Southeastern Turkey Research Articles

Description of a new species of solifuge of the genus Gylippus from Turkey (Solifugae: Gylippidae)

A new solifuge species of Gylippinae Roewer 1933, Gylippus (Gylippus) merganus sp. n., is described and illustrated based on both sexes from Hakkari Province, southeastern Turkey. The details of the characteristics of both sexes are discussed and compared with related species. The number of species in the genus Gylippus found in Turkey is hereby increased to nine. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:89246671-9380-43DB-B47F-0B0DDE474DEA

Evaluation of the frequency of MEFV gene variants in patients with a pre-diagnosis of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) in southeast Turkey.

Purpose: Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is a hereditary auto inflammatory disease (MIM#249100). The most common symptoms are high fever, abdominal pain and arthralgia. FMF is the result of variations in the MEditerraneanFeVer (MEFV) gene, which is located on chromosome 16p13.3, consists of 10 exons and encodes the pyrin (marenostrin) protein. The frequency of MEFV gene variants that cause FMF varies according to ethnic groups, countries and even different regions in the same country. In this study, we aimed to determine the frequency and distribution of MEFV gene alterations that cause Familial Mediterranean fever in southeastern Turkey.
 Materials and Methods: A total of 6,660 patients with a prediagnosis of FMF, including 3,495 women and 3,165 men, were included in the study. Fragment analysis was performed to investigate the MEFV gene variations of the patients and the 19 most common variants in the Turkish population were examined.
 Results: We found at least one variation in 50.17% (3,341) of our 6,660 patients. In our patients, 108 different genotypes; in Exon 2, 3, 5 and 10 and we identified 16 different variations. We found 2,120 (63.21%) patients heterozygous, 693 (20.74%) compound heterozygotes, 275 (8.23%) homozygous and 261 (7.81%) complex genotypes. The 5 variants with the highest allele frequency are respectively; R202Q (27.84%), M694V (22.83%), E148Q (21.98%), V726A (7.42%), and M680I(G>C) (6.39%).
 Conclusion: We identified the most common prevalence of MEFV gene alteration in a large patient group in our region. High R202Q mutation rates were among the remarkable results of this study.

When to Go? A Conjoint Experiment on Social Networks, Violence, and Forced Migration Decisions in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey

Abstract How do heterogeneous patterns of violence affect people's decision to flee? We provide individual-level evidence on flight decision-making in light of violence with a conjoint experiment in Turkey. The results suggest that intense indiscriminate violence nearby forces individuals into the decision to leave. In contrast to previous studies, we find that the fear of repeated violence plays a more important role in flight decision-making than the attack frequency. The survey experiment reveals that violence committed by the government makes a decision to flee abroad more likely than rebel violence. We find that individuals with support networks abroad are less responsive to patterns of violence, making flight decisions more independently and being generally more inclined to move. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on forced migration with individual-level evidence on the decision-making process underlying flight reactions to violence.

Sheep and goat management in the Early Neolithic in the Zagros region (8000–5000 BC): New zooarchaeological and isotopic evidence from Ganj Dareh, Bestansur and Jarmo

The transition from hunter gathering to farming is one of the most important episodes in the history of humankind. Considerable evidence indicates that this shift was a slow, complex, highly localized process, which took place in multiple places in Southwest Asia independently, from around 9500 BC. Caprines were arguably the first domesticated livestock, brought under human control during a process that began in the 9th millennium BC in a region extending from south-eastern Turkey to north-western Iran. In this research we integrate zooarchaeological analysis with stable isotopic data of faunal remains from three key Early Neolithic sites in the Eastern Fertile Crescent: Ganj Dareh (ca. 8000 BC), Bestansur (ca. 7800–7000 BC) and Jarmo (ca. 7000–5000 BC).While some form of goat management seemed to have been practiced at Bestansur, based on spherulites, dung and shed deciduous teeth, no evidence has been found for winter foddering or transhumance practices. At Ganj Dareh goat were managed, and might have been foddered during the winter or vertical transhumance might have taken place. At Pottery Neolithic Jarmo both sheep and goat were managed and they were possibly brought to higher elevations during the summer months or foddered during winter. This research has supported the idea that already during early stages of goat management, humans kept a high degree of control over the population.

Health Literacy in Turkish Pregnant Women in the Framework of Prenatal Attachment and Coping Styles With Stress

Background: Prenatal attachment affects maternal and infant health throughout life. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the variables that may affect prenatal attachment. This study was carried out to investigate prenatal attachment, health literacy, and coping styles with stress among Turkish pregnant women by structural equation modeling. Methods:This is a descriptive, analytical, and cross-sectional study. It was conducted via a face-to-face interview with 420 pregnant women in a university hospital in Southeastern Turkey between May 15 and July 2022. The research analysis used a structural equation modeling using SPSS software, version 22 and AMOS software, version 23. Results: We found that the prenatal attachment levels of the pregnant women had a weak positive relationship with seeking social support and submissive approach styles, a moderate positive relationship with the optimistic approach styles, and a strong positive relationship with the self-confident approach styles (P<0.001). Also, there was a weak positive correlation between the prenatal attachment levels of the pregnant women and the subscales of understanding the information and appraisal/evaluation of the health literacy scale (P<0.001). Conclusion: There is a strong relationship between prenatal attachment, coping styles with stress, and the number of births. Also, health literacy and stress coping styles were effective variables in prenatal attachment. Therefore, it is very important to enrich the knowledge of women about their health during pregnancy.

THE APPROACH OF LINGING IN BAHATTİN KARAKOCC'S POEMS

The poet (Bahaeddin Karakoc) is considered one of the leading poets in Turkish poetry and literature in the twentieth century. He was born on March 5, 1930 in the town of Al-Bustan in KahramanmaraĢ Governorate, southeastern Turkey. He has poet brothers, the famous poets Abd al-Rahim Karakoc and Ertugrul Karakog. Bahauddin Karakoc wrote a lot of works in his 88-year-old life. Teacher-poet Bahauddin Karakoc died on October 16, 2018. He was buried in Cihadil Cemetery in his hometown, Kahramanmaras. The poet wrote many important books of poetry, such as Siran and the Voice of the Deaf, A Pair of White Eagles, Layla and the Love of the Day. He deftly dealt with themes such as blame, grief, separation, reunion, and longing in his poems. He deserved many awards, and his works were especially embraced by the Turkish people. The poet emphasizes longing, which he means in the same sense as longing. Since longing, as a psychological concept, is in fact a phenomenon that sometimes drives a person into depression, While it is possible to achieve some compatibility in this concept with the impossible. For example, accidents such as impossible love and death leave nothing but longing in man. Where his longing continues until he dies, that is, the separation that cannot be met. This impossible aspect of the concept of longing, as it particularly affects the person. The journey of longing, continuing with hopes and dreams until the day of reunion, takes on an emotional structure with the language of poets. Longing, as a concept emotionally charged from head to toe, found its place in the poems of the poet Bahauddin Karakoc, who wrote very emotional and touching longing poems, He explained this concept in Poems. We begin our work with this comprehensive summary. Then, after introducing the life and literary personality and the works of Bahaeddin Karakoc, one of the most important poets of Turkish literature in the twentieth century, the concept of longing will be emphasized. Finally, we will deal with the understanding of longing in the immortal poems of Bahauddin Karakoc.

Gut Bacterial Microbiota of The Honeybee, Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) with a New Host Record

Gut microbial communities of the honeybee, Apis mellifera L. have vital functions in food digestion, providing essential nutrients, improving immune system against pathogens, and detoxifying harmful molecules. The objective of this study was to characterize the core gut bacterial community of newly emerged A. mellifera queens and workers from southeastern Turkey. A total of newly emerged 15 queens and 30 workers were collected from the same apiary. The alimentary tract of collected samples was dissected under sterile conditions. Culture based isolation was performed from the digestive tract of the collected samples to obtain a pure microbe culture. The chemical, morphological and molecular description of each bacteria were accurately done via employment of pure culture. Five bacterial isolates were successfully isolated from the A. mellifera alimentary tract and purified. Molecular and biochemical identification showed that the isolates were Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus (Firmicutes: Bacillaceae) (MZ540443, MZ540444, MZ540445), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (Firmicutes: Staphylococcaceae) (MZ540447), and Paenibacillus glucanolyticus (Firmicutes: Paenibacillaceae) (MZ540446). This study is the first to report the presence of P. glucanolyticus in gut bacterial community of A. mellifera.

Hydrological characteristics of the Tigris River at the Baghdad Sarai station

With a length of 1900 Km, the Tigris River flows from South eastern Turkey to five eastern tributaries. It has an average mean discharge at the Baghdad Sarai Station of 916 m 3 /s for 90 years and an average mean of 615 m 3 /s for the last 30 years. The probable maximum and minimum discharges during the study period are calculated using statistical analysis, with 10% and 90% probabilities. The analysis results show that the Gamble method is more dependable than the other methods, which is proven with actual flood measurements in 1941 (7637 m 3 /s) and 1954 (7100 m 3 /s) for a 100- year returning period. The data records of discharges between two periods of 1906–1946 and 1930–2019 are covered in this study. Overall, in the last 30 years, the flow discharges have decreased by 33% from monthly means mainly because of the construction of Turkey’s GAP project, especially the Ilisu Dam.

Molecular assessment of the taxonomic status of pine vole species Microtus subterraneus and Microtus majori in southeastern Europe and Turkey

Intra– and inter–specific phylogenetic relationships and the taxonomic status of pine vole populations have been controversial for years, and cryptic species are thought to exist, especially concering the species' distribution area. To clarify the taxonomic status of Turkish populations we analysed mitochondrial (cytochrome–b and cytochrome oxidase–I) and nuclear (interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein) gene markers, adding GenBank data from Europe and Caucasia. Considering the data obtained based on mean genetic distance, genetic diversity and fixation index values, Bayesian trees and Median–joining networks, we found that M. subterraneus and M. majori are valid species which have diverged since 1.28 Mya. Findings also suggested that although Anatolian, Thracian (Turkish Thrace and Greece) and European populations of M. subterraneus and Anatolian and Caucasian populations of M. majori have been in the process of divergency since 0.528–0.337 Mya correspond to the Pleistocene glacial periods, these intrapopulations do not appear to be different species.Besides, considering the high intraspecific variation in M. subterraneus, it remains likely that new species could be identified in future studies.

The Ordovician System in the Levant region (Middle East) and southern Turkey: review of depositional facies, fauna and stratigraphy

Abstract This contribution addresses the current state of knowledge of the mainly siliciclastic Ordovician rocks in Jordan, Syria and southern Turkey, including advances in palaeontology, stratigraphy, depositional facies analysis and supra-regional correlation. The extensive and excellent exposures of the sedimentary succession in southern Jordan represent the regional reference for the Ordovician System in the southern Levant. We discuss the sedimentological and faunal characteristics as well as the stratigraphy and correlation of the succession. For the northern Levant (especially southeastern Turkey) and the western and eastern Taurides, the Ordovician succession and an updated sedimentary architecture is explained, and a comprehensive correlation for the region is presented. Increased knowledge on the fossil content from these regions enables correlation across the southern parts of the Arabian Plate to southern Turkey, and with the greater Gondwanan regions, far field as southwestern Europe and northern Africa. The depositional environments in the southern and northern Levant and southern Turkey encompass non-marine to shallow-marine areas in the lower part of the Ordovician that are followed upsection by shelf deposits of variable proximity up to the glacial episode in the Late Ordovician that is traceable in each of the areas. Characteristic signals in the Ordovician succession are represented by the trans-regional early Darriwilian unconformity and by the base of the Hirnantian glacial-related deposits followed by lower Silurian strata, visible across the entire region. New data from zircon-based provenance analysis clearly implicate the Arabian Shield as the main source of a huge amount of the clastic detritus within the Ordovician succession. In the course of the entire Cambrian–Ordovician interval, progressive deeper erosion of the Arabian Shield occurred. Sediment sources from regions farther away indicate long time of exposure and resedimentation, and some long-distance transportation, but their sedimentary influence was only of minor extent. The excellent outcrops mainly in southern Jordan, in southeastern Turkey and in the Taurides represent potential regions for further research.

Evaluation of the Waras Serpentinite Rocks for Dimension Stone, Mawat Ophiolite Complex, Kurdistan Region, NE Iraq

The Mawat ophiolite complex (MOC) is a part of the Zagros Suture Zone, which extends of about 2000 km from southeastern Turkey through northern Syria and Iraq to western and southern Iran. The serpentinite rocks are exposed at Waras area near Betwat village. Serpentinite rocks from this area have been studied to assess their suitability for use as dimension stone. Ten samples were collected in the studied area to establish their physical and mechanical properties. Petrographic studies indicate that the serpentinite rocks in the studied area are composed mostly of serpentine minerals so the results of the color measurement show multiple colors of the studied samples after polishing which are grayish green, greenish black, brownish black, olive brown and dark yellowish green. Physical properties for the studied samples were determined they show low bulk density while the water absorption for all the studied samples except sample (10) show suitability for the interior uses, as well as only the samples (4, 6, 7, 8 and 9) exhibit suitable range of interior and exterior uses. The results of the compressive strength and modulus of rupture of the studied samples are below the requirement. According to the American Standard for Testing and Materials, ASTM C1526-02(2002) the serpentinite rocks from Waras area is not suitable for the use as dimension stone.

Managing oil theft: socio-material relations, debt, and disruption in Southeastern Turkey

ABSTRACT In the Kurdish-populated Southeastern Turkey, oil theft carried out by Kurdish villagers who live near the oilfields in Diyarbakir are sometimes criminalized. But often, the matter is resolved by the state-owned oil company’s engineers and technicians. This paper argues that rather than an exterior problem, oil theft and its management are central to the governance of the colonial and militarized petro-geographies of Turkey’s Northern Kurdistan. The governance of kaçak oil, I argue is a technology of rule that is predicated in a moral economy of debt, reciprocity, negotiation, and collaboration that reproduces state territoriality and sovereignty. Yet the relations around oil and oil infrastructures, not only operate as technologies of governance, but also become the means through which Kurdish villagers reappropriate such infrastructures through acts of misuse and sabotage, which in turn, expose the fragility of state power. In arguing so, this paper situates kaçak oil as a distinctively political commodity whose management both reinstates the contours of the sovereign state and proper citizenship as well as a site where Kurdish actors redefine the limits of colonial state power by refusing the relations of indebtedness imposed by a violently benevolent state.

The Neo-Aramaic Dialect Spoken by the Christians of Marga (Şirnak, Southeastern Turkey)

Abstract Aramaic-speaking Christian communities used to be found in large numbers in various towns and villages throughout southeastern Turkey before the large-scale migration under duress as a consequence of the hostilities in the First World War and its aftermath. Marga was once the home of one such large community of Aramaic-speaking Christians who fled to northwestern Iraq or dispersed over the globe. This paper documents new data and provides a preliminary grammatical description of the Neo-Aramaic dialect spoken by the Christians of Marga (Margaye) from a comparative dialectological perspective. It presents an overview of the characteristic features, some of which are archaic and are no longer (as) productive in other dialects. This outline is accompanied by a short sample text narrating the tale of Xazalok and Dalalok, a bedtime story well-known to people in this region.

On the Question of the Artistic Transmission of Political Death (II)1

The Curfews period of December 2015 to February 2016 in south-eastern Turkey was a time of collective violence in multiple forms, among which the Cizre Basement Massacres are the most known. The period of the general elections in June 2015, until the later and most recent attempt to carry out a military coup in July 2016, covers multiple curfews and military operations in the south-eastern regions of Turkey, and some social media material shared from the region caught international attention and provoked artistic as well as political responses. Zehra Doğan, a Kurdish journalist and artist, modified and re-shared some footage that was first posted in social media accounts of the special forces in Nusaybin and as a result was sentenced to three years in prison. She continued to produce artworks in prison, even though it was ‘prohibited’ for her to draw. She started to use her own body fluids, hair, newspaper, toilet paper, and any other available daily material in the prison to produce works of art. She also produced a series of work with her menstrual blood. For this article, I conducted two thematic one-to-one discussions with Zehra Doğan and studied her series of works produced with menstrual blood within the scope of mimesis and embodiment theories. Further sections of the article discuss: the function of these series of works for her acting out and working through processes of the collective political violence of which she became both a witness and a victim; methods of artistic transmission of political violence both for the artist and for the audience; and the possible ritualistic functions of using blood while producing work of arts in relation to collective political killings.

A Look into the Neo-Assyrian Countryside: the Iron Age III Settlement of Taşlı Geçit Höyük in the Islahiye Valley

Turco-Italian excavations on the site of Taşlı Geçit Höyük, located in the Islahiye valley (South-Eastern Turkey), partially investigated a rural settlement dating to the Iron Age III (late 8th-7th cent. BC). The evidence from the site represents an opportunity for further insights on the impact of the Neo-Assyrian Empire on the countryside of the Northern Levant.

Outcomes of Maintenance Peritoneal Dialysis in Children: A State Hospital Experience from Southeastern Turkey

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features, laboratory features, and outcomes of pediatric patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) and compare the factors affecting mortality. The demographic, clinical, and laboratory data of 50 patients on maintenance PD followed up for more than 3 months were retrospectively analyzed for non-survivors and survivors to evaluate all factors affecting mortality. The patients (26 boys and 24 girls) had a mean age of 85.4 ± 58.7 months (range: 1–194 months) at the initiation of PD. The mean duration of dialysis at follow-up was 27.8 ± 21.7 months (range: 3–115 months). The rate of peritonitis was one episode per 27.27 patient months. PD was discontinued because of transplantation in eight patients, death in eight patients, and shifting to hemodialysis in three patients. In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, the 1-year patient survival rate at 1 year, 2 years, and 5 years was 81.8%, 51.7%, and 12.3%, respectively. Non-survivors were significantly younger at the start of kidney replacement therapy, had a final younger age at dialysis, and had lower albumin levels than survivors. We excluded four patients with a follow-up period of <6 months. Cox regression analysis revealed a low albumin status (P = 0.014, hazard ratio: 0.230) and a high level of ferritin (P = 0.002, hazard ratio: 1.002) to be risk factors for mortality. This study showed a high mortality rate. Hypoalbuminemia, a younger age at the start of kidney replacement therapy, and a younger final age at dialysis had a significant association with mortality.

Investigation of vitamin D, vitamin B12 and ferritin levels in children receiving Home Health Care Services in Southeastern Turkey

Objective: For proper nutrition of children followed by the Home Health Care (HHC) unit, a close follow-up is extremely important. Vitamin deficiencies are common in children in this group who need parental or caregiver-dependent nutrition. The purpose of this study conducted in Batman Province, was to investigate vitamin D, vitamin B12 and ferritin levels of individuals under 18 years of age who are followed by the HHC unit and continue their lives and treatments at home, except for emergencies. Materials and Methods: This study was derived from the files of 416 pediatric patients who were followed up in Batman Province HHC unit between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. It was designed as a retrospective, single-center study evaluating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (OH) levels, vitamin B12 levels, ferritin levels, and demographic variables from individuals followed by HHC unit. The data were collected from the HHC unit’s files. IBM-SPSS version 24 was used for analysis. Results: The mean age of the 416 children receiving home health care services included in the study was 10.38±4.37 years. 234 (56.2%) of the participants were male and 182 (43.8%) were female. The 25(OH)D level was 18.47±5.41 ng/mL for all ages, and the ferritin level was 34.90 (33.08) ng/mL. The vitamin B12 level was 480.31±190.38 ng/L. The 25-OH-D vitamin levels of the children in the study was significantly low. Conclusion: Patients followed within the scope of home health care services are at risk for malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies, and annual follow-up of the patients in this regard and personalized diet programs should be created. Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are common in children in this group, who cannot leave the house except for compulsory situations and cannot benefit from sunlight sufficiently. We think that these children with chronic diseases should take vitamin D prophylaxis.

Middle Eocene (Lutetian-Bartonian) larger benthic foraminifera assemblages from Batman and Siirt (Southern Neotethys, SE Turkey): a new assessment

The benthic foraminifera assemblage has been described in the limestones outcropped in Kurtalan and Eruh district of Hoya formation which is one of autochthonous units of Arabian Platform (SE Turkey). From the two measured sections, one of them has rare fossil content due to dolomitization (DH-Dodan section),while the other is fairly remarkable in terms of fossil content (EH-Eruh section). The foraminiferal assemblages are represented by Asterigerina rotula (Kaufmann), Operculina ex. gr. gomezi Colom and Bauza, Victoriella conoidea Rutten, Amphistegina sp., Elphidium sp., Peneroplis sp., Carpenteria sp., Stomatorbina sp., miliolid and rotaliid forms and echinoderms, coral fragments in the Dodan section. The foraminiferal assemblages are represented by Nummulites biedai Schaub, Nummulites maximus d’Archiac, Nummulites perforatus de Montfort, Nummulites postfossulatus Sirel and Deveciler, Nummulites praeaturicus Schaub, Assilina exponens (Sowerby), Sphaerogypsina globulus (Reuss), Asterigerina rotula (Kaufmann), Lockhartia cf. hunti Ovey, Neoratlia sp., Operculina sp., Discocyclina sp., Asterocyclina sp., Lockhartia sp., Lenticulina sp., miliolid-rotaliid forms and echinoderms in the Eruh section. The fossil assemblage described shows that the limestones are of Lutetian-Bartonian and this assemblage indicates a very shallow marine deposition environment. This study provides biostratigraphic and stratigraphic data that help to reassess the Eocene geological evolution of the region. Paleobiogeographically, larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages recorded on carbonate platforms in southeastern Turkey show an affinity to Arabian and Middle Eastern platforms.

The Sayburç reliefs: a narrative scene from the Neolithic

A wall relief, comprising five figures carved on a bench in a communal building dating to the ninth millennium BC, was found in south-eastern Turkey in 2021. It constitutes the earliest known depiction of a narrative ‘scene’, and reflects the complex relationship between humans, the natural world and the animal life that surrounded them during the transition to a sedentary lifestyle.

TOPLUMSAL EKOLOJİ YAKLAŞIMINI SAHA UYGULAMALARI ÜZERİNDEN YENİDEN KEŞFETMEK

The aim of this study is to take lessons for policy makers by examining the theory and practice of the social ecology approach, which is studied as an alternative model to climate change, capitalism and state organization discussions, through field applications. In order to achieve this aim, the basic concepts of social ecology and the approach of ecological society to the city were examined through the examples of southeastern Turkey and 'Rojava'. In the study, an answer has been sought to the research question of "are social ecology-based field practices and theory compatible?" In the theoretical framework, the political, administrative, social and economic discourses of the ecological approach, which puts nature at its center are explained as four criteria of analysis. In the discussions part, the field practices are examined in terms of the reflection of the theory in practice, taking into account the suggestions in political, administrative, social and economic dimensions. Contrary to rhetoric, it has been explained with the kiwi bird metaphor that the practices of PKK/KCK do not adequately reflect Bookchin's social ecology approach.