Çermik

Çermik (Armenian: Ջերմուկ, romanized: Jermuk, lit. 'hot springs';^[2][3] Kurdish: Çermûk)^[4] is a municipality and district of Diyarbakır Province, Turkey.^[5] Its area is 948 km²,^[6] and its population is 49,644 (2022).^[1] The mayor is Şehmus Karamehmetoğlu from the Justice and Development Party (AKP),^[7] and the current kaymakam is Vahit Yılmaz.^[8]

Çermik
District and municipality
Map showing Çermik District in Diyarbakır Province
Çermik Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 38°08′14″N 39°27′04″E
Country	Turkey
Province	Diyarbakır
Government
• Mayor	Şehmus Karamehmetoğlu (AKP)
Area	948 km2 (366 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]	49,644
• Density	52/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (TRT)
Postal code	21600
Area code	0412
Website	www.cermik.bel.tr

Çermik got its name from its natural spa.^[9] It was declared the Diyarbakir Thermal Tourism Center in October 1993.^[10]

History

Within the Ottoman Empire, Çermik was within the Kurdish sanjaks of the Diyarbekir Eyelet.^[11] In 1925 the town came shortly under control of the rebels loyal to Sheikh Said.^[12]

Demographics

On the eve of the First World War, 12,418 Armenians lived in the kaza of Çermik: 2,000 in the center of Çermik and 10,000 in Çüngüş. They had five churches, one monastery and five schools. They were massacred during the Armenian genocide.^[13]

The Jewish population left the town in 1948 when Israel was founded.^[14]

Composition

There are 81 neighbourhoods in Çermik District:^[15]

• Ağaçhan
• Akçörten
• Akkoyunlu
• Akpınar
• Alabuğday
• Alakoç
• Arabük
• Armağantaşı
• Armutlu
• Artuk
• Aşağışeyhler
• Aşağıtaşmalı
• Asmalık
• Aynalı
• Bademlik
• Bahçe
• Balıksırtı
• Başarı
• Bayat
• Bayırbağı
• Baykal
• Bayrak
• Bintaş
• Bircemal
• Bulundu
• Çalıtepe
• Ceylan
• Çukur
• Çukurelma
• Değirmenli
• Dikyol
• Dilekpınar
• Elifuşağı
• Eskibağ
• Genceli
• Göktepe
• Gözerek
• Güçlütaş
• Günaşan
• Gürüz
• Güzel
• Haburman
• İkiçeltik
• İncili
• Kalaç
• Kale
• Kalecik
• Karacaviran
• Karakaya
• Karamusa
• Karataş
• Kartaltaşı
• Kayagediği
• Keklik
• Kırmatepe
• Köksal
• Kömürcüler
• Konaklı
• Konuksever
• Korudağ
• Kuşlukçayırı
• Kuyuköy
• Örenkuyu
• Pamuklu
• Petekkaya
• Pınarlı
• Recep
• Saltepe
• Saray
• Sarıbalta
• Sarıca
• Şeyhandede
• Sinek
• Tepe
• Toplu
• Yabanardı
• Yayıklı
• Yaylacık
• Yeşilova
• Yiğitler
• Yoğun

Climate

Çermik has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa)^[16] with very hot, dry summers and cool, wet, occasionally snowy winters.^[17]

Climate data for Çermik (1991–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	8.3 (46.9)	9.9 (49.8)	15.2 (59.4)	21.0 (69.8)	27.0 (80.6)	33.8 (92.8)	38.6 (101.5)	38.7 (101.7)	33.7 (92.7)	26.2 (79.2)	17.0 (62.6)	10.4 (50.7)	23.4 (74.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)	3.4 (38.1)	4.7 (40.5)	9.6 (49.3)	14.5 (58.1)	19.9 (67.8)	26.6 (79.9)	31.2 (88.2)	30.8 (87.4)	25.3 (77.5)	18.3 (64.9)	10.1 (50.2)	5.2 (41.4)	16.7 (62.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−0.4 (31.3)	0.4 (32.7)	4.4 (39.9)	8.4 (47.1)	12.8 (55.0)	18.6 (65.5)	23.2 (73.8)	22.5 (72.5)	17.0 (62.6)	11.5 (52.7)	4.8 (40.6)	1.2 (34.2)	10.4 (50.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	124.92 (4.92)	102.08 (4.02)	95.63 (3.76)	77.8 (3.06)	49.11 (1.93)	11.66 (0.46)	1.56 (0.06)	1.69 (0.07)	7.1 (0.28)	47.57 (1.87)	75.27 (2.96)	129.12 (5.08)	723.51 (28.48)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	9.1	9.5	9.1	8.3	6.4	2.2	1.4	1.1	1.8	4.5	6.4	9.8	69.6
Average relative humidity (%)	71.0	68.3	62.7	61.0	55.1	38.3	30.7	32.0	37.5	52.5	64.7	72.4	53.8
Source: NOAA[18]

Attractions

The baths in the area draw many visitors and tourists from Turkey, mostly of neighboring provinces.^[10]

Main attractions are the Haburman Bridge, Çeteci Abdullah Pasha Madrasa, Ulu Cami (the Grand Mosque)^[19] the Bandeler Fountain (Bandeler Çesmesi) and the Gelincik Dağı ( Mountain of Gelincik) The town also counts with a Synagogue which dates back to the 1416, but it is not in use.^[20]

Notable people

• Çeteci Abdullah Pasha, Ottoman statesman.^[19]
• Ziya Gökalp, poer and sociologist ^[19]

References

1. "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
2. Hovannisian, Richard G., ed. (2006). Armenian Tigranakert/Diarbekir and Edessa/Urfa. Mazda Publishers. p. 62. ....Armenian: Chermug, Chermuk, or Jermuk; Turkish: Chermik or Cermik).
3. Kévorkian, Raymond H. (2011). The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History. London: I. B. Tauris. p. 369. ISBN 9781848855618. ...in the administrative seat, Chermug ("Hot Springs"), with an Armenian population...
4. Adem Avcıkıran (2009). Kürtçe Anamnez Anamneza bi Kurmancî (PDF) (in Turkish and Kurdish). p. 55. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
5. Büyükşehir İlçe Belediyesi, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
6. "İl ve İlçe Yüz ölçümleri". General Directorate of Mapping. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
7. "Diyarbakır Çermik Seçim Sonuçları - 31 Mart Diyarbakır Çermik Yerel Seçim Sonuçları". secim.haberler.com (in Turkish). Retrieved 2020-03-22.
8. "Kaymakam Vahit Yılmaz". Çermik Kaymakamlığı. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
9. Walker, Warren S.; Lindahl, Carl (2014-02-04). A Turkish Folktale: The Art of Behet Mahir. Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-317-77728-1.
10. Baskaya, Zafer. "Assessing Çermik (Diyarbakir) Hot Springs In Relation With Geographical Factors And Potential Of Thermal Tourism". Turkish Studies.
11. Ozoglu, Hakan (1996). "State-Tribe Relations: Kurdish Tribalism in the 16th- and 17th-Century Ottoman Empire". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 23 (1): 22. ISSN 1353-0194. JSTOR 195817.
12. Bak, János M. (1984). Religion and Rural Revolt: Papers Presented to the Fourth Interdisciplinary Workshop on Peasant Studies, University of British Columbia, 1982. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-0990-7.
13. "Kaza Çermik / Jermuk - Ջերմուկ / Chermug". Virtual Genocide Memorial. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
14. "Traditions, tastes, sounds, textures brought together by "Diyarbekirlilik"". Diyarbakir Hafizasi. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
15. Mahalle, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
16. "Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria". Nature: Scientific Data.
17. "Kar Örtülü Gün Sayısı" (PDF). MGM.
18. "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Çermik". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
19. Sinclair, T. A. (1989-12-31). Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume III. Pindar Press. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-907132-34-9.
20. "Turkey: concern raised over the state of the neglected, centuries-old former synagogue the town of Çermik, near Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey". Jewish Heritage Europe. 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2022-07-12.