# Hakkâri (city)

Hakkâri (Turkish pronunciation:), formerly known as Julamerk, (Turkish: Çölemerik, Kurdish: Colemêrg, Armenian: Ջղմար, romanized: Jghmar) is a city and the seat of Hakkâri District in the Hakkâri Province of Turkey. The city is populated by Kurds and had a population of 58,470 in 2023.
It is located about 40 kilometres from the Iraq–Turkey border, but the distance to the nearest Iraqi border crossing (Ibrahim Khalil Border Crossing) by road is about 270 km.

## Etymology

According to medieval and most of modern scholars, Hakkari is named after a Kurdish tribe called Hakkâri.
According to Dr. Nicholas Al-Jeloo, The name Hakkari is derived from the Akkadian word Ikkari or Aramaic Akkare, meaning farmers.

## Neighborhoods

The city is divided into the neighborhoods of Bağlar, Berçelan, Biçer, Bulak, Dağgöl, Gazi, Halife Derviş, Karşıyaka, Keklikpınar, Kıran, Medrese, Merzan, Pehlivan, Sümbül and Yeni.

## History

Prior to the Assyrian genocide of 1915, Hakkari was the home of Assyrians for centuries. After the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman government, the Assyrian population was almost entirely erased, due to the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of Assyrian Christians during the genocide. The only Assyrians who managed to escape did not return, as the region, and country at large, has remained hostile towards any indigenous people attempting to return to their homelands. The few remaining and the handful of those attempting to return to their indigenous land where Assyrians were still based just a few generations ago, continue to face intense persecution and even murder.

### Hubushkia

Hubushkia was an Iron Age kingdom located between the Urartian and Assyrian sphere of influence. The exact location of Hubushkia is unknown, but scholars suggests that the kingdom of Hubushkia was centred on the headwaters of the Great Zap River, in what is now Hakkâri Province in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey.

### Hakkari kurgan stelae

Thirteen Kurgan stelae, never before seen in Anatolia or the Near East, were found in 1998 in their original location at the centre of Hakkari. The stelae were carved on upright flagstone-like slabs measuring between 0.7 m to 3.10 m in height. The stones contain only one cut surface, upon which human figures are chiseled. The theme of each stele reveals the foreview of an upper human body. The legs are not represented. Eleven of the stelae depict naked warriors with daggers, spears, and axes—masculine symbols of war. They always hold a drinking vessel made of skin in both hands. Two stelae contain female figures without arms. The stelae may have been carved by different craftsmen using different techniques. Stylistic differences shift from bas relief to a more systematic linearity. The earliest stelae are in the style of bas relief while the latest ones are in a linear style. They were made during a period from the fifteenth century BC to the eleventh century BC in Hakkari. Stelae with this type of relief are not common in the ancient Near East however there are many close parallels between these and those produced by a variety of peoples from the Eurasian steppes between the third millennium BC and the eleventh century AD. They are now on display in the Van Museum.

## Sport

The women's football club Hakkarigücü Spor was promoted to the Women's First League to take part in the 2018–19 season after finishing the 2017–18 Second League season as runners-up.

## Notable people

* Evdilsemedê Babek (972–1019), Kurdish poet
* Ali Hariri (1009–1079/80), Kurdish poet
* Abu'l-Hayja al-Hakkari (12th century), Kurdish ruler and tribal chief
* Isa al-Hakkari (12th century), Ayyubid Kurdish commander
* Izz al-Din Shir (1384–1453) Famous founder of the Emirate of Hakkâri
* Çelik Gülersoy (1930–2006), Turkish lawyer of Kurdish descent
* Hacı Karay (1950–1994), Kurdish Human rights Activist
* Yılmaz Erdoğan (born 1967), film actor, activist, poet
* Pervin Buldan (born 1967), Turkish politician of Kurdish origin
* Abdullah Zeydan (born 1972), Kurdish politician

## Population

Population history of the municipality from 1997 to 2023:

## Climate

Hakkâri has a warm-summer, Mediterranean-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dsa, Trewartha climate classification: Dca). Hakkari city is at an elevation of around 1720 meters (5640 feet) and is surrounded by higher elevations nearby. The winters are cold and snowy with an average of −4 °C (23 °F). Summers are warm and dry with an average of 25 °C (76 °F).
Highest recorded temperature:38.8 °C (101.8 °F) on 27 July 1966 Lowest recorded temperature:−23.4 °C (−10.1 °F) on 3 January 2009
Climate data for Hakkâri (1991–2020, extremes 1961–2022) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 11.8 (53.2) | 12.9 (55.2) | 19.7 (67.5) | 25.0 (77.0) | 30.7 (87.3) | 34.4 (93.9) | 38.8 (101.8) | 38.0 (100.4) | 37.1 (98.8) | 29.3 (84.7) | 20.8 (69.4) | 17.5 (63.5) | 38.8 (101.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −0.5 (31.1) | 1.3 (34.3) | 7.0 (44.6) | 13.2 (55.8) | 19.6 (67.3) | 26.3 (79.3) | 31.1 (88.0) | 31.5 (88.7) | 26.7 (80.1) | 19.0 (66.2) | 10.0 (50.0) | 2.5 (36.5) | 15.6 (60.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.1 (24.6) | −2.6 (27.3) | 2.7 (36.9) | 8.6 (47.5) | 14.4 (57.9) | 20.5 (68.9) | 25.0 (77.0) | 25.2 (77.4) | 20.7 (69.3) | 13.6 (56.5) | 5.5 (41.9) | −1.2 (29.8) | 10.7 (51.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −7.5 (18.5) | −6.2 (20.8) | −1.2 (29.8) | 4.2 (39.6) | 9.6 (49.3) | 14.7 (58.5) | 18.7 (65.7) | 18.8 (65.8) | 14.5 (58.1) | 8.3 (46.9) | 1.3 (34.3) | −4.6 (23.7) | 5.9 (42.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −23.4 (−10.1) | −22.7 (−8.9) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −8.3 (17.1) | −0.8 (30.6) | 5.0 (41.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 9.7 (49.5) | 4.3 (39.7) | −5.8 (21.6) | −15.0 (5.0) | −21.3 (−6.3) | −23.4 (−10.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 90.8 (3.57) | 102.3 (4.03) | 119.2 (4.69) | 119.0 (4.69) | 68.9 (2.71) | 14.5 (0.57) | 9.3 (0.37) | 5.4 (0.21) | 10.9 (0.43) | 56.2 (2.21) | 78.1 (3.07) | 102.7 (4.04) | 777.0 (30.59) |
| Average precipitation days | 10.83 | 10.53 | 12.67 | 12.83 | 12.13 | 4.00 | 2.03 | 1.27 | 2.13 | 8.37 | 8.63 | 10.30 | 95.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 72 | 70.1 | 63.5 | 57.8 | 51.3 | 38.9 | 33.6 | 30.8 | 33.8 | 49.6 | 60.1 | 69.8 | 52.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 120.9 | 144.1 | 179.8 | 198.0 | 266.6 | 342.0 | 368.9 | 341.0 | 294.0 | 223.2 | 159.0 | 111.6 | 2,749.1 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 3.9 | 5.1 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 8.6 | 11.4 | 11.9 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 7.2 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 7.6 |
| Source 1: Turkish State Meteorological Service ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: NCEI(humidity) ||||||||||||||

## Sister cities

In addition, Hakkâri was twinned with:
* Boden, Sweden