Where to Visit in Bingol
Bingol Province is a province of Turkey. The province was known as Çapakçur Province before 1945 when it was renamed as Bingol Province. The province had a population of 283,112 in 2021 and encompasses 11 municipalities, 325 villages and 693 hamlets.
The town of Genç was the scene of origin for the Kurdish Sheikh Said rebellion in 1925 and most of the region was captured by the rebels during the rebellion. As the current Governor of the province, Kadir Ekinci was appointed by the president on the 5 November 2018.
Kurds comprise the majority of the province and the province is considered part of Turkish area. Its population is majority Sunni, conservative and many adhere to the Naqshbandi order. The province moreover has a significant Alevi minority. Linguistically, the southern parts of the province speak Zaza, while the northern parts speak Kurmanji. Many Zaza-speakers speak Kurmanji as well.
Bingol Province was part of Bitlis Vilayet during the Ottoman era as Genç Sanjak and had a population of 36,011 in the 1881-1882 census. 85.7% of the population was Muslim and the remaining 14.3% was Armenian. In the census of 1897, the sanjak had a population of 47,652, of which 88.1% was Muslim and 11.9% was Armenian. All of the Armenians adhered to the Armenian Apostolic Church.
In the 1906-1907 census, the sanjak had a population of 45,215 of which 86.8% was Muslim and Armenians comprised the remaining 13.2%. In the last Ottoman census in 1914, the region had a population of 38,096 of which 93.9% was Muslim and 6.1% Armenian.
The first Turkish census which included Bingöl Province was the 1945 census, where the population was 75,550 who all were Muslims. Linguistically, the most spoken first language was Kurdish at 55.7%, followed by Turkish at 43.8% and Circassian at 0.4%. In the 1950 census, Kurdish was the first language for 76.5% of the population of 97,328, while Turkish remained the second largest language standing at 22.9% and Circassian at 0.4%. In the last census in 1965, Kurdish stood at 58.3% and Turkish at 41.6%. A 2016 survey showed that 90.4% of the population spoke Turkish, 64.1% spoke Zaza, 40.1% spoke Kurmanji and 5.6% spoke Arabic.
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.
Airport Transfers
Bingol Museums
