Şırnak

Can a city’s name tell its story? According to a tale often told to visitors to Şırnak, the city’s name comes from “Şehr-i Nuh”, that is, “the city of Noah”. This, they say, was one of the first places settled by those who stepped down from the ark that came to rest on Cudi after the Flood, and over time, passing from tongue to tongue, the name became Şırnak… We can’t know what a linguist would make of this explanation; but as a story, one has to admit it is a beautiful one.