Geographical name changes in Turkey
Kurdish and Zazaki name Named changed to : Notes
Qilaban Uludere Kurdish : Castellan
Dersîm Tunceli province In September 2012 , legislation was promulgated to restore the name of the province of Tunceli to Dersim
Qoser Kızıltepe Kurdish : Red mountain
Şax Çatak Kurdish : Tree branch or Mountain
Êlih Batman
Karaz Kocaköy
Pîran Dicle Zazaki and Krd . : Wise men
Hênî Hani Hênî : Zaz . Spring
Dara Hênî Genç Dar : Tree , Hênî : Spring
Ginc ( Genc ) Kaleköy , Solhan Inhabited by Zazas . The name comes from Middle Persian گنج genc , which means treasure . This city should not be confused with the modern day city of Genç . Genc was the center of Bingöl Province between 1924-1927 . In 1936 the city was moved to Dara Hênî where the Dara Hênî 's name was ultimately changed to Genç
Çolig Bingöl The meaning of the name is interpreted as somewhere that is in a deep valley
Şemrex Mazıdağı Kurdish : Road to Damascus ( Şam )
Norgeh Pazaryolu Kurdish : Place of light
Amed Diyarbakır Armenians also refer to the city as Dikranagerd ( Armenian : built by King Tigran )
Colemêrg Hakkari Hakkari was known as Çölemerik in accordance with government records in 1928 . Armenians refer to the city as Gghmar which was noted in Tovma Artsruni 's History of the House of Artsrunik written in the 10th century
Serêkaniyê Ceylanpınar Kurdish : Head of spring ( a natural fountain )
Riha Şanlıurfa The city was referred to as Edessa in a 4th-century Greek text . It was also referred to as El-Ruha in a 7th-century Arabic text . The city was changed to Urfa . In 1984 the Turkish National Assembly changed its name to Şanlıurfa meaning Glorious Urfa in honor of the city 's dedication to the Turkish War of Independence
Notable geographical name changes -- Kurdish and Zazaki
The Kurdish and Zaza geographical name changes were exempt under the Ottoman Empire due to the Islamic religious orientation of Kurds . During the Republican era and especially after the Dersim massacre , Kurdish and Zaza geographical name changes became more common . [ 8 ] During the Turkish Republican era , the words Kurdistan and Kurds were banned . The Turkish government had disguised the presence of the Kurds and Zazas statistically by categorizing them as Mountain Turks . [ 67 ] [ 68 ] This classification was changed to the new euphemism of Eastern Turk in 1980 . [ 69 ] Also included in the category of Kurdish geographical name changes are Zazaki , which is actually not among Kurdish . Nişanyan estimates that 4,000 Kurdish and Zaza geographical locations have been changed . [ 5 ] Kurdish geographical names renamed in Turkey Notable name changes of Kurdish geographical locations : [ 44 ] [ 45 ] [ 70 ]
Geographical name changes in Turkey have been undertaken, periodically, in bulk from 1913 to the present by successive Turkish governments. Thousands of names within the Turkish Republic or the Ottoman Empire have lost or departed from their popular or historic alternatives in favour of recognizably Turkish names, as part of the Turkification policy. The governments have argued that such names are foreign or divisive. Names changed were usually of Armenian, Greek, Georgian (Including Laz), Bulgarian, Kurdish, Zazaki, Syriac, Yazidi or Arabic origin. Turkey's efforts to join the European Union in the early 21st century have led to a decrease in the incidence of such changes from local, and particularly the central government. In some cases legislation has restored the names of certain villages (primarily those housing Kurdish and Zaza minorities). Place names that have formally changed frequently persist in local dialects and languages throughout the ethnically diverse country. The policy commenced during the final years of the Ottoman Empire and continued into the Turkish Republic. Under the Kemalist oriented government, specialized governmental commissions were created for the purpose of changing names. Approximately 28,000 topographic names were changed, which included 12,211 village and town names and 4,000 mountain, river, and other topographic names. Most name changes occurred in the eastern regions of the country where minority ethnicities form a large part or a majority of the population. Policies at times included banning the use of foreign names that were considered divisive and inappropriate.