Bingöl


Bingöl is a city in Eastern Turkey. It is surrounded by mountains and numerous glacier lakes, hence the name. Lately, the town has become a popular tourist destination. According to 2017 estimates, it has a population of over 111,000.
Bingöl is the capital of Bingöl Province, one of the 81 provinces of Turkey.

History

In the Middle Ages, Bingöl was known as Romanoupolis 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 elevated into a separate theme..
Bingol was ruled by the Kurdish Suveydi Dynasty from 13 centuries to 1864, which ruled the Bingöl region autonomously subject to the Ottoman's in 1514.Until the middle of the 20th century, the city was known as Çapakçur/Çabakçur, according to its Armenian name of Chapaghjur. The place was then renamed Bingöl, a term of Turkish origin translating as "thousand lakes".
On 1 May 2003 the whole area suffered from a magnitude 6.4 earthquake, leaving 176 dead and 520 injured. On 8 March 2010, the area suffered another earthquake, of magnitude 5.9, with its epicenter in Elâzığ Province, west of Bingöl.

Geography

Bingöl is east of Elâzığ and is situated in the high region of Eastern Anatolia. Bingöl is a mountainous area with heights reaching 3000m, Bingöl city is at about 1120m above sea level. The Gayt River, a right-bank tributary of the Eastern Euphrates, runs through the city.

Climate

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

Transport

opened on 12 July 2013.

Education

opened on 29 May 2007.