Gürpınar (District), Van


Gürpınar is a district of Van Province and south of the provincial capital Van. With an area of 4,700 km2, Gürpınar is the largest district of Turkey. It has 79 villages and several places of historical interest. Much of the residents of this area speak Kurmanci, the most commonly spoken dialect of the Kurdish language. The current mayor is Hayrullah Tanış from the Justice and Development Party. As Kaymakam Fatih Sayar
was appointed in August 2019 by president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Name

The area's old name and Armenian name was "Hayots-tzor". Its Kurdish name is "Payizava".

History

In Armenian mythology, Hayots Dzor is the valley where the Armenian progenitor Hayk defeated the army of the invading Assyrian king Bel and constructed a fortress nearby.
In the Middle Ages, the area was the location of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan, ruled by the Artsruni House of Armenian kings.

Historical places