Şırnak – at the border with Iraq and Syria
- Written by Portal Editor
The current day-to-day politics in the Syrian conflict has caused further problems in the province of Şırnak and thus its provincial capital of the same name due to the common border with Syria after the long-standing Kurdish conflicts, in a downright tragic way, because thousands of Syrian refugees sought their salvation by fleeing the country.
With the bordering provinces of Siirt and Van in the north, Hakkâri in the east and Mardin in the west, the province of Şırnak stretches along the border to Syria and Iraq at an average altitude of around 1,400 meters above sea level as an inaccessible mountain world that is predominantly inhabited by Kurds will. In 2007, only about 416,000 people lived on the entire provincial area of 7,172 km2, which translates to 58 people per square kilometer. It is not without reason that one speaks of sparse settlements, which can have correspondingly few structures to offer accommodation to thousands of refugees.
Şırnak's highest mountain at 2,114 meters
The region could definitely use calmer days to at least open up its beauty and naturalness to tourism a little. Not only the historically significant Tigris crosses Şırnak, its tributaries Kızılsu, Hezil and Habur also flow through the mountain landscape. In addition to Mount Cudi, which is important for the region, it is above all the Gabar, Namaz and Altın mountains that determine the face of the landscape. In history, Şırnak's highest mountain at 2,114 meters plays a particularly important role, not only because of its four peaks.
Noah´s Ark has landed here?
In 1898, the traveler and researcher Theodor Nöldeke assumed that the original name of the mountain could have been Kardu, based on the country of Quardu, where Noah's Ark allegedly landed. Other researchers such as David Rohl, Bill Crouse, Charles Willis and Timo Roller have at least considered this possibility. The remaining ruins of a former monastery, which Arab geographers called Safinat Nabī Nūḥ (Noah's Ark), also support this theory. When the explorers Austen Henry Layard and later also L. W. King found rock inscriptions and also some rock carvings from Sennacherib, the conclusion was obvious that Mount Cudi could very well be identical with Mount Nipur, which was often mentioned in antiquity.
Unfortunately, many open questions cannot be clarified due to the still prevailing conflicts between the Turkish army and the PKK fighters, because the region is simply too dangerous for traveling and researching. Again and again there are fierce battles, especially on the Cudi. Taken together with the refugee problem, the region continues to appear inaccessible to tourists, an area which the Turkish authorities warn against entering, quite apart from the military restricted zones.
Please read as well: