Eğil
Eğil
District and municipality in Diyarbakır, Turkey
Eğil (Hittite: 𒅔𒃲𒀀𒉿, romanized: Ingalawa; Ottoman Turkish: اکيل;[2] Kurdish: Gêl)[3] is a municipality and district of Diyarbakır Province, Turkey.[4] Its area is 449 km2,[5] and its population is 21,434 (2022).[1] It is populated by Kurds.[3]
The elected mayor Mustafa Akkul of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was dismissed on the 23 March 2020 and replaced by a trustee.[6] The current Kaymakam is Volkan Hür.
Eğil is an ancient city 50 km away from Diyarbakır with many ancient forts and caves dating to the time of the Armenian kingdom of Sophene. It is identified with Carcathiocerta, the capital of the Kingdom of Sophene, and the ancient Armenian religious center of Angegh-tun (Angełtun).[7]
In 2018 parts of a village re-emerged in Eğil in the Çakırören neighbourhood, after the Dicle Dam suffered water level decrease due to a burst of one of the gates.[8] It is also the location of a supposed tomb of Elisha, which is located in the Kale neighborhood of Eğil.[9]