Urfa

Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa ( , Kurdish: Riha), 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 east of the Euphrates. Its climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters.

About 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. 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. and "is considered one of the most devoutly religious cities in Turkey".

The city is located 30 miles from the Atatürk Dam, at the heart of the Southeast Anatolia Project, which draws thousands of job-seeking villagers to the city every year.

Modern names of the city are likely derived from Urhay or Orhay (), the site's Syriac name before the re-foundation of the settlement by Seleucus I Nicator. After the defeat of the Seleucids in the Seleucid–Parthian Wars, Edessa became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene, with a mixed Syriac and Hellenistic culture. The origin of the name of Osroene itself is probably related to Orhay. This originally Aramaic and Syriac name for the city may have been derived from the Persian name Khosrow.

The ancient town was refounded as a Hellenistic military settlement by Seleucus I Nicator in BC, and named Edessa after the ancient capital of Macedonia, perhaps due to its abundant water, just like its Macedonian namesake. It was later renamed Callirrhoe or Antiochia on the Callirhoe (; ) in the 2nd century BC (found on Edessan coins struck by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, r. 175–164 BC).

After Antiochus IV's reign, the name of the city reverted to Edessa, in Greek, and appears in Armenian as Urha or Ourha (), in Aramaic (Syriac) as Urhay or Orhay (), in local Neo-Aramaic (Turoyo) as Urhoy, in Arabic as ar-Ruhā (), in the Kurdish language as , Latinized as Rohais, and finally adopted into Turkish as Urfa or Şanlıurfa ("Glorious Urfa"), its present name.

James Silk Buckingham claimed that in earlier times, the city was known as Ruha, and with the Arabic article, it became Ar-Ruha, evolving into Urha, and eventually Urfa. Carsten Niebuhr observed that Turks called the city El-Rohha in the 18th century, although Buckingham who later visited Urfa, disagreed and noted that all Turks, and most Arabs and Kurds in the surrounding countryside called it Urfa, while a small portion of the Christians called it as the former.

History

Prehistory

thumb|[[Urfa Man, Pre-Pottery Neolithic, . Şanlıurfa Museum.]]

Urfa shares the Balikh River Valley region with two other significant Neolithic sites at Nevalı Çori and Göbekli Tepe. Settlements in the area originated around 9000 BC as a PPNA Neolithic sites located near Abraham's Pool (site name: Balıklıgöl).

There is no written evidence for earlier settlement at the site, but Urfa's favorable commercial and geographical placement suggests that there was a smaller settlement present prior to 303 BC.

In prehistoric times, the Urfa Region was attractive for human habitation because of its dense grazing areas and the presence of wild animals on migration routes. As a result, the area became densely populated, particularly in the Neolithic period.

In Urfa itself, there was a prehistoric settlement at Yeni Mahalle Höyüğü (aka Balıklıgöl Höyüğü), located immediately north of Balıklıgöl in the heart of the old town.

A much later artifact is a black stone pedestal with a double bull relief, found at a hill called Külaflı Tepe in the former village of Cavşak in the 1950s when the village was being evacuated to build a base for the Urfa Brigade. The pedestal contains an inscription with an invocation to the god Tarhunza and mentions a city whose name is only partly visible, but which Bahattin Çelik restores as "Umalia", in the country of Bit Adini. Seleucus named the city Edessa after the ancient capital of Macedonia.

Ancient sources describe Seleucid Edessa as following the typical plan for Hellenistic military colonies: its streets were laid out in a grid pattern, with four main streets that intersected each other. There were four city gates, and the main citadel was outside the walls. Macedonian soldiers were settled in the new city, but they never formed a majority of its population. The city's culture remained predominantly Semitic (specifically Aramaic), and any Hellenization was minimal. The city reportedly had 300 or 360 churches, and there were many monasteries. The population was mostly Syrian Orthodox but with significant Melkite and Jewish minorities; there were relatively few Muslims. In 812, Urfa's citizens had to pay a large sum to the anti-Abbasid rebel Nasr ibn Shabath al-Uqayli to prevent him from attacking the unprotected city.

In the spring of 943, the Byzantine army campaigned in upper Mesopotamia, capturing several cities and either threatening Urfa or, according to Symeon Magister, besieging it outright.

Upon becoming aware of the city's weakness, Zengi led a series of forced marches and laid siege to the city on 24 November. The Turks suppressed this plot and settled 300 Jewish families in the city. Sometime in October, Joscelin II and Baldwin of Marash came and laid siege to the city. Moreover, the city's population was massacred – the men were put to death, while the women and children were sold into slavery.

Zengid and Ayyubid rules

Although Nur ad-Din was an active builder elsewhere, only one building at Urfa can be attributed to him: the "rather plain" Great Mosque, which was probably on the site of an earlier church.

In June 1234, the city was taken by the Seljuk sultan Kayqubad I's army, and its inhabitants were deported to Anatolia. At the same time, the city's prosperity attracted bandits and nomadic tribes, although the urban population was largely unaffected. Many Jewish, Armenian, and Greek merchants were present in Urfa, especially from Aleppo.

There was a small but ancient Jewish community in Urfa, with a population of about 1,000 by the 19th century. Most of the Jews emigrated in 1896, fleeing the Hamidian massacres, and settling mainly in Aleppo, Tiberias and Jerusalem. There were three Christian communities: Syriac, Armenian, and Latin. The last Neo-Aramaic Christians left in 1924 and went to Aleppo (where they settled in a place that was later called Hay al-Suryan "The Syriac Quarter").

World War I and after

thumb|Map showing the borders set by the [[Treaty of Sevres, which assigned Urfa to the French-controlled Mandate of Syria. Urfa is shown here just below the dotted red line, and directly above the "Y" in "Syria".]]

During World War I, Urfa was a site of the Armenian and Assyrian genocides, beginning in 1915. Members of Urfa's Armenian community were deported and killed. In May, 18 families were deported from Urfa, and in June, 50 people were arrested, tortured, and then deported to Diyarbakır, where they were killed on the road. As a result, Urfa was occupied by British and then French troops. When Raqqa became the capital of the Islamic State, Urfa became a gateway for jihadists entering Syria because of its closeness to the Akçakale-Tall Abyad border crossing and to Raqqa itself. The city's general religious-conservative climate meant that many locals who adhere to Salafi thought sympathized with the Islamic State, and many of its members lived in the city as well.

A small stream flows through Urfa. Today, the Daisan flows through a man-made channel that follows the north and east sides of the old walled city. Before the channel was made, though, the stream's natural course was on the west side of the old city, then it turned east.

|source 2 = NOAA (humidity, 1991–2020), Meteomanz(snow days 2000–2023)

Main sights

right|thumb|Main courtyard of the Mevlid-i Halil Mosque

The citadel

Urfa castle is located on the rocky heights south of the historical city center. It consists of two museums: the Şanlıurfa Museum and the Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum. With over 34,000 square meters of indoor space, it is the largest museum in Turkey. The tombs vary in size and design based on the socioeconomic status of their occupants, ranging from one to three rooms and some having special front entrances. Its narrow streets are lined with shops and stalls selling a wide variety of goods: herbs and spices, many different types of fabric, "green Diyarbakır tobacco by the kilo", even guns. Variously dated to the late 16th century It has sports fields, playgrounds, walking trails, and an archery range.

Politics

right|thumb|Şanlıurfa Municipality Building on the right

Urfa is a stronghold of the governing Justice and Development Party and is sometimes called a "vote depot" for the party.

From 2004 to 2014, Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba served as mayor of Urfa for two terms. In 1910, Ely Bannister Soane wrote that apart from Turkish effendis, Urfa was populated by Arabs, Kurds and a large number of Armenians. British forces reported a mixed pre-war population of Kurds, Turks and 7,500 Armenians. The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople reported 25,000 to 30,000 Armenians in Urfa and its environs, on an overall population of 60,000.

The Armenian and Assyrian Genocides, undertaken by Ottoman troops and Ottoman-sponsored militias such as the special organization, led to the slaughter, deportation,

Language

In the early 19th century, the dominant language of the city was Turkish, while Armenian, Syriac, Kurdish, Arabic, and Persian were also spoken. Armenians were observed to speak Turkish to strangers, while Assyrians spoke Arabic.

Present-day

Today, the city is mainly composed of Arabs and Kurds as well as Turks.

Syrian refugees

Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, large numbers of refugees from Syria have settled in Urfa because of its closeness to the border and opportunities for employment. As of 2014, about 79% of Syrian refugees in Urfa were Arabic-speakers, while the other 21% were Kurdish-speakers.

In general, Syrians in Urfa have clustered in areas where home rental prices are lower; typical rents range from 600 to 900 liras (as of 2019). The largest number of Syrians in Urfa are in the Haliliye district, where they are especially concentrated in the neighborhoods (mahalles) of Devteşti, Ahmet Yesevi, Süleymaniye, Bağlarbaşı, Şehitlik, Cengiz Topel, Şair Nabi, Yeşildirek, İpekyolu, Sancaktar, İmam Bakır and Yavuz Selim. As of 2018, unemployment in Urfa is 18%, among young people it is 35%. The Istanbul-based shoe retailer FLO, owned by the Ziylan Group, opened a shoe factory in Urfa in 2012. As of 2018, this factory employed 900 people and was the largest footwear factory in the region, FLO was planning to open a second factory, employing 1,500 more people, in the city in early 2019. However, most processing is done in Gaziantep, which is the other main pistachio producer in Turkey. Historically, the various trades had their own bazaars where artisans sold their wares. This limestone, known as Urfa limestone, was mostly deposited in Eocene through Miocene times (about 56-5 million years ago).

Urfa limestone has been quarried for human use since at least the Neolithic period: it was the main building material used at Göbekli Tepe, 12,000 years ago, and the prehistoric quarries and workshops at Göbekli Tepe are among the oldest in the world.

Şanlıurfa province's total limestone reserves amount to 62.2 million tons, and its industry has an annual processing capacity of 31,680 tons. Construction started in 1991. It covers about 140 hectares and is home to about 1500 businesses.

Meat-based dishes are a staple of everyday meals in Urfa. There is a local saying, "There is no trouble where meat comes in" (Turkish: et giren yere dert girmez). Liver kebab is popularly eaten for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner. According to legend, its sweet syrup was first made using molasses from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Later, from the 1600s to the 20th century, divan poetry became popular in Urfa. Facing the courtyard is a porticoed antechamber covered by a roof and partially surrounded by three walls.

Former vocational schools

Mekteb-i Sanayi

By 1906, the presence of a vocational school in Urfa called the Mekteb-i Sanayi is attested.

Urfa Institute of Art for Boys

The boys' equivalent to the Girls' Institute was Urfa Institute of Art for Boys (Turkish: Urfa Erkek Sanat Enstıtüsü), which provided vocational education to boys aged 12 to 17.

Health

Old state hospital

The old state hospital in Urfa was established by Ethem Bey in 1903 and became a public hospital in 1943. At the time of the demolition, the provincial health directorate was planning to build a new 150-bed children's hospital on the site. In July 1983, it became the Şanlıurfa SSK Hastanesi and was operating as an inpatient facility with 150 beds. Originally, it was a branch hospital under the State Hospital, until 1984. It has 500 beds (rooms have 1, 2, or 3 beds, as well as their own restrooms) and a conference hall that can seat 156 people. and the first of 10 bi-articulated trolleybuses built by manufacturer Bozankaya was received in September 2018. However, work on additional vehicles was suspended because of various problems, and in 2020 the single vehicle delivered in 2018 remained the only trolleybus completed. In late 2020, the original order for 10 bi-articulated vehicles was replaced by one for 12 standard-articulated vehicles, and the first of these was delivered in April 2022. The trolleybus line opened for service on 28 April 2023, by which time six of the 12 vehicles had been received. However, because of earthquake damage to certain streets in February 2023, among other factors, several temporary changes were made to the planned route after completion of the overhead wiring and other infrastructure such that, after the line's opening, the vehicles initially operated as trolleybuses on only about 600 metres of the now-7.1-km route. The trolleybuses are able to operate on battery power on sections of the route that are not equipped with overhead wires and recharge their batteries during an extended layover at the terminus.