Tatvan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Overview of Tatvan from the volcanoNemrut | |
  Tatvan Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates:38°30′08″N42°16′53″E / 38.50222°N 42.28139°E /38.50222; 42.28139 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Bitlis |
| District | Tatvan |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mümin Erol (DEM Party) |
| Elevation | 1,690 m (5,540 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | 79,214 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Postal code | 13200 |
| Website | tatvan |
Tatvan (Kurdish:Tetwan;[2]Armenian:Դատվան,romanized: Datvan) is a city on the western shore ofLake Van, inBitlis Province in eastern Turkey. It is the seat ofTatvan District.[3] Its population is 79,214 (2021), making it the most populated municipality of the province.[1] The current mayor is Mümin Erol (DEM Party).[4]
The town is populated byKurds of the Bekiran tribe.[5]
The citadel of Eski Tatvan possibly dates back to theUrartian period. It was used at least until the 17th century.[6]Sayf al-Dawla, theArabHamdanid emir ofAleppo, visited Tatvan in 939/40.[6] While he was there, he received the submission of the Armenian princeAshot III of Taron.[7] The town was historically an important place on the route fromVan toBitlis.[6] By the 20th century, though, Tatvan had dwindled to a mere village, little more than "a cluster of houses by a jetty".[6] It only developed back into a town when transport links improved around mid-century, with the construction of the railway in the 1950s and the improvement of the road to Van in 1964.[6] In the 1980s, T.A. Sinclair wrote that the Denizcilik Bankası (Shipping Company) ran a good hotel on the south side of town, which was often full. The other hotels at the time, he wrote, were in the town centre and were not good.[6]
TheTatvan Pier railway station is the eastern terminus of the railway line between Ankara andTeheran, with freight and passenger trains.[8] It is connected eastwards toVan, 100 km away, and westwards to the rest of Turkey, byState Road D300. There is also atrain ferry across thelake Van.[8] The ferry was upgraded in 2015.
There is no railway around the lake to Van. The intention is to build one but to date there are no plans. This would actually create an unbroken rail link between Europe and the Indian subcontinent, as Van is effectively the western terminus of the Iranian railway network.
There is a bus station about 500 meters from the train station.[9]
| Climate data for Tatvan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 5.78 (42.40) | 7.72 (45.90) | 11.18 (52.12) | 14.65 (58.37) | 18.52 (65.34) | 25.07 (77.13) | 29.75 (85.55) | 29.55 (85.19) | 23.85 (74.93) | 16.47 (61.65) | 5.22 (41.40) | 2.35 (36.23) | 15.84 (60.52) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.33 (32.59) | 1.97 (35.55) | 5.2 (41.4) | 9.68 (49.42) | 13.27 (55.89) | 18.27 (64.89) | 22.68 (72.82) | 22.52 (72.54) | 17.4 (63.3) | 11.37 (52.47) | 6.18 (43.12) | 2.18 (35.92) | 10.92 (51.66) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.52 (23.86) | −6.15 (20.93) | −0.8 (30.6) | 4.68 (40.42) | 8.0 (46.4) | 11.45 (52.61) | 15.72 (60.30) | 14.6 (58.3) | 10.32 (50.58) | 5.22 (41.40) | 2.35 (36.23) | −3.1 (26.4) | 4.81 (40.67) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 85.22 (3.36) | 60.12 (2.37) | 93.20 (3.67) | 90.42 (3.56) | 74.22 (2.92) | 11.15 (0.44) | 4.58 (0.18) | 4.73 (0.19) | 9.58 (0.38) | 87.28 (3.44) | 48.75 (1.92) | 81.66 (3.21) | 650.91 (25.64) |
| Source: Meteomanz (2000-2002, 2013-2016)[10] | |||||||||||||
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