Akçakiraz

Akçakiraz
Town
Akçakiraz
Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 38°37′N 39°16′E / 38.617°N 39.267°E / 38.617; 39.267Coordinates: 38°37′N 39°16′E / 38.617°N 39.267°E / 38.617; 39.267
Country  Turkey
Province Elazığ Province
District Elazığ central district
Elevation 920 m (3,020 ft)
Population (2013)
 • Total 6,508
Time zone UTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code 23180
Area code(s) 0424
Licence plate 23
Climate Csa

Akçakiraz (former Perçenç, from the original Armenian Parchanj [Armenian: Բարջանճ])[1] is a belde (town) in the central district (Elazığ) of Elazığ Province, Turkey. Situated 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of Elazığ and near the junction of two Turkish state highways D-300 and D-885 which connect Elazığ to Bingöl and Diyarbakır respectively . The population of Akçakiraz stood at 6,506 in 2013.[2] Agriculture, cattle rising and light textile industry are among the economic activities of the town.

According to the official municipality page the town was founded in 1670 by a certain İsmail Bey who was probably a member of Karakoyunlu dynasty (which had founded a short lived Turkmen empire in the 14th and 15th centuries).[3] Local Armenian tradition held that the town was founded by the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew, patron saints of the Armenian Church. While the author of a study on the village finds this story to be apocryphal, he believes Armenians were the original founders of the village.[4] All the Armenians were expelled or massacred during the course of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Dzeron, Manoog B. Village of Parchanj: General History, 1600-1937. Fresno: Panorama West Books, 1984, p. 21.
  2. ↑ "Turkstat". Turkish Statistical Institute. Archived from the original on 26 January 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  3. ↑ Mayor's page (in Turkish)
  4. ↑ Dzeron. Village of Parchanj, pp. 18, 28-90.
  5. ↑ Dzeron. Village of Parchanj, pp. 213-19.
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