Şemdinli

Şemdinli
A view of Şemdinli
Şemdinli
Coordinates: 37°18′00″N 44°34′00″E / 37.30000°N 44.56667°E / 37.30000; 44.56667Coordinates: 37°18′00″N 44°34′00″E / 37.30000°N 44.56667°E / 37.30000; 44.56667
Country	Turkey
Province	Hakkâri
Government
• Mayor	Seferi Yılmaz (BDP)
• Kaymakam	Mesut Gençtürk
Area
• District	1,661.05 km2 (641.33 sq mi)
Population (2012)
• Urban	21,048
• District	67,173
• District density	40/km2 (100/sq mi)
Post code	30800
Website	www.semdinli.bel.tr

Şemdinli (Syriac: ܫܲܡ̱ܣܕܝܼܢ‎ Shemsdin; Kurdish: Şemzînan‎) is a district located in the Hakkari Province of southeastern Turkey. Its population was 11,211 in 2010. It was previously in the Ottoman vilayet of Van and the district centre was called Nevşehir. The mayor is Seferi Yılmaz (BDP).

Located at the farthest corner of Turkey, the district of Şemdinli is a mountainous land. There is a visible military presence in the town, owing to the strategic position of the town astride a mountain route connecting the least-controllable corners of Iran and Iraq.

The district of Şemdinli lies in the center of the Assyrian Nochiya Tribe of Hakkari. The district of Şemdinli is the heart of their tribe. It was the home of the Assyrian Khnanisho Matran Family. The Nochiya tribe of Şemdinli are well known for their adherence to the Assyrian Church of the East faith, growing tobacco, and for their religious customs (such as lent and prayer were strictly observed).

A bomb exploded in Şemdinli town centre on November 1, 2005. It was officially attributed to the PKK, an armed Kurdish militant group. On November 9 one man was killed in a grenade attack on a local bookshop. The suspects of this attack, however, were caught in the act by bystanders. They were said to be members of a Turkish Gendarmerie unit, JITEM. The resulting investigation developed into a major political issue in Turkey in the first half of 2006. After a lengthy legal process the three suspects were eventually sentenced to 39 years.