AssyriansThe district of Şemdinli lies in the center of the Assyrian Nochiya Tribe. The district of Şemdinli is the heart of their tribe. It is the home of the famous Assyrian Matran Family. The Nochiya tribe of Şemdinli are well known for their adherence to the Nestorian faith, growing tobacco, and for their religious customs (such as lent and prayer were strictly observed).2 Şemdinli todayLocated 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 Kurdish dialects of the Gerdi and Herki clans are used by some locally.citation needed Nehri15 km southwest of the town is Nehri, officially called Bağlar, the former capital of the valley of Şemdinli. Here at the beginning of the 19th century Seyid Taha, who claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammadcitation needed, set up the headquarters of a powerful sufi lodge of the Nakshibendi ordercitation needed. He reconciled the warring clans and set up a medrese that became a spiritual beacon of the Kurdish lands. His son Seyid Ubeydullah grew strong enough to make war on Persia. A grandson, Seyid Abdülkadir, was the last president of the Ottoman Senatecitation needed. He was hanged in 1925 for suspected complicity in the Kurdish rebellion of that year.citation needed The lodge (tekke) and the residence of the seyids are now scant ruins in an overgrown mulberry grove.citation needed Bombings
A bomb ripped Şemdinli town centre on November 1, 2005. It was officially attributed to the PKK, a terrorist Kurdish separatist group. A second bomb went off near a bookstore on November 9. The suspects of this attack, however, were caught in the act by bystanders. They were said to be members of a gendarmerie special-operations unit, JITEM. The resulting investigation developed into a major political issue in Turkey in the first half of 2006.3 Investigations concerning the Şemdinli bombing trial have been blocked by the military. All the judges and prosecutors associated with the Şemdinli bookshop bombing case were transferred from Van to other cities following a June 2007 decree.4 On 4 October 2008 Kurdish rebels killed 15 Turkish soldiers in an attack near Şemdinli. The attack is believed to be orchestrated by the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).5 See alsoReferences
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