Bitlis City

Located in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, one of the greatest treasures of the province of Bitlis is Mount Nemrut and Nemrut Crater Lake. In addition, Ahlat district has witnessed many historical events. Especially when the Turks entered Anatolia, it hosted Alp Arslan and his army. Apart from all these, its unique dishes, historical places, museums and geographical structure add a different beauty to Bitlis.

Bitlis History

Located in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Bitlis is to the west of Lake Van. Its name comes from Bedlis, one of the commanders of Macedonian King Alexander the Great, who had the castle built in the city. It is known as the "Beautiful City in the Valley" because it was founded in a valley where historical buildings are predominant. Bitlis was the settlement area of ​​the Urartians in 400 BC. 11 BC. Bitlis, which continued to be the homeland of the Urartians until the 7th century and was under the rule of the Assyrians until the 7th century and the Medes until the 6th century, was later captured by Darius II with the establishment of the Persian Kingdom. BC4. century, which came under the rule of Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, and A.D. 2. Bitlis, which was captured by the Eastern Roman Emperor Trayan in the 7th century, remained under Byzantine rule until the 7th century.

Bitlis map

Bitlis, which became an important haunt during the Anatolian raids of the Turks that started with the 10th century and hosted Alparslan and his armies in Ahlat during these dates, also assumed a very important role in the opening of the Turks to Anatolia. Bitlis, which was attacked by the Ayyubids in the 13th century and later by the Harzemshahs and Mongols, and came under Ottoman rule with the Battle of Çaldıran in 1514, became a center of science, art and culture under the administration of the Ottoman Empire. Bitlis, which was under the occupation of Tsarist Russia for a while during the First World War, was made a province after the proclamation of the Republic.

In Bitlis, which has embraced various civilizations throughout history, there are many castles, mosques, madrasahs, bridges and caravanserais belonging to these periods. For this reason, it is possible to live side by side with the cultural and artistic remains of past civilizations. More than half of Lake Van, which was formed by the eruption of Nemrut Volcano, is within the borders of Bitlis Province. Tatvan, Ahlat and Adilcevaz Districts integrate the beauties of the Van Lake shores with their own historical features. Especially in Ahlat, which was under the Seljuk rule for many years, the world-famous mausoleums and tombstones, in Adilcevaz District, the Urartians and especially Kef Castle form the rings of the historical richness of the province.

Where Did the Name of Bitlis Province Come From?

It is not known exactly where the name of Bitlis used today originates from. Bitlis has been called by different names throughout history. Assyrians used it as Bit-Liz, Persians and Greeks as Bad-Lis or Bad-Lais, Byzantines as Bal-Lais-on, Babaleison or Baleş, Arabs as Bad-Lis, Armenians as Pageş or Pagishi. In the Assyrian language, the word Bit means yurt, the word Bet means castle, Bit-Liz means Liz's Dormitory, and Bet-Lis means Liz's Castle.

bitlis castle

The event that historians unanimously focus on regarding the name Bitlis is as follows;

B.C. King of Macedonia II in 336. Plovdiv died and Alexander the Great succeeded him as king. (In the Şerefname, Alexander the Great of Macedonia claims that Alexander the Great, known as the prophet, is Alexander Dhul-Qarnayn. Since Dhul-Qarnayn means "two horns", he argues that Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great because he constantly moved to the east and died at the age of 31. Alexander the Great also understands. It has been suggested that they are the same people because two horns of flesh appeared, made expeditions to the east and died at the age of 30. However, these ideas have not been proven until today.) Alexander, who invaded Babylon, decided to go on an expedition to India with his armies.

In the meantime, two horn-like pieces of meat came out of Alexander's mind, and he had to constantly use a horned helmet to hide it from his entourage. All the physicians he talked to for a solution to his problem recommended that his cure is in the waters and that he should use the waters wherever he went. For this reason, Alexander the Great sought a solution to his problem by washing his face in the waters wherever he visited. When he arrived in Şattülarap, he wanted all the waters flowing into the Tigris river to be investigated, and assigned the scholars to this task. Searching all the waters, Alexander and his nature came to Bitlis after a long walk. Seeing that the Bitlis tea cured his illness, he established his headquarters at the junction of Köşür and Rabat waters.

The physicians under his command told Alexander; They wanted the water to go to its source. Following this recommendation, Rabat water flowing from the east of Bitlis was followed and the source of the water was reached. However, despite using this water for days, he saw that there was no cure, this time he turned to Kösür stream, which came from the west of the city, and finally reached the spring, which is the source of this water. Found this spring