Gaziantep Province

Gaziantep Province
Gaziantep ili
Province and metropolitan municipality
The city of Gaziantep
Rumkale
Barley field near the Syrian border
Dülükbaba Park
Amanos Mountains
Clockwise from top: The city of Gaziantep, a barley field near the Syrian border, Amanos Mountains, Dülükbaba Park, Rumkale
Location of the province within Turkey
Location of the province within Turkey
CountryTurkey
SeatGaziantep
Government
 • MayorFatma Şahin (AKP)
 • ValiKemal Çeber[1]
Area
6,803 km2 (2,627 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)[2]
2,154,051
 • Density320/km2 (820/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)
Area code0342
Websitewww.gaziantep.bel.tr
www.gaziantep.gov.tr

Gaziantep Province (Turkish: Gaziantep ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality in south-central Turkey. It is located in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region. Its area is 6,803 km2,[3] and its population is 2,154,051 (2022).[2] Its capital is the city of Gaziantep. It neighbours Adıyaman to the northeast, Şanlıurfa to the east, Syria and Kilis to the south, Hatay to the southwest, Osmaniye to the west and Kahramanmaraş to the northwest.

An important trading center since ancient times, the province is also one of Turkey's major manufacturing zones, and its agriculture is dominated by the cultivation of pistachio nuts.

In ancient times, first under the power of Yamhad, then the Hittites and later the Assyrians controlled the region. It saw much fighting during the Crusades, and Saladin won a key battle there in 1183. After World War I and the Ottoman Empire's disintegration, it was invaded by the forces of the French Third Republic during the Turkish War of Independence. It was returned to Turkish control after the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, formally ending hostilities between Turkey and the Allies of World War I.

Originally known as Antep, the title gazi (meaning veteran in Turkish) was added to the province's and the provincial capital's name in 1921, due to its population's actions during the Turkish War of Independence.

Kilis Province was part of Gaziantep Province until it separated in 1994. Turks are the majority in the province.[4]

  1. ^ "Gaziantep Valisi Kemal ÇEBER". Gaziantep Valiliği. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. ^ "İl ve İlçe Yüz ölçümleri". General Directorate of Mapping. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  4. ^ Khanam, R. (2005). Encyclopaedic Ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia. Vol. A–I, V. 1. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 470. ISBN 9788182200623.