Bilis

Bitlis (Armenian: Բաղեշ, romanized: Baghesh or Paghesh; Kurdish: Bidlîs; Arabic: بدليس) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province. Its population is 53,023 (2021). The city is located at an elevation of 1,545 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis River, a tributary of the Tigris. The local economy is mainly based on agricultural products which include fruits, grain and tobacco. Industry is fairly limited, and deals mainly with leatherworking, manufacture of tobacco products as well as weaving and dyeing of coarse cloth. Bitlis is connected to other urban centres by road, including Tatvan on Lake Van, 25 km to the northeast, and the cities of Muş (Mush), 100 km northwest, and Diyarbakır, 200 km to the west. The climate of Bitlis can be harsh, with long winters and heavy snowfalls. Since the local elections of March 2019, the Mayor of Bitlis is Nesrullah Tanğlay. Bitlis has been identified in the scholarly literature as a historically Kurdish city. Martin van Bruinessen (2013), examining Kurdish urbanisation, noted the predominantly Kurdish character of Bitlis and its population. Demographic studies of Turkey's Kurdish-majority provinces have consistently identified Bitlis among the provinces with the highest concentrations of Kurdish speakers.