Taşlıçay

Taşlıçay
Taşlıçay
Coordinates: 39°32′24″N 43°40′38″E
Country	Turkey
Province	Ağrı
Government
• Mayor	İsmail Taşdemir (AKP)
• Kaymakam	Ercan Ateş
Area
• District	834.47 km2 (322.19 sq mi)
Population  (2012)
• Urban	6,284
• District	22,589
• District density	27/km2 (70/sq mi)
Post code	04800
Website	www.taslicay.bel.tr

Taşlıçay is a town and district of Ağrı Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It is located in the valley of the Murat River on the road from the city of Ağrı to Doğubeyazıt and Turkey's border with Iran. It covers an area of 798 km², and the altitude is 1,660 m. The population, as of 2012, is 22,589, of which 6,284 live in the town of Taşlıçay and the remainder on the surrounding countryside. The mayor is İsmail Taşdemir (AKP).

Taşlıçay is surrounded by high mountains (2,000m plus), including; to the north Perili, Balıkgölü (3,159 m) and Ziyarettepe (1,800 m) of the South Aras range; and to the south the Aladağlar, including Muratbaşı (Koçbaşı) (3,510 m) and Kandil (2,750 m).

History

Main article: Ağrı Province

A burial mound (höyük) to the south of Taşlıçay and numerous other ruins in the district indicate a long and varied human presence in the region. There is an Urartu temple and an Armenian monastery on the hill above the village of Taşteker.

Taşlıçay today

The people live by farming, mainly raising livestock. Although the mountainsides cannot be farmed the land in the valley is fertile, watered in the spring melt by streams running into the Murat, and is used for growing beet and grains. Summers are hot, winters are cold and snowy (permanent snow lies above 2,700). In summer the villagers move up the mountainside to graze animals in high meadow, including on the banks of Lake Balık (which contains trout and carp).

The population includes a community of Shiites.