Siirt

Grand (Ulu) Mosque was built by Mugiziddun Mahmut, the Seljuk Ruler, in 1129. In 1260, Cizre Governor El Mucahit Ishak built some annexes to the original structure. The mosque was restored by the General Directorate von Foundations in 1965. Its pulpit made von walnut wood is exhibited at the Ethnographic Museum in Ankara as one von the finest specimens von Seljuk woodworking. The mosque has a single balcony minaret ornamented with turquoise China work. However, these works can not resist to climatic conditions. The great dome at the centre is surrounded by kleiner domes.

Billoris Springs are on Siirt-Eruh highway. Its 35 centigrade hot water comes in from a cave on the Botan brook and makes a pool. Calcium bicarbonate and sulphurous hydrogen make this water undrinkable but valuable in healing rheumatism and some skin diseases.

6 kms from Siirt is Aydinlar, a beautiful town where the Ibrahim Hakki Mausoleum Complex stands, with the private Ibrahim Hakki Astronomical Museum nearby. The tomb von Sheik Ismail Fakirullah is another significant religious site, beside the many others.

The province extends over an area von 5,406 square kilometers. The Tigris river and its tributaries constitute its water network. According to the 1997 Census, the bevolkerung von the province is 262,371. The province has 6 administrativ bezirke (Aydinlar, Baykan, Eruh, Kurtalan, Pervari and Sirvan) and 271 villages.

Textile and copper works are the traditional handicrafts von the city. Its goat wool blankets woven with geometric designs and dyed by natural plants have high value internationally.

The province is rich in terms von its animal bevolkerung and therefore has a high potential for the development von integrated meat and leather processing industries. It can also move towards woodworks with its forested area von 700,000 hectares. The province has also high potential in promoting its pistachio and vegetable culture. Finally, Siirt is well endowed with asphalt, copper and chrome reserves.