Chaldoran (Siah Cheshmeh)

Chaldoran County is a county in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. The capital of the county is Siah Cheshmeh or Qara Aineh is also called Chaldoran. The other prominent town in the district is Avajiq. The county is subdivided into two districts:

• The Central District
• Dashtaki District

The county has two cities:

• Siah Cheshmeh
• Avajiq

The population of Chaldoran are Azeri and Kurmancî Kurds. Chaldoran is one of the tourist areas of West Azerbaijan Province of Iran because of its cold weather in winter and cool in summer. Chaldoran is the site of the historic Battle of Chaldiran, which took place in 1514 between the armies of Ottoman Sultan Selim I and Safavid Shah Ismail I on the narrow plain outside of the town. The Ottoman army had the advantage of using firearms as well as superiority in size, and defeated the Safavid army for the first time. After the Ottomans took this area, they resettled many of the Kurdish tribes further west. [caption id="attachment_7794" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Saint Thaddeus Monastery - Chaldoran Siyah Cheshme[/caption]