazar
• Kuyucuk
• Nazik
• Van Gölü, the largest of Turkey

Rivers

• Fırat
• Dicle
• Aras
• Kura
• Zap

Climate and nature

Since most of the region is far from the sea, and has high altitude, it has a harsh continental climate with long winters and short summers. During the winter, it is very cold and snowy, during summer the weather is cool in the highlands and warm in the lowlands. The region has the lowest average temperature of all Turkish regions, with -25 °C. Although it can get below -40 °C. The summer average is about 20 °C.

The region's annual temperature difference is the highest in Turkey. Some areas in the region have different microclimates. As an example, Iğdır (near Mount Ararat) has a milder climate.

The region contains 11% percent of the total forested area of Turkey, and it is rich in native plants and animals. Oak and yellow pine trees form the majority of the forests.

The region has high potential for hydroelectric power.

Gallery

• View of Mount Ararat from Iğdır
• Cumhuriyet Avenue in Erzurum
• The 13th-century Çifte Minareli Medrese is an architectural monument of the late Seljuk period in the city of Erzurum
• The 14th-century Yakutiye Medresesi in Erzurum
• Panoramic view of the city of Bingöl
• The 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Apostles, with the Castle of Kars in the background
• Kars city centre
• Akdamar Island and the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross, a 10th-century Armenian church and monastic complex
• Ottoman era Yeni (New) Mosque in Malatya
• Harput Castle in Harput

Endnotes

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cheterian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Galichian, Rouben (2004). Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage. London and New York City: I.B. Tauris. p. 8–9. ISBN 1860649793.
3. ^ Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies. Vol. 14–16. Los Angeles. 2005. p. 55. Most of historical Armenia presently constitutes a part of Turkey (renamed "Eastern Anatolia"), which conducts a policy of minimizing the role of the Armenians in history{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sahakyan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. Cite error: The named reference Hovannisian3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-20. Retrieved 2011-05-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

v t e Geographical regions of Turkey
Aegean Black Sea Central Anatolia Eastern Anatolia Marmara Mediterranean Southeastern Anatolia

• Eastern Anatolia Region
• Regions of Turkey
• Geographic history of Armenia