The province was created in 1992 from the southeastern part ofKars Province.[6][7] The currentGovernor of the province is Ercan Turan.[8] Being the highest mountain inArmenian Highlands,Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı) is at present in Turkey's Iğdır province, but much of the land is a wide plain far below the mountain. The climate is the warmest in this part of Turkey; cotton can be grown in Iğdır. The closed border with Armenia follows theAras River.
Towards the end of World War I, the whole area came under the administration of theFirst Republic of Armenia as part of Ararat province. After an attack into the territory by the Turkish army, Iğdır was ceded to Turkey by the Soviet government under theTreaty of Kars. A substantialArmenian population remained in the area throughout this history of struggle between great powers. Armenians formed the ethnic majority in the city of Iğdır itself until 1919–1920 when most either died or fled due to starvation during theTurkish–Armenian War. It was part of the formerProvince of Beyazıt between 1922 and 1927, part ofAğrı Province between 1927 and 1934, and finally part ofKars Province between 1934 and 1993, before becoming a separate province.[6][9]
Demographics
Within the Russian Empire
Estimate of 1886
The area of the present-day Iğdır Province was administered by theRussian Empire as part of the Surmalu Uezd between 1828 and its capture fromPersia by theTurkmenchay, and 1918. According to the Russian family lists accounts from 1886, of the total 71,066 inhabitants of the districts 34,351 wereAzerbaijanis (48.3%, mentioned as 'Tatars' in the source), 22,096Armenians (31.1%) and 14,619 Kurds (20.6%).[10]
Russian Empire census (1897)
According to theRussian Empire census in 1897, the town of Iğdır had a population of 4,680, of which 3,934 (84%) wereArmenians, and 559 (12%) wereRussians.[11] The district had a population of 89,055 in 1897 of which Tatars (later known asAzerbaijanis) constituted46.5% of the population, followed by30.4%Armenians,21.4%Kurds and1.6%Slavs.[12] Iğdır city had a population of 4,680 in the same census of which84.1% were Armenians,12% Slavic,1.8% Azerbaijani and1.5% Kurdish.[12]
Caucasian Calendar (1917)
According to the 1917 publication of theCaucasian Calendar, the Surmalu Uezd had 104,791 residents in 1916, including 55,364 men and 49,427 women, 98,212 of whom were the permanent population, and 6,579 were temporary residents. The statistics indicatedShia Muslims to be the plurality of the population of the uezd, followed closely byArmenians,Kurds andYazidis:[13]
In the 1927 Turkish census, the district was part ofKars Province and had a population of 25,209, of which52.9% spokeTurkish asfirst language followed byKurdish at47%. The whole population adhered toIslam, majority beingSunni with aShia minority.[14]
From comparing the statistics available in 1916 and 1927, it is evident the population of the Iğdir Province lessened by 79,582, a decline of 76% over eleven years, which is indicative of the constant state of warfare, famine and turmoil in the district between 1918 and 1920.
By 2018, the population of the district reached 197,456,[2] nearing double what it was a century prior.
Places of interest
Karasu River from Igdir
The caravanserai of Zor, believed to have been built by an Armenian architect in the 13th or 14th century, is located 35 km south-west of the city ofIğdır, and is named after the nearby village of Zor. It was one of halting places along the trade route between northern Persia and Georgia. Caravans used to stay over-here before passing over the Çilli pass. Restoration works have begun on the structure, which has been put under protection since 1988.[15] The ruins of an Armenian church was once located in the same area, but today nothing remains of it.[16]
Surmari castle, 25 km west of the city of Iğdır, on the road toTuzluca, in the village ofSürmeli [tr], is the site of the medieval Armenian town of Surmari. However, it is currently inaccessible due to border restrictions.
Statues with Ram Heads, Cementer stones with ram heads existing almost in all old cementers in Iğdır Plain are remnants fromKara Koyunlu period. These cementers of brave, heroic persons and young persons who had died in youth age.[17]
Aras Bird Research and Education Center, One of only four active bird research and banding (ringing) stations in Turkey. 204 bird species have been recorded so far in the wetlands along Aras River, Yukari Ciyrikli, Tuzluca. Bird enthusiasts can volunteer or visit to experience the diverse birdlife and traditional village life. From Kars to Igdir, turn immediately right 10 meter before the Aras bridge and drive 4 km to Yukari Ciyrikli village.[18]
^Watts, Nicole F. (2010).Activists in office : Kurdish politics and protest in Turkey. Seattle: University of Washington Press.ISBN978-0-295-80082-0.OCLC744362084.
^(in Russian)Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи, 1897 г. (Erivanskaya Guberniya), N. A. Troynitskii, Saint Petersburg, 1904, p. 144.
^Кавказский календарь на 1917 год [Caucasian calendar for 1917] (in Russian) (72nd ed.). Tiflis: Tipografiya kantselyarii Ye.I.V. na Kavkaze, kazenny dom. 1917. pp. 214–221. Archived fromthe original on 4 November 2021.
