Bingöl is a small, modern provincial capital city known mostly for its earthquakes.
On May 1, 2003, a serious quake killed over 100 people and injured 1000. Scores of students were rescued from a boarding school flattened by the quake, but scores of others were killed by the collapse.
Modern Bingöl (alt. 1150 meters/3773 feet, pop. 50,000) dates only from 1935, when it was founded near the village of Çapakçur, near the intersection of the Elazığ-Tatvan and Erzurum-Diyarbakır roads.
Although the small city itself is new, this area has been inhabited for over 4000 years.
There’s an Urartian fortress 20 km (12 miles) south in the Murat River valley, a ski area 22 km (14 miles) west off the Elazig road, and the Kös hot springs 18 km (11 miles) NE at Fahran.
Distances & Travel Times
Ankara: 868 km (539 miles) W, 13 hours
Diyarbakır: 140 km (87 miles) S, 2 hours
Elazığ: 146 km (91 miles) W, 2 hours
Erzurum: 179 km (111 miles) E, 3 hours
Istanbul: 1312 km (815 miles) W, 20 hours
Malatya: 245 km (152 miles) W, 4 hours
Muş: 110 km (68 miles) E, 1.5 hours
Van: 338 km (210 miles) E, 5 hours
| Eastern Turkey |
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