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Urfa | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Şanlıurfa | |
Clockwise from top: View of Urfa, Urfa Castle, Ayn Zeliha, St. Johannes Prodromos Addai Church, Rizvaniye Mosque | |
 Emblem of Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality | |
| Nickname: City of Prophets[1] | |
  Urfa  Urfa | |
| Coordinates: 37°09′30″N 38°47′30″E / 37.15833°N 38.79167°E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Şanlıurfa |
| Founded | 303/302 BC |
| Founded by | Seleucus I Nicator |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar (Ind.) |
| • Governor | Abdullah Erin |
| Elevation | 477 m (1,565 ft) |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
| • Urban | 596,637 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Website | www.sanliurfa.bel.tr |
Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (Turkish pronunciation: [ʃanˈɫɯuɾfa]), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates. Its climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters.
About 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city is the famous Neolithic site of Göbekli Tepe, the world's oldest known temple, which was founded in the 10th millennium BC.[3] The area was part of a network of the first human settlements where the agricultural revolution took place. Because of its association with Jewish, Christian, and Islamic history, and a legend according to which it was the hometown of Abraham, Urfa is nicknamed the "City of Prophets."[1]
Religion is important in Urfa. The city "has become a center of fundamentalist Islamic beliefs"[4]: 620 and "is considered one of the most devoutly religious cities in Turkey".[5]
The city is located 30 miles from the Atatürk Dam, at the heart of the Southeast Anatolia Project, which draws thousands of job-seeking rural villagers to the city every year.[5]
- ^ a b "'City of prophets' drawing faith tourists". Hürriyet Daily News. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- ^ "Şanlıurfa". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
The World's First Templewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Miller, Julie A. (1995). "Şanlıurfa". In Ring, Trudy (ed.). International Dictionary of Historic Places, Vol. 3: Southern Europe. Chicago and London: Fitzroy Dearborn. pp. 617–20. ISBN 1-884964-02-8. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ a b "The secret Jews of remote Turkey". Jewish Telegraph Agency. 4 March 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2022.