vilayet

[ vee-lah-yet ]

/ ˌvi lɑˈyɛt /

a province or main administrative division of Turkey.

Also eyalet.

Origin of vilayet

1865–70; < Turkish < Arabic wilāyah

There are nearly 3,000 villages in the Vilayet but no large cities.

Supplement to Commerce Reports Daily Consular and Trade Reports |Leslie A. Davis
The headwaters of the main arm of the Tigris have their source in the vilayet.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 |Various
Goods destined for this Vilayet usually come via Samsun, which is about 372 miles from Harput.

Supplement to Commerce Reports Daily Consular and Trade Reports |Leslie A. Davis
About 250,000 pounds of cotton are sold in this Vilayet each year to be used in making rough cotton cloth and native prints.

Supplement to Commerce Reports Daily Consular and Trade Reports |Leslie A. Davis

In 1878 the Mosul vilayet was created out of its northern, and in 1884 the Basra vilayet out of its southern sanjaks.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2 |Various

vilayet

/ (vɪˈlɑːjɛt) /

a major administrative division of Turkey

C19: from Turkish, from Arabic wilāyat, from walīy governor