Derik, Turkey


Derik is a district of the Mardin Province in the southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It has borders with Mazıdağı, Viranşehir and Kızıltepe.

Government

In the local elections of March 2019 Mülkiye Esmez from the Peoples' Democratic Party way elected mayor. But on the 15 November 2019 she was detained and a day later dismissed from her post as mayor and the District Governor Hakan Kafkas was appointed as trustee instead.

History

The town is first mentioned in the late 14th century, however a Roman fort indicates that the area has been inhabited for longer. Prior to the Assyrian and Armenian genocide, Assyrians and Armenians formed the majority in the district. The Armenian population of the county continued to form the majority even up until the 1930s, when systematic state persecution forced many to emigrate. One family continues to live here, and they maintain the old Armenian Church. The Armenian Apostolic Church in Derik is only one out of six in Anatolian Turkey that operates as a church.

Geography

Geographically the town includes areas from Mazıdağı foot descending towards Ceylanpınar plains. Town area descends from the north to the south. The city center is surrounded by mountains from 3 sides and has a temperate climate with some mediterranean climate effects.
In the 1990s, the nearby forests were cleared as they offered PKK shelter from the Turkish authorities. Currently there is a campaign to reforest the mountains.

Economy

Agriculture is the main industry in the city center and in the lowlands. Agricultural products include cereals, grapes, fruit, and olives. Mountain villagers and those around Karacadağ province deal in livestock. The recent drilling of water wells and construction of irrigation ponds has allowed more industrial scale agriculture to blossom here as well.