Ahlat
Encyclopedia
Ahlat is a historic town and a district in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

's Bitlis Province
Bitlis Province
Bitlis Province is a province of eastern Turkey, located to the west of Lake Van.-History:Bitlis was formed as an administrative district in the 17th Century...

 in Eastern Anatolia Region
Eastern Anatolia Region
The Eastern Anatolia Region is one of seven non-administrative subdivisions of Turkey and encompasses its eastern provinces.The region and the name "Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi" were first defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941. It has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and...

. The center town of Ahlat is situated on the northwestern coast of the Lake Van
Lake Van
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...

. She was the district in Van Province
Van Province
Van Province is a province in eastern Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 at the end of 2010....

 between 1929-1936. The mayor is Abdulalim Mümtaz Çoban (MHP
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...

).

In the accounts of Nasir Khusraw
Nasir Khusraw
Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī [also spelled as Nasir Khusrow and Naser Khosrow] Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī [also spelled as Nasir Khusrow and Naser Khosrow] Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn...

 the town of "Akhlat" is mentioned once: "And from there (Van
Van, Turkey
Van is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of the Kurdish-majority Van Province, and is located on the eastern shore of Lake Van. The city's official population in 2010 was 367,419, but many estimates put this as much higher with a 1996 estimate stating 500,000 and former Mayor Burhan...

) we arrived at akhlat in the 18th of Jumada al-awwal
Jumada al-awwal
Jumada al-awwal is the fifth month in the Islamic calendar.We can also find the alternative spelling Jumada al-Ula.The origin of the word is as follows: the word Jumda, from which the name of the month is derived, is used to denote dry parched land: land devoid of rain, and hence denote the dry...

 and this town marks the borders of Armenians and Muslims, ... an Emir ruled there which they called Nassr-ol-dolat and had many sons and had appointed them as district governors within his kingdom. In this town three languages are spoken: Taazi (Arabic), Persian, and Armenian and I think that's why they call this town Akhlat (Arabic word from the roots "Kha-la-ta" which means "mix, to mix".). They used coins worth 300 Dirhams each."

Ahlat and its surroundings are known for the large number of historic tombstones left by the Ahlatshah
Ahlatshahs
Ahlahshahs were the 11th-12th century rulers of an Anatolian beylik of the first period founded after the Battle of Manzikert, and centered in Ahlat on the northwestern shore of the Lake Van in Eastern Anatolia...

 dynasty. Efforts led by the local administration are presently being made with a view to including the tombstones in UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

's World Heritage List, where they are currently listed tentatively.

In recent years, Ahlat also came to be known for the quality of its potatoes which carved themselves a sizable share in the Turkish agricultural products market.
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