- Taşlıçay
Taşlıçay is a town and district of
Ağrı Province in the Eastern Anatolia region ofTurkey . It is located in the valley of theMurat River on the road from the city ofAğrı toDoğubeyazıt and Turkey's border withIran . It covers an area of 798 km², and the altitude is 1,660 m. Population (2000) is 21,859 of which 5,106 live in the town of Taşlıçay and the remainder on the surrounding countryside.Taşlıçay is surrounded by high mountains (2,000 m plus), these include; to the north
Perili ,Balıkgölü 3,159 m andZiyarettepe 1,800 m of theSouth Aras range; and to the south theAladağ (includingMuratbaşı (Koçbaşı ) (3,510 m) andKandil 2,750 m.History
A
burial mound (höyük ) to the south of Taşlıçay and numerous other ruins in the district indicate this long and varied history. There is anUrartu temple on the hill above the village ofTaşteker , and an Armenian monastery.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 containstrout andcarp }.The population includes a community of
Shiites (rare in mainlySunni Turkey). [ [http://www.agri.pol.tr/taslicay.htm Agri.pol.tr - Taşlıçay] ]References
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