# Bingöl

Bingöl (Armenian: Ճապաղջուր, romanized: Chapaghjur; Kurdish: Çewlik; Zazaki: Çewlîg), known as Çapakçur before 1944, is a city in Turkey. It is the seat of Bingöl Province and Bingöl District, and has a population of 133,423 (2022).

## Etymology

One of the historical names for the city, Bingöl literally means thousand lakes in Turkish; however, there are no lakes of considerable size within the boundaries of the province. The name rather refers to many tarns found around the city.

## History

Bingöl is located in what was historically the region of Sophene (first an independent kingdom and later an Armenian and Roman province). The settlement is mentioned by its Armenian name, Chapaghjur (meaning "spread out water" in Armenian), by the 11th-century Armenian historian Stepanos Asoghik, who mentions it while describing the 995 Balu earthquake. Chapaghjur is sometimes identified with the Roman fortress-town of Citharizum (Ktarich in Armenian).
In the Middle Ages, Bingöl was known as Romanoupolis (Greek: Ῥωμανούπολις) after the Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos, who incorporated it into the Byzantine Empire in 942. It initially formed a subdivision of the thema of Mesopotamia, but it was later (c. 970) elevated into a separate theme.
Bingöl was ruled by the Suwaydid dynasty, a cadet branch of the Barmakids, from the 13th century until mid-Ottoman rule, autonomously from the Ottomans. Bingöl and the surrounding district had a large Armenian population prior to the Armenian genocide. Until the middle of the 20th century, the city was known as Çapakçur/Çabakçur, derived from its Armenian name. In 1944, the place was renamed Bingöl, meaning "thousand lakes" in Turkish.

### Kurdish-Turkish conflict

Bingöl has been the site of several violent incidents of the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. On 23 October 2016, a car bombing targeting an armored police vehicle perpetrated by PKK militia members killed two police officers and injured 19 others. On 8 June 2018, a group of PKK militia members attacked a military station and killed one Turkish soldier while injuring three others.

## Geography

Bingöl is 144 kilometres (89 mi) east of Elazığ and is situated in the high region of Eastern Anatolia. Bingöl is a mountainous area with heights reaching 3000 m, Bingöl city is at about 1120 m above sea level. The Gayt River (Gayt Çayı), a right-bank tributary of the Eastern Euphrates (Murat River), runs through the city.

### Climate

Bingöl has a continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dsa, or Trewartha climate classification Dca), with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The driest months are July and August and the wettest is February and December.
Highest recorded temperature:42.0 °C (107.6 °F) on 26 July 2001 Lowest recorded temperature:−25.1 °C (−13.2 °F) on 27 February 1992
Climate data for Bingöl (1991–2020, extremes 1961–2023) (Station height:1139, coordinates:38°53′5″N 40°30′3″E﻿ / ﻿38.88472°N 40.50083°E﻿ / 38.88472; 40.50083) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.8 (56.8) | 16.2 (61.2) | 22.3 (72.1) | 30.3 (86.5) | 33.9 (93.0) | 38.0 (100.4) | 42.0 (107.6) | 41.3 (106.3) | 38.1 (100.6) | 32.1 (89.8) | 25.5 (77.9) | 22.8 (73.0) | 42.0 (107.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.4 (36.3) | 4.1 (39.4) | 10.2 (50.4) | 16.9 (62.4) | 23.1 (73.6) | 29.8 (85.6) | 34.7 (94.5) | 35.1 (95.2) | 29.9 (85.8) | 22.0 (71.6) | 12.7 (54.9) | 5.2 (41.4) | 18.8 (65.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.1 (28.2) | −0.8 (30.6) | 4.7 (40.5) | 10.9 (51.6) | 16.2 (61.2) | 22.2 (72.0) | 26.7 (80.1) | 26.7 (80.1) | 21.3 (70.3) | 14.5 (58.1) | 6.8 (44.2) | 0.7 (33.3) | 12.3 (54.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −5.5 (22.1) | −4.6 (23.7) | 0.4 (32.7) | 5.8 (42.4) | 10.2 (50.4) | 15.0 (59.0) | 19.3 (66.7) | 19.1 (66.4) | 13.9 (57.0) | 8.6 (47.5) | 2.2 (36.0) | −2.8 (27.0) | 6.8 (44.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −23.2 (−9.8) | −21.6 (−6.9) | −20.3 (−4.5) | −9.2 (15.4) | 1.0 (33.8) | 3.5 (38.3) | 8.8 (47.8) | 7.8 (46.0) | 4.2 (39.6) | −2.4 (27.7) | −15.0 (5.0) | −25.1 (−13.2) | −25.1 (−13.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 138.7 (5.46) | 128.9 (5.07) | 134.4 (5.29) | 110.5 (4.35) | 82.5 (3.25) | 21.3 (0.84) | 6.6 (0.26) | 5.1 (0.20) | 15.4 (0.61) | 65.3 (2.57) | 93.1 (3.67) | 133.3 (5.25) | 935.1 (36.81) |
| Average precipitation days | 12.67 | 12.2 | 14.3 | 14.83 | 14.37 | 5.37 | 2 | 1.5 | 2.83 | 8.47 | 8.93 | 12.57 | 110 |
| Average snowy days | 10.7 | 9.0 | 4.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 5.6 | 31.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 72.8 | 71.1 | 65.5 | 60.9 | 57.1 | 44.3 | 37.2 | 35.9 | 41.4 | 56.4 | 65 | 73.2 | 56.7 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 105.4 | 124.3 | 148.8 | 165.0 | 213.9 | 270.0 | 285.2 | 275.9 | 240.0 | 189.1 | 135.0 | 102.3 | 2,254.9 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 3.4 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 5.5 | 6.9 | 9.0 | 9.2 | 8.9 | 8.0 | 6.1 | 4.5 | 3.3 | 6.2 |
| Source 1: Turkish State Meteorological Service ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: NOAA NCEI (humidity), Meteomanz(snowy days 2000-2024) ||||||||||||||

### Earthquakes

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 Elazığ Province, 45 km (28 mi) west of Bingöl. On 14 June 2020, a relatively small earthquake occurred in the region, killing a village guard and injuring 21 others.

## Demographics
### Ethnic background

In 1891, the kaza had 20,800 inhabitants: 16,465 Muslims and 4,385 Armenians.
Mother tongue, Çapakçur District, 1927 Turkish census :
| Turkish | Arabic | Kurdish | Circassian | Armenian | Unknown or other languages |
| 975 | 1 | 9,416 | – | – | – |
Religion, Çapakçur District, 1927 Turkish census :
| Muslim | Armenian | Orthodox | Other Christian |
| 10,395 | – | – | – |

### Population

| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1965 | 11,727 | — |
| 1970 | 17,220 | +7.99% |
| 1975 | 22,047 | +5.07% |
| 1980 | 28,146 | +5.01% |
| 1985 | 34,024 | +3.87% |
| 1990 | 41,590 | +4.10% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1997 | 67,022 | +7.05% |
| 2007 | 86,511 | +2.59% |
| 2012 | 98,424 | +2.61% |
| 2017 | 117,014 | +3.52% |
| 2022 | 133,423 | +2.66% |
Source: Population censuses (1965–1997) and TÜIK (2007–2022) :

## Transport

Bingöl Airport opened on 12 July 2013. It has a passenger capacity of 500,000 a year.

## Education

Bingöl University opened on 29 May 2007. The university has nine faculties, six vocational schools and five institutes.

## Mayors of Bingöl

* 1977–1979 Hikmet Tekin (MHP)
* 1979–1980 Hilmi Elçi (Independent)
* 1984–1989 Mehmet Sıddık Börü (ANAP)
* 1989–1994 Selahattin Kaya (SHP)
* 1994–1995 Selahattin Aydar (Refah Party)
* 1995–1999 Bedri Tuğ (Refah Party, Fazilet Party)
* 1999–2004 Feyzullah Karaaslan (HADEP, DEHAP)
* 2004–2009 Hacı Ketenalp (AK Party)
* 2009–2014 Serdar Atalay (AK Party)
* 2014–2019 Yücel Barakazi (AK Party)
* 2019–present Erdal Arıkan (AK Party)

## Notable people

* Alişan
* Abdullah Kiğılı
* Mahsun Kırmızıgül
* Servet Kocakaya
* Ali Sürmeli
* Mahmut Yıldırım