Balu, West Azerbaijan
Village in West Azerbaijan province, Iran
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balu (Persian: بالو, romanized: Balav;[3][a] Syriac: Bālū)[4] is a village in, and the capital of, Rowzeh Chay Rural District in the Central District of Urmia County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran.[5]
Balu
Persian: بالو | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Balu Location within Iran | |
| Coordinates: 37°37′54″N 45°02′10″E[1] | |
| Country | Iran |
| Province | West Azerbaijan |
| County | Urmia |
| District | Central |
| Rural District | Rowzeh Chay |
| Population (2016)[2] | |
• Total | 14,058 |
| Time zone | UTC+3:30 (IRST) |
History
Bālū was inhabited by 30 Church of the East Christian families and was served by the Church of Mār Quriāqōs and 1 priest in 1862, according to the Russian archimandrite Sophoniah.[6] At this time, the priest Paul of Bālū also tended to the smaller villages of Bozlū, Haṣār, Qārāgōz, and Paqabajlūi.[7] There were 38 Church of the East Christian families and 1 church but no priest at Bālū in 1877, as per Edward Lewes Cutts.[8] Basil Nikitin, the Russian consul at Urmia, noted that Bālū was inhabited by Christians and Muslims just before the First World War.[9] It was located in the Anzel district.[4]
Demographics
Population
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the village's population was 10,524 in 2,274 households.[10] The following census in 2011 counted 12,501 people in 3,200 households.[11] The 2016 census measured the population of the village as 14,058 people in 3,639 households. It was the most populous village in its rural district.[2]
