Dönemeç

Coordinates: 38°20′34″N 43°13′44″E / 38.3428°N 43.2290°E / 38.3428; 43.2290
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Dönemeç
Dönemeç is located in Turkey
Dönemeç
Dönemeç
Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 38°20′34″N 43°13′44″E / 38.3428°N 43.2290°E / 38.3428; 43.2290
CountryTurkey
ProvinceVan
DistrictEdremit
Population
 (2022)
780
Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)

Dönemeç (Armenian: Անգղ; Kurdish: Engîl) is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Edremit, Van Province, Turkey.[1] Its population is 780 (2022).[2] It is located on the right bank of the Hoşap River at a distance of 15 km from the town of Edremit.

Name[edit]

The village was originally called Engil, from the Armenian name of the village Anggh (variations include Ang, Angegh, and Anguyl), which literally means "vulture" in Armenian.[3] The village was supposedly named this because of the large number of vultures living in the area.[3] It was renamed Dönemeç during the republican era.

Geography[edit]

Dönemeç is located 7 km away from the coast of Lake Van, on the right bank of the Engil River, also called the Dönemeç or Hoşap River (historically known as the Khoshab or Anggh River in Armenian).[3] The village is about 1660 to 1685 meters above sea level.[4]

History[edit]

The village was historically populated by Armenians and fell into the Hayots Dzor canton of the Vaspurakan province of historical Armenia.[3] There are a number of ruined churches and monasteries in the area surrounding the village.[3]

In 1872 a number of inhabitants of the village wrote a letter seeking to cooperate with the secret organization "Union for Salvation" (Miut’yun i P’rkut’yun), which was founded in Van that same year and aimed at the betterment of conditions for Armenians, one of the first such Armenian political organizations.[3][4]

In 1877, the village fell victim to a raid by the Kurdish tribal leader Jalaleddin. Many of the villagers were killed during the Hamidian massacres.[4] The village was periodically attacked and looted after 1896.[4] Its population was approximately 495 at the beginning of the twentieth century, consisting mainly of Armenians and a few Kurds.[4] During the Armenian genocide, most of the village's inhabitants were massacred, while a small number managed to flee and reach Eastern Armenia.[3]

Since the Armenian genocide the village has been inhabited by Kurds.[3]

Demographics[edit]

Historical population of Dönemeç[4]
Year Armenian Kurdish Total
Households Persons Households Persons Households Persons
1855 53 315 53 315
1873 50 50
1883 70 70
1895 60 60
1897 84 1 85
1906 90–100 90–100
1909 105 492 105 492
1914 108 678 108 678
1915 (pre-genocide) 150 880 150 880
Nov. 1915 6 30 6 30
Oct. 1916 21 21
1990 940 940
2000 1249 1249
2011 1207 1207
2012 1170 1170

References[edit]

  1. ^ Mahalle, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Hakobyan, Tadevos Kh.; Melik-Bakhshyan, Stepan T.; Barseghyan, Hovhannes Kh. (1986). Hayastani ev harakitsʻ shrjanneri teghanunneri baṛaran Հայաստանի և հարակից շրջանների տեղանունների բառարան [Toponymic dictionary of Armenia and its adjacent territories] (in Armenian). Vol. 1. Yerevan: Yerevan State University Publishing House. p. 255.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Karapetyan, Samvel (2015). Hayots Dzor Հայոց Ձոր (in Armenian). Yerevan: Research on Armenian Architecture. pp. 39–51. ISBN 9789939843216.