Siirt (Arabic: سِعِرْد Siʿird, Armenian: Սղերդ Sġerd, Syriac: ܣܥܪܬ siʿreth, Kurdish: Sêrt, Ottoman Turkish: سعرد, Greek: Σύρτη) is a city in Bakur / southeastern Turkey. The population of the city according to the 2009 census was 129,188. The majority of the city’s population is Kurdish.
Siirt is famous in Turkey for its hand-made blankets (Siirt battaniyesi), traditional kilims produced by the Jirikan clan, and the Bıttım soaps from the region. Siirt also has an extremely rich culinary and spa culture. Depending district centers of Aydınlar with its historical medrese is renowned as a religious center and Pervari for its honey based on the particularly rich flora.
Siirt was Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s constituency from 2003 to 2007. His wife, Mrs. Emine Erdoğan, is from Siirt and the PM had been elected to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in a by-election held in Siirt in 2003.
Although Siirt remains one of the poorer cities in Turkey, some neighborhoods have fine and modern housing including new shops, banks and hotels.
In order to make it easier for women to participate in public life, "Jinkart" project has been introduced in Kurdish cities in Turkey. The municipal projects for women that were shut down under state administration are being reactivated.
In the summer of 2023, Mount Cudi is once again the site of significant wildfires, marking a recurring environmental challenge that has profound implications for the region which is an important part of the Kurdish geography. This event brings to the forefront an interview with Zozan Pehlivan, an environmental historian of the modern Middle East, the Ottoman Empire, and Ottoman Kurdistan, conducted in 2020, now translated into English by MedyaNews, that explores the intricate connections between ecology, economy, and history in Turkey, Kurdistan and beyond.
Bedia Şimay and Bedriye Tırak are the owners of a handicraft shop located in the Sur district of Amed. Two sisters sell the crafts made by women living in provinces such as Batman, Mardin, and Siirt in their shop to earn a livelihood. “We have provided employment opportunities for hundreds of women until now,” Bedia Şimay said.
This article analyzes women’s political representation in Kurdish-majority regions of Turkey before and after the 2019 crackdown on elected mayors from the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), as well as women’s political representation in the Syrian region of Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) before and after Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring.
Last call to try and stop the destruction of the 12,000 years old site.
