The Seljuk cemetery, which is classified on the World Heritage List in Bitlis Province, southeastern Turkey, receives tens of thousands of visitors, and is increasing to coincide with the celebrations commemorating the Battle of Manzikert in August.
The Director of Culture and Tourism in Bitlis, Ali Fouad Aker, said that the cemetery is one of the important tourist places in the state, as 190,000 visitors visited it last year.
He added that the first five months of this year witnessed a significant increase in the number of visitors, with the weather temperature increasing by more than 103,000 visitors, while it received 40,000 visitors during the same period last year.
He pointed out that the cemetery usually witnesses an increase in the number of visitors in the summer months, specifically during August, coinciding with the anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Manzikert.
-Advertisement-
The cemetery is located in the Ahlat area of Bitlis state. It covers an area of 210 dunums and contains 8,200 graves.
In 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included the cemetery on its provisional list of world cultural heritage as the largest Turkish Islamic cemetery.
The Battle of Manzikert took place on August 26, 1071, in which the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan was able to defeat the Byzantine army led by Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes.
The victory of the Seljuks, led by Alp Arslan, opened the way for the Turks to advance in Asia Minor, which is now known as Turkey, and constituted a historical turning point in the region.
