Everything about Ardahan Province totally explained
Ardahan Province is a province in the far north-east of
Turkey, at the very end of the country, where Turkey borders with
Georgia and
Armenia.
The provincial capital is the city of
Ardahan.
Etymology
Its historical names include Ардаган (Ardagan) in
Russian, არტაანი,
artaani in
Georgian and Արդահան in
Armenian.
Geography
This is attractive open countryside which however spends many months of the year under snow. At this altitude temperatures quite commonly reach -20 and can drop below freezing right up until May.
The local economy depends on farming and raising livestock. Until 1993 Ardahan was a district of the province of
Kars, becoming a province in its own right has meant more investment in infrastructure, but still this is an impoverished area that since the 1950s has seen a large number of its people migrate to other parts of Turkey or abroad. The population declined from 170,000 people in 1990 to 119,000 in 2000. Ethnic groups in the region include,
Kipchak Turkish,
Turkman,
Karapapaks and
Azeri Turkish people.
There are two crossing points into the
Samtskhe-Javakheti district of Georgia, one at
Posof and the other (currently closed) at
Çıldır. The Turkish military have a strong presence in this border district, another boost to the local economy.
History
In 680 BC
Scythians came across the
Caucasus from the north and captured this area from the
Urartu Kings that ruled from their capital on the shores of
Lake Van to the south. The Scythians were replaced by
Persians and then in 330(?) BC
Alexander the Great came through with his armies.
In 1068 the
Seljuk Turks of
Alparslan brought
Cuman and
Pecenek tribes to settle in the area. These were followed in 1124 by Christian
Kipchak Turks from across the Caucasus. In the
Ilhan era of 1267 the Kipchaks founded a dynasty, based in
Akhaltsikhe that persisted until they were overthrown by the
Ottoman Empire in 1578.
The construction of the
Baku-Tiblisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline gave the local economy a brief boost from 2000 onwards.
Places of interest
- There are a number of medieval castles in the district including Ardahan Castle itself.
- At a certain time of the year Damal mountain throws a shadow that's a very lifelike silhouette of Ataturk. See.
Districts
Ardahan province is divided into 6
districts (capital district in
bold):
Ardahan
Çıldır
Damal
Göle
Hanak
Posof
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ardahan Province'.
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