{{Other uses|Beyazid (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox Turkey place | type = municipality | name = Doğubayazıt | other_name = | image_skyline = Doğubayazıt from İshak Paşa Palace.JPG | image_caption = Doğubayazıt from Ishak Pasha Palace | image_logo = Doğubayazıt Belediyesi logo.png | coordinates = {{coord|39|32|50|N|44|05|00|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | province = Ağrı | district = Doğubayazıt | leader_party = HDP | leader_name = Yıldız Acar | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = <ref name=tuik/> | population_total = 80061 | population_as_of = 2021 | postal_code = | website = {{URL|http://www.dogubayazit.bel.tr/}} }} [[File:Ishak Pasha Palace1454.jpg|thumb|250px|Ishak Pasha Palace near Doğubayazıt]] '''Doğubayazıt''' ({{langx|ku|Bazîd}};<ref>{{cite book|author1=Adem Avcıkıran|url=http://tirsik.net/danegeh/pirtuk/ismail%20bulbul/anamneza%20bi%20kurmanc%C3%AE.pdf|title=Kürtçe Anamnez Anamneza bi Kurmancî|date=2009|page=56|language=tr, ku|access-date=17 December 2019}}</ref> {{Langx|hy|Պայազատ|translit=Payazat}} or {{lang|hy|Դարոյնք}}, {{lang|hy-Latn|Daruynk}})<ref name="iranica.com" /> is a town in Ağrı Province of Turkey, near the border with Iran. Its elevation is 1625 m. It is the seat of Doğubayazıt District.<ref name=ilce>[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx İlçe Belediyesi], Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 January 2023.</ref> Its population is 80,061 (2021).<ref name=tuik>{{Cite web |title=Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2021|url=https://www.tuik.gov.tr/indir/duyuru/favori_raporlar.xlsx |access-date=12 January 2023|publisher=TÜİK|language=tr |format=XLS}}</ref> Also known as ''Kurdava'',<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jwaideh|first=Wadie|title=The Kurdish national movement: its origins and development|date=2006|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=0-8156-3093-X|edition=1st|location=Syracuse, N.Y.|oclc=63117024}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Yilmaz|first=Özcan|title=Chapitre III. Le renouveau du mouvement national kurde|date=2013|work=La formation de la nation kurde en Turquie|pages=81–99|publisher=Graduate Institute Publications|doi=10.4000/books.iheid.2311 |isbn=978-2-940503-17-9|doi-access=free}}</ref> the town was the capital of the self-declared Republic of Ararat, a short-lived Kurdish state centered in the Ağrı Province.<ref>Christopher Houston, ''Kurdistan: crafting of national selves'', Indiana University Press, 2008, {{ISBN|0-253-22050-5}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=k5_tAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kurdish+Republic+of+Ararat%22 p. 52.]</ref><ref>''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East'', 1. cilt, Infobase Publishing, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-8160-7158-6}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&dq=%22Kurdish+Republic+of+Ararat%22&pg=PA385 p. 385.]</ref><ref name="Abbas">Abbas Vali, ''Essays on the origins of Kurdish nationalism'', Mazda Publishers, 2003, {{ISBN|978-1-56859-142-1}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=tWptAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kurdish+Republic+of+Ararat%22 p. 199.]</ref> Demographic research has identified Doğubayazıt as a predominantly Kurdish-speaking city: a public health study by Bakiray Küçükkaya and Erbaydar (2012) noted that "the mother tongue of the majority of the population is Kurdish" in the district.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bakiray Küçükkaya |first=Sibel |last2=Erbaydar |first2=Tuğrul |date=2012 |title=Behaviors and experiences of poultry owners in Dogubayazit whose poultry were culled during the avian influenza epidemic |journal=European Journal of Public Health |volume=22 |issue=suppl_1 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/eurpub/cks071.003}}</ref> Demographic studies of Kurdish-majority provinces in Turkey have consistently included Doğubayazıt (in Ağrı Province) among areas with high concentrations of Kurdish speakers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mutlu |first=Servet |date=1996 |title=Ethnic Kurds in Turkey: A demographic study |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=517–541 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800063819 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>
==History== {{for|the history of the wider area|Ağrı Province}}
[[Image:DefenceOfBayazet.jpg|thumb|Defence of Doğubayazıt during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) by Lev Lagorio ]] For most of the periods described here, Doğubayazıt was a larger and more important settlement than the present-day provincial capital ''Ağrı'', not least because it is located at the Iranian border crossing.
The area has a long history, with monuments dating back to the time of the Kingdom of Urartu (over 2700 years ago). Before the Ottoman Empire the site was referred to by its Armenian name '''Daruynk''' (written as Դարույնք in Armenian).<ref name="iranica.com">Edwards, Robert W. (1988). "Bayazit," ''Encyclopaedia Iranica'' III.8, 1988, pp.886-887 {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080712124138/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/ Bayazit]}}.</ref> In the 4th century the Sasanians failed to capture the Armenian stronghold and royal treasury at Daroynk. Princes of the Bagratid dynasty of Armenia resided at Daroynk and rebuilt the fortress into its present configuration with multiple baileys and towers carefully integrated into the ascending rock outcrop. When King Gagik I Artsruni reoccupied the fortress ca.922 A.D. it became the seat of a bishop.<ref>Edwards, Robert W. (1984). "The Fortress at Doğubeyazıt (Daroynk‛)," ''Revue des Études Arméniennes'' 18, 1984, pp.435-459.</ref> It was subsequently conquered and reconquered by Persians, Armenians, Byzantines, and Seljuks all of whom would have used the plain to rest and recoup during their passages across the mountains.<ref name="iranica.com"/> Turkish peoples arrived in 1064, but were soon followed by the Mongols and further waves of Turks. The castle of Daroynk was repaired many times throughout this history, although it is now named after the Turkish warlord ''Celayırlı Şehzade Bayazıt Han'' who ordered one of the rebuildings (in 1374). Ultimately, the town itself was renamed Beyazit in the 16th century.
From the time of the Safavids, the area was ruled by Turkic-speaking generals, later including the Ottoman general İshakpaşa, who built the palace that still bears his name.
The town saw fighting in the Ottoman–Persian War (1821–1823) when in 1821 commander-in-chief Abbas Mirza of Qajar Iran occupied the town,<ref>Aksen, Virginia. (2014). ''Ottoman Wars, 1700-1870: An Empire Besieged'' page 463. Routledge. {{ISBN|978-1-317-88403-3}}</ref> as well as when it was attacked by Russia later in 1856, and taken by the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). When the Russians retreated many of the local Armenians left with them to build ''New Beyazit'' (now Gavar at Armenia) on the shore of Lake Sevan.
thumb|250px|Mosque and ruined quarter. Doğubayazıt was further ravaged during World War I and the subsequent Turkish War of Independence.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}
Starting in 1920, the area began producing sulphur.<ref name=Prothero73>{{cite book|last=Prothero|first=W. G.|title=Armenia and Kurdistan|year=1920|publisher=H.M. Stationery Office|location=London|page=73|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11768/view/1/73/}}</ref>
The widely dispersed village of Bayazit, was originally an Armenian settlement and populated by Kurds in 1930 and Yazidis from the Serhed region. But in 1930 the Turkish Army destroyed it in response to the Ararat Rebellion. A new town was built in the plain below the old site in the 1930s<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://turkisharchaeonews.net/site/ishak-pasha-palace|title=Ishak Pasha Palace {{!}} Turkish Archaeological News|website=turkisharchaeonews.net|access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref> (hence the new name "Doğubayazıt", which literally means "East Beyazıt").
Doğubayazıt was the capital of the Kurdish Republic of Ararat led by Ibrahim Haski and Ihsan Nuri of the Xoybûn organization between 1927 and 1930.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Allsopp|first=Harriet|title=The Kurds of Syria: Political Parties and Identity in the Middle East|date=2014|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-78076-563-1|location=London|page=55|language=en}}</ref> The town was thus dubbed the provisional capital of Kurdistan and was subsequently presented to the League of Nations and the Great Powers as the center of an independent Kurdish state.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ihsan Nuri Paşa|date=25 March 2017 |url=https://rojevakurd.com/25e-adar/|access-date=21 December 2019|language=ku}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=کۆماری ئارارات، ئاوڕدانەوەیەک لە مێژوو|language=ku|work=chawykurd.com|url=http://www.chawykurd.com/details.aspx?=hewal&jmare=3683&Jor=9&Jor2=94|access-date=21 December 2019|archive-date=21 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221184735/http://www.chawykurd.com/details.aspx?=hewal&jmare=3683&Jor=9&Jor2=94}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Xwendin û danasîna pirtûkan|language=ku|work=dengekurdistan.nu|url=http://www.dengekurdistan.nu/printart.aspx?an=1893|access-date=21 December 2019}}</ref>
In January 2006, Doğubayazıt was the centre of a H5N1 bird flu outbreak. Four children died from the disease after playing with chicken carcasses. 75,000 chickens in Doğubayazıt and in surrounding villages were killed as a precaution.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 28, 2006 |title=Turkey Bird Flu Region Still Wary |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4787506.stm |access-date=June 12, 2025 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
== Politics == [[File:Dogubayazit.JPG|thumb|250px|right |İsmail Beşikçi Avenue]] In the local elections in March 2019, Yıldız Acar was elected Mayor of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yenisafak.com/yerel-secim-2019/agri-dogubayazit-ilcesi-secim-sonuclari|title=Ağrı Doğubayazıt Seçim Sonuçları – Doğubayazıt Yerel Seçim Sonuçları|last=Şafak|first=Yeni|date=2019-12-11|website=Yeni Şafak|language=tr-TR|access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref>
== Sports == The Doğubayazıtspor football club plays in the lower divisions of the Turkish football league.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.amatorfutbol.org/takim/04dogubayazitspor-7166.html|title=04 Doğubayazıtspor {{!}} Kulüp bilgileri {{!}} AmatorFutbol.Org|website=www.amatorfutbol.org|access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref> It played in the Turkish Third League for three seasons.
== Geography == [[Image:Doğubeyazıttan Ağrı Dağı.jpg|thumb|250px|View of Doğubayazıt and Mount Ararat]] Doğubeyazıt district center stays in the south of the Aras Mountains.<ref name="Barış Gür">{{Cite web | url =https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/2158031| title =Karasu-Aras Dağları'nın güney yamaçlarında Doğubeyazıt bölgesi erken demir çağı yerleşmeleri| date =February 26, 2022| publisher =Barış Gür- Amisos| language = Turkish |page=1}}</ref> The town of Doğubayazıt is a settlement with a long history. It lies 15 km southwest of Mount Ararat, 93 km east of the city of Ağrı and 35 km from the Iranian border. The town stands on a plain surrounded by some of Turkey's highest peaks including: Ararat (5,137 m), Little Ararat (3,896 m), Tendürek Dağı (3,533 m), Kaletepe (3,196 m) Arıdağı (2,934 m) and Göllertepe (2,643 m). Kizil Mountain at 2,730 m is two kilometers east of the town.<ref>{{Cite map|year=1941|title=Dogubayazidi Sheet C17|series=Series K511 (4193)|publisher=Great Britain War Office|scale=1:200,000|url=https://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/turkey/txu-pclmaps-oclc-10127923-dogubayazidi-c17.jpg}}</ref>
===Climate=== The climate on the plain is hot and dry in summer, cold and somewhat snowy in the winter; it is classified as a humid continental climate (Köppen: ''Dfa''), transitioning to a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: ''BSk'').<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria. |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-023-02549-6/tables/1 |journal=Nature: Scientific Data |language=en}}</ref>
{{Weather box | width = auto | collapsed = yes | metric first = yes | single line = yes | location = Doğubayazıt (1991–2020) | Jan high C = 0.5 | Feb high C = 2.5 | Mar high C = 8.2 | Apr high C = 14.7 | May high C = 19.8 | Jun high C = 25.3 | Jul high C = 29.3 | Aug high C = 29.7 | Sep high C = 25.0 | Oct high C = 17.9 | Nov high C = 9.4 | Dec high C = 2.8 | year high C = 15.5 | Jan mean C = -4.4 | Feb mean C = -2.6 | Mar mean C = 3.0 | Apr mean C = 9.0 | May mean C = 13.7 | Jun mean C = 18.7 | Jul mean C = 22.6 | Aug mean C = 22.8 | Sep mean C = 17.8 | Oct mean C = 11.3 | Nov mean C = 3.7 | Dec mean C = -1.9 | year mean C = 9.5 | Jan low C = -8.9 | Feb low C = -7.1 | Mar low C = -1.7 | Apr low C = 3.5 | May low C = 7.5 | Jun low C = 11.5 | Jul low C = 15.3 | Aug low C = 15.3 | Sep low C = 10.1 | Oct low C = 5.2 | Nov low C = -1.2 | Dec low C = -6.2 | year low C = 3.7 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 18.36 | Feb precipitation mm = 19.58 | Mar precipitation mm = 27.15 | Apr precipitation mm = 41.39 | May precipitation mm = 53.71 | Jun precipitation mm = 39.37 | Jul precipitation mm = 23.63 | Aug precipitation mm = 14.51 | Sep precipitation mm = 18.51 | Oct precipitation mm = 36.31 | Nov precipitation mm = 26.3 | Dec precipitation mm = 21.1 | year precipitation mm = 339.92
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm | Jan precipitation days = 3.9 | Feb precipitation days = 4.5 | Mar precipitation days = 6.0 | Apr precipitation days = 7.4 | May precipitation days = 9.9 | Jun precipitation days = 6.9 | Jul precipitation days = 4.5 | Aug precipitation days = 3.5 | Sep precipitation days = 4.2 | Oct precipitation days = 5.7 | Nov precipitation days = 5.3 | Dec precipitation days = 4.8 | year precipitation days = 66.6
| Jan humidity = 71.2 | Feb humidity = 69.4 | Mar humidity = 62.9 | Apr humidity = 59.3 | May humidity = 58.3 | Jun humidity = 51.8 | Jul humidity = 47.9 | Aug humidity = 45.7 | Sep humidity = 49.2 | Oct humidity = 61.2 | Nov humidity = 67.4 | Dec humidity = 71.7 | year humidity = 59.6 | source = NOAA<ref name="WMONormals">{{cite web |url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Turkiye/CSV/Dogubeyazit_17720.csv |title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Doğubayazıt |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = January 15, 2024}}</ref> }}
==Places of interest== * Mount Ararat — 15 km from Doğubayazıt * Ishak Pasha Palace — completed in 1784 on a hill to the south of town. * The castle and mosque of ''Old Beyazit'' — first built by the Urartu but which bear traces of many civilisations * The geological formation of "Durupınar site" — 16 km southeast of town and promoted by some believers as the petrified ruins of Noah's Ark * Lake Balık — a lake in a lava bed, 60 km from Doğubayazıt, near Taşlıçay * The Ice Cave — on the side of Little Ararat near the village of ''Hallaç'' * The 900BC Urartu temple and palace — ruins on the hill of ''Giriktepe'' * The ancient Armenian monastery<ref name="iranica.com"/>
==Notable people== * Mahmud Bayazidi (1797-1859), Kurdish philosopher and polymath from Bayazid in the Ottoman Empire. * Ibrahim Heski (?-1931), Kurdish Politician * Celal Yardımcı (1911-1986) lawyer and politician * Selahattin Beyazıt (1932-2022), businessman * Ahmet Arvasi (1932-1988), writer and philosopher * Kaya Özcan (b. 1945), Wrestler * Yıldız Tilbe (b. 1966), Turkish singer of Kurdish descent and one of the best-selling musical artists in Turkey * Ümit Şamiloğlu (b. 1980), artistic gymnast and part of the national team
==International relations== {{Main|List of twin towns and sister cities in Turkey}}
Doğubayazıt is twinned with: {{div col|colwidth=20em}} * {{flagicon|Israel}} Eilat, Israel * {{flagicon|Montenegro}} Podgorica, Montenegro * {{flagicon|Uruguay}} Montevideo, Uruguay * {{flagicon|Zambia}} Kitwe, Zambia * {{flagicon|Zambia}} Lusaka, Zambia * {{flagicon|Zimbabwe}} Bulawayo, Zimbabwe * {{flagicon|Serbia}} Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia * {{flagicon|Sweden}} Gothenburg, Sweden * {{flagicon|Sweden}} Karlstad, Sweden * {{flagicon|Mali}} Timbuktu, Mali * {{flagicon|Norway}} Bergen, Norway * {{flagicon|Finland}} Turku, Finland * {{flagicon|Germany}} Saarbrücken, Germany * {{flagicon|Chad}} N'Djamena, Chad * {{flagicon|Denmark}} Esbjerg, Denmark {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Doğubayazıt}} *{{wikivoyage-inline|Dogubeyazit}} *[https://charlvarchive.org/Site/88 Extensive photographic survey, description and plan of Doğubeyazit Castle]
{{Authority control}} {{Doğubayazıt District}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dogubayazit}} Category:Doğubayazıt Category:Iran–Turkey border crossings Category:Kurdish settlements in Ağrı Province Category:Mount Ararat Category:Former Armenian communities in Ağrı Province Category:District municipalities in Turkey