Arıca, Gercüş Explained

Type:	village
Arıca
Province:	Batman
Population As Of:	2021
Coordinates:	37.509°N 41.444°W
District:	Gercüş
Population Total:	344

Arıca (Classical Syriac: ܟܦܪܐ ܥܠܝܬܐ|translit=Kafro `Elayto,^[1] Kurdish: Kefri, Kefrê) is a village in Batman Province in southeastern Turkey. It is located in the district of Gercüş and the historical region of Tur Abdin.

In the village, there are churches of Mor Aho and Mor Dimet,^[2] Mor Jacob, and Mor Barsaumo. The Monastery of Mor Barsaumo is also located north of the village.

The village is populated by Assyrians and by Kurds of the Kercoz tribe.^[3] In 2021, the population was 344.^[4]

Etymology

The Syriac name of the village is derived from "kafro" ("village" in Syriac) and "elayto" ("upper" in Syriac), thus Kafro `Elayto translates to "upper village". This name serves to distinguish the village from Kafro Tahtayto ("lower village" in Syriac).

History

Amidst the Assyrian genocide, in 1915, Kafro Elayto was populated by 80 Assyrian families and 30 Kurdish families.^[5] After a five-day siege by a Kurdish force led by Yusuf Agha, most of the village's Assyrian population were massacred and their houses destroyed, and a few survivors fled to Inwardo.^[5] The Assyrians later returned, and roughly 60 Assyrian families are recorded in the 1980s,^[5] however, they were forced to flee due to the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, and as of 2012 there are no remaining Assyrians.

Notable people

• Mor Julius Yeshu Cicek (1942-2005), Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Central Europe
• Mehmet Şimşek (b. 1967), Turkish politician^[6]

References

NotesCitations

Bibliography

• Book: Biner. Zerrin Ozlem . 2019. States of Dispossession: Violence and Precarious Coexistence in Southeast Turkey. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Book: Sinclair. T.A. . 1989 . Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume III. Pindar Press. 9780907132349.
• Book: Tamcke. Martin. 2012. The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the 'Seyfo' against the Syrians. The Slow Disappearance of the Syriacs from Turkey and of the Grounds of the Mor Gabriel Monastery, ed. Pieter Omtzigt, Markus K. Tozman, Andrea Tyndall. LIT Verlag Münster. 15–25.

Notes and References

1. Web site: ܩܫܝܫܐ ܝܘܣܦ ܫܐܗܝܢ – القس يوسف شاهين. . 28 March 2018. Syriac Electronic School. 2 April 2020. ar. 9 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201009211759/https://e-school.syriac-union.com/2018/03/28/%DC%A9%DC%AB%DC%9D%DC%AB%DC%90-%DC%9D%DC%98%DC%A3%DC%A6-%DC%AB%DC%90%DC%97%DC%9D%DC%A2-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B3-%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%81-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%87%D9%8A%D9%86/. dead.
2. Web site: Threatened or destroyed churches and monasteries in the Tur Abdin. Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch Archdiocese of the Western United States. 14 July 2020.
3. Book: Tan, Altan . Turabidin'den Berriye'ye. Aşiretler - Dinler - Diller - Kültürler . 2018 . 9789944360944 . 172 . tr.
4. Web site: Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2021 . 12 January 2023 . . tr . XLS.
5. Web site: Kafro-Elayto. Foundation for Conservation and Promotion of the Aramaic Cultural Heritage. 14 July 2020. de.
6. Web site: Mehmet Şimşek - Munzinger Biographie . 2022-11-27 . www.munzinger.de.