Muradiye is a municipality and district of Van Province, Turkey. Its area is 912 km2, and its population is 45,718 (2022). It is best known for its impressive waterfalls.

History

The tenth-century Byzantine text De Administrando Imperio mentions "Perkri" belonging to King Ashot I Bagratuni at the beginning of the ninth century before being turned over to an Arab ruler, Abu'l-Ward. After the death of Ashot's son, Smbat I, another Arab ruler, Abu Sawada, took possession of Berkri.

Forced evacuations

The Muradiye district also experienced forced evacuations of some of its inhabitants as a consequence of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict.

Government

Mehmet Ali Tunç was elected mayor in the local elections 2014. He was detained and a trustee was appointed instead in January 2017. In the local elections in March 2019, Yılmaz Şalan from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was elected mayor. On the 6 November 2019, Şalan was arrested due to charges relating to terrorism. The current Kaymakam is Erkan Savar.

Composition

There are 48 neighbourhoods in Muradiye District:

Climate

The climate in Muradiye, with hot, dry summer, and cold, snowy winters, can be classified a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dsa).

Education

In the early 2000s, there was reported a lack of teachers. Teachers were teaching more than 50 children per average.

Earthquake

In 1976 an earthquake occurred in Muradiye, Van, and caused the death of about 3,640 people and leaving 51,000 people homeless.