Gaziantep
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Gaziantep (informally, Antep, Kurdish: Dîlok) is the capital city of Gaziantep Province in Turkey. With a population of 853,512 in the year 2000, it is the sixth largest city of Turkey and it is the largest city in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region. The city was known by the Arabs, Seljuks, and Ottomans as ʿAintab or Aïntab, in Turkish Ayintap. The Turkish Parliament gave the city the title Gazi ("victorious warrior") on February 8, 1921 (the day before the city surrendered to the French) in recognition of the valor of its inhabitants during the Turkish War of Independence[1], and the city officially took the name Gaziantep ("Antep the Victorious Warrior") in 1921.[1]
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[edit] History
[edit] Antiquity
Gaziantep is probably the site of the Hellenistic city of Antiochia ad Taurum ("Antiochia in the Taurus Mountains"). A few km to the north are the ruins of Greek and Roman Doliche (Kurdish Dîlok, Turkish Dülük).
Gaziantep is one of the most developed provinces of the region and is also one of the oldest, its history reaching as far back as the Hittites. Being the center of pistachio nut cultivation in Turkey and with its extensive olive groves and vineyards, Gaziantep is one of the important agricultural and industrial centres of Turkey.
In the center of the city stands the Gaziantep Fortress and the Ravanda citadel as the reminders of past. The Archaeological Museum, with its important collections from Neolithic and the Hittite ages as well as the Roman and Commagene times, attracts many visitors. The surroundings of the city are also full of valuable Hittite remains. The Hasan Süzer House, which has been restored to its original beauty, now houses the Ethnographical Museum. The Yesemek Sculpture Workshop, 30 kilometers south of the town of Islahiye, is one of the world's first of this kind. Some of the other historical remains are the Belkis (Zeugma), and Kargamış Ruins by the town of Nizip. Dülük, which is close to the city center, has camping facilities in a natural setting.
[edit] Ottoman period
In the Ottoman period, ʿAintab was in the vilayet of Aleppo. By the end of the 19th century, it had a population of about 45,000, 2/3 of which was Muslim, largely Yörük Turkmen of the Çapanoğlu clan. Of the Christians, there was a large Armenian community; the Gregorian Armenians suffered from the massacres of 1895, but the Armenian Protestants thrived, drawn by the American Mission Board's Central Turkey College.[2]
There was a sizeable Armenian population in the city before World War I but after the Armenian Genocide, there were almost no Armenians left. The remains of old Armenian churches may still be found, but they are mostly unmarked and in virtual ruins.
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[edit] Economy
Gaziantep is famous for its regional specialties: the copper-ware products and "yemeni" slippers, specific to the region, are two examples. The city is an economical center of South Eastern and Eastern Turkey. The number of large industry businesses established in Gaziantep comprise four percent of the Turkish industry in general, and small industries comprise six percent.[3]
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[edit] Culture
Gaziantep is well-known for its culinary specialties, which show Arabic, Armenian, and Kurdish, in addition to Turkish, influences. The festive food yuvalama (rice and meat rolled into pea-sized balls), the delicious lahmacun (also known as Turkish pizza) and baklava are some examples.
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[edit] Education
Gaziantep Anatolian High School (founded in 1976) is a public school focusing on English language education.
Gaziantep Science High School is a public boarding high school in Gaziantep, Turkey with a curriculum concentrating on natural sciences and mathematics, and with teaching in Turkish and English.
The main campus of Gaziantep University is located 10 kilometers away from the city center. The institution acquired state university status in 1987, but had already offered higher education since 1973 as an extension campus of the Middle East Technical University.
[edit] Popular Culture
Gaziantep was made famous in Greece by the Turkish TV serial "Yabanci Damat" (transliteration: Yabantzi Damat, [[English language|English]: "The foreign groom", Greek name of the serial: Τα σύνορα της Αγάπης, transliteration: Ta sinora tis Agapis, English: The borders of Love). It is a love story between two youngsters, Nikos, a Greek boy, son of a wealthy Athenian ship owner and Nazli, daughter of a Gaziantep baklava maker. Counting on the historic hate between Greeks and Turkish, a love between these youngsters is completely forbidden. The hate between the two families is increasing, with the Turkish family being more strict to their daughter. The absolute hate, though, is created by the two grandparents (Nikos's grandmother and Nazli's grandfather), who reach extreme points in order to stop our youngsters' wedding. The serial was famous in both countries and it launched in 2004.
[edit] Sister Cities
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ TBMM Records
- ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, La Grande Encyclopédie
- ^ http://www.gso.org.tr/english/default.asp?syf=industry
[edit] External links
- (Turkish) Gaziantep Governor's Office
- (Turkish) Gaziantep University
- (Turkish) A documentary about Gaziantep on Youtube
 Gaziantep in Gaziantep Province (in the Southeastern Anatolia region) of Turkey |
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| Urban districts | Gaziantep |    |
| Rural districts | Araban - Islahiye - Karkamış - Nizip - Nurdağı - Oğuzeli - Şahinbey - Şehitkamil - Yavuzeli | |
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Regions
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| Aegean | ||
| Black Sea | ||
| Central Anatolia | ||
| East Anatolia | ||
| Marmara | ||
| Mediterranean Sea | ||
| Southeastern Anatolia | ||
