Adıyaman Map, Turkey

Adiyaman is an interesting city located in Southeastern Turkey. Although the city under consideration is not necessarily directly on the Euphrates River, its hinterland province is a rich valley region which borders antiquity with gorgeous natural landscapes. In its central district, it has more than 300,000 residents today. It was provisioned to the modern settlement around the 8th century AD in the area around the old location of Perre and was recognized as an important structure during the Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman reigns before entering the Republic of Turkey in 1926. Its strategic location in the Fertile Crescent has been an attraction to the settlers since the Paleolithic periods, and it has hosted the settlers of the Hittites, Assyrians, Romans and the Kingdom of Commagene.

History

History of Adiyaman Adiyaman has a long history of settlements and conquests, a fertile land. The earliest settlement of human beings in the area dates back to the Paleolithic era (ca. 40,000 BC), as shown by the remains in the Palanli Cave. The region is preceded by traces of ancient authorities (the Hittites and Assyrians) which led to the golden age of the Kingdom of Commagene. Commagene proclaimed independence during the weakening of the influence of the Seleucids in 109 BC with King Mithridates I Callinicus. In about 69 BC-34 BC, his son, Antiochus I, built his masterpiece in architecture, the tomb sanctuary on Mount Nemrut. This magnificent location is a mixture of massive figures of Persian and Hellenistic gods, and the king himself, conceived to complete his snowy mountain top shrine. In 72 AD, Commagene was conquered by Romans and consolidation was marked with beautiful engineering structures such as rock tombs of Perre and the high Cendere Bridge.

Then the Byzantines became influential in the 4th century, having to struggle against Arab invaders and the Sasanian Empire, after the split of the Roman Empire. In 670 AD, the Umayyad armies invaded the region which made the region a major hub. The city (at the time of Hisn Mansur) was fortified in the 8 th century and passed back and forth between the Abbasids as well as the Hamdanids on several occasions and was reclaimed by the Byzantines in 958 after several raids. The Turkish presence started entrenching itself in the 11th century. In 1066, Gumustekin, a Seljuk commander assumed control and a series of successors such as the Artuqids, Ayyubids and other branches of Seljuk were to follow. In the mid 13th century, the region was attacked by the Mongols and then the Mamluks assumed power in 1298.

Timur (Tamerlane) looted the city in 1401 leaving it in the state of anarchy. It was during this time that the Dulkadirogullari Beylik was controlled but it was temporarily taken over by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I who annexed the city briefly . In 1516, Sultan Selim I invaded the Middle East and annexed the region, reaching the end of the rule of Dulkadirogullari. Adiyaman had originally been placed under the Maras Eyalet. It changed its administrative status a few times during the centuries and finally turned out to be a district (kaza) of Malatya province due to the Tanzimat reforms in the 19th century. In 1926, the city was renamed to Adiyaman. The etymology of the word is controversial but not hard, it is thought to be a local meaning, based on the Arabic Hisn Mansur.

Culture

Culture The culture of Adiyaman is vibrating with the warmth of southeastern Turkey, where ancient Commagene traditions coexist with Ottoman hospitality or countryside customs which do not seem old. People are proud of unlimited hospitality- invitations to tea or coffee are always accepted by strangers, a tradition which began during Anatolian times and makes a guest an immediate friend. Families sit together in the shade of vines in a garden during the Harfane Nights and hold noisy nights of poetry readings, live music upon the saz lute, and the joint dinner table under celestial heavens, representing millennium-long tribal communities. Another type of dance at weddings and festivals is the folk dance, which groups of coeds pound the floor to the sound of drum and zurna oboe, and which imitates their every-day activity, such as deer-leaping in the Cep dance, or the clipping of the weeds in the field as in the Halay. As a traditional attire, Men wear coloured terlik sweat cloths beneath caps, and women wear carsaf wraps.

This is escalated each summer at the International Nemrut Kommagene Festival where groups of people come every summer to enjoy theatre, dances, and dawn vigil on top of the UNESCO mountain which combines both myth and modern atmosphere. Food is full of flavor: Adiyaman kebabi is spiced lamb or beef over rice and vegetables, and i K fte are spicy meat balls made of bulgur, which are kneaded by hand in the crowd and served on lettuce and lemon. Feasts are fueled by pistachios, apricots and dolma stuffed grape leaves. Markets are full of handicrafts such as hand knitted kilims, copper wares and patterned carpets all of which narrate the stories of nomadic origins. Everyday life is lumbering with decency and reverence--scarves to the mosque, silence during the prayers, but in Adiyaman Museum, Paleolithic tools are seen next to Nemrut god figures. Festivals, such as the honoring of Antiochus I in Nemrut, have fire dances, and the rural traditions are indicated by the milestones of life: gourd-carrying women celebrate cleared fields, which represent an abundance.

Language

Language The city of Adiyaman is a place of languages in the southeastern part of Turkey and is a historical place that boasts a wide range of cultural backgrounds. The language of the country is Turkish, which is the official language of Turkey and the language of communication in the real-life of regular people. In education, media, government, and business, Turkish is spoken in the whole of Adiyaman. It is used as a common language among different ethnic groups that inhabit the region promoting social and economic relations. Behind the words though, the linguistic tribe of Adiyaman is much more varied. The region knows a large number of Kurdish speakers particularly among the Kurdish people whom they have a long history with. Kurdish is also a complicated language with a variety of dialects including the most widespread Kurdish dialect of Kurmanji, and used in Adiyaman. With it comes an oral tradition of poetry, story telling and local songs that maintain the identity of the community and its heritage. Adiyaman is also a place with Arabic presence because the Arabs had settled there and interacted with other jurisdictions. Certain communities speaking Arabic preserve the language to practice their cultural and religious traditions that made the province even more multilingual.

The influence of the past empires like the Romans, Byzantines and the Ottomans have taken linguistic contributions, even though their languages of power including Greek, Latin, and the Ottoman Turkish are no longer used on a day to day basis. The linguistic diversity is further complicated by the fact that older generations in rural locations in Adiyaman usually preserve dialects and languages unique to their area. The old songs, folklores and community feasts play a crucial role in preserving these dialects, although the young generations mostly speak standard Turkish. This mixture of languages is represented in the contemporary day Adiyaman, where Turkish is the glue that holds the whole society together, and Kurdish and Arabic preserve alive the minority cultures. Linguistic diversity makes the social environment more interesting and emphasizes the traditional status of the area as the place of cross civilization in Anatolia.

Geography

Geography also affects the biodiversity of Adiyaman because the combination of valleys of rivers, mountainous areas, and forested areas give a habitat to various plants and animals. The region contains species that are adapted to Mediterranean and continental climate, and numerous of the endemic flora are well adapted to this intercontinental region between Anatolian steppe and mountainous Mediterranean climates. The population centers wherein the provincial capital Adiyaman city is located are mostly located in valleys and plains which are easy to reach, following the natural directions offered by rivers and roads. Not only does the river Euphrates determine the physical geography, but the river also sustains irrigation projects needed by agricultural societies.

City Ad yaman Province Ad yaman District Ad yaman Country Turkey Population 290,883 FAQ's Q.1: What is Adiyaman famous for? Adiyaman is renowned for housing Mount Nemrut, a UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of gigantic 1st -century BC statues of the gods and kings of the Kingdom of Commagene. It also has ancient Roman bridges such as Cendere, rock tombs at Perre and fertile Euphrates valleys, the best producers of pistachios and apricots. Q.2: Is Adiyaman tourist friendly? Yes, it is friendly with low crime, however, check travel warnings for south east Turkey. Travel on highways, employ tour guides in isolated places such as Nemrut and observe etiquette in various places such as dressing decently at the old places. .

FAQs