Shows the location of the province and city of Şanlıurfa.
The mosque built on the site where, according to Muslim tradition, the Prophet
Abraham was born.
'Şanlıurfa' (often simply known as 'Ourfa', 'Urfa' or 'Orfa', formerly '
Edessa') is a
city in south-eastern
Turkey, and the capital of
Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain under big open skies, about eighty kilometres east of the
Euphrates River. The climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. A large part of the population of Urfa is
Kurdish, with a sizeable minority of Arabs.
[1].
Etymology
Costumes of the rich females of Orfa.
The city has been known by many names: ܐܘܪܗܝ, ''Urhāy'' in
Syriac, ''Riha'' in
Kurdish, الروها, ''Ar-Ruha'' in
Arabic, Ուռհա, ''Urha'' in
Armenian, Ορρα, ''Orrha'' in
Greek (also Ορροα, ''Orrhoa''). For a while it was named ''Callirrhoe'' or ''Antiochia on the Callirhoe'' (Greek: Αντιόχεια η επί Καλλιρρόης). During
Byzantine rule it was named ''Justinopolis''. Although it is often best known by the name given it by the
Seleucids, Εδεσσα, ''Edessa''.
'Şanlı' means ''great, glorious, dignified'' in Turkish and Urfa was officially re-named Şanlıurfa (Urfa the Glorious) by the
Turkish Grand National Assembly in
1984, in recognition of the local resistance in the
Turkish War of Independence. The title was achieved following repeated requests by the city's members of parliament, desirous to earn a title similar to those of neighbouring rival cities 'Gazi' (veteran)
Antep and 'Kahraman' (Heroic)
Maraş.
History
The history of Şanlıurfa is recorded from the
4th century BC, but may date back to the
8th century BC, when there is ample evidence for the surrounding sites at
Duru,
Harran and
Nevali Cori.
[2] It was one of several cities in the
Euphrates-
Tigris basin, the cradle of the
Mesopotamian civilization. According to
Turkish
Muslim traditions Urfa (its name since
Byzantine days) is the biblical city of
Ur, due to its proximity to the biblical village of
Harran. However, the Iraqis also claim the city of Ur in southern
Iraq, as do many historians and archeologists.
Urfa is also known as the birthplace of
Abraham, commemorated by a mosque in the city and the birthplace of
Job.
Traditionally,
Nimrod had
Abraham immolated on a funeral pyre, but God turned the fire into water and the burning coals into fish.
The pool of sacred fish remains to this day.
Urfa was conquered repeatedly throughout history, and has been dominated by many civilizations, including the
Ebla,
Akkadians,
Sumerians,
Babylonians,
Hittites,
Hurris,
Mittannis,
Assyrians,
Chaldeans,
Medes,
Persians,
Macedonians (under
Alexander the Great),
Seleucids,
Arameans,
Osrhoenes,
Armenians,
Romans,
Sassanids, Byzantines,
Crusaders.
The city of Edessa
In the Byzantine period Edessa was a powerful regional centre, and a sophisticated city with churches, schools and monasteries.
'For more on this please see the article
Edessa, Mesopotamia.'
The age of Islam
Islam first arrived around
639 C.E., when the
Umayyad army conquered the region without a fight.
Islam was then established permanently in Urfa by the empires of the
Ayyubids,
Seljuk and
Ottoman Turks. In the aftermath of the
First Crusade, the city was the center of the Crusader
County of Edessa, but Muslim forces retook the city in
1146.
Under the
Ottomans Urfa was a centre of trade in
cotton,
leather, and
jewellery. There were three Christian communities:
Syrian,
Armenian, and
Latin. The last Syrian Christians left in 1924 and went to
Aleppo (where they settled down in a place that later got called ''Hay Al Suryan'' "The Syrian Quarter").
The First World War and after
In 1914 Urfa was estimated to have 75,000 inhabitants: 45,000 Turks, 25,000 Armenians and 5,000 Syrian Christians. There were also some Jews. During the last half of 1915 the Armenian community became increasingly worried about their fate, as Armenians were being moved out of lands to the north. Early in 1916 the Armenians in the city revolted and took control of the old quarters of the city. They fought off the Ottoman army for some weeks, standing up to an artillery bombardment. The German General
Baron von der Goltz arrived and negotiated a settlement, the Armenians would surrender and disarm and in exchange the Ottomans would not deport them. However, the Ottoman government did deport the Armenians. Few survived. This is considered to be part of the
Armenian Genocide.
At the end of
World War I, with the
Ottoman Empire defeated, and European armies attempting to grab parts of Anatolia, first the
British and then the
French occupied Urfa. The British occupation of the city of Urfa started de facto on
7 March 1919 and officially as of
24 March 1919, and lasted till
30 October 1919. French forces took over the next day and their uncomfortable presence, met by outbursts of resistance, lasted until
11 April 1920, when they were defeated by local resistance forces (the new
Turkish government in
Ankara not being established, with the National Assembly declared on
23 April 1920.
The French retreat from the city of Urfa was conducted under an agreement reached between the occupying forces and the representatives of the local forces, commanded by Captain
Ali Saip Bey assigned from Ankara. The withdrawal was meant to take place peacefully, but was disrupted by an ambush on the French by irregular forces at the Şebeke Pass on the way to
Syria, leading to 296 casualties among the French, and more among the ambushers.
Şanlıurfa today
Şanlıurfa's old town contains many atmospheric backstreets.
The skyline of Şanlıurfa as viewed from the Castle which dominates the City Centre.
Modern Şanlıurfa presents stark contrasts between its old and new quarters. The old town is one of the most evocative and romantic in Turkey, with an ancient
bazaar still visited by local people to buy fruit and vegetables, where traditionally dressed and scarfed
Arab and
Kurdish villagers arrive in the early morning to sell their produce. Much of the old town consists of traditional Middle Eastern houses built around courtyards, invisible from the dusty streets, many of which are impassable to motor vehicles. In the narrow streets of the bazaar people scurry to and fro carrying trays of food, which is eaten on newspapers spread on low tables in a corner of the little shops, many people drinking water from the same cup. This very oriental atmosphere is bewitching but below the surface parts of the old city are very poor indeed, with people still living in cave houses (built into the side of the rock).
Şanlıurfa's newer districts meanwhile, are a sprawl of modern concrete apartment blocks, with many surprisingly tidy leafy avenues, containing modern restaurants, sports facilities and other amenities with air-conditioning, a refuge from the roasting summer heat.
Politics
In contrast to areas further to the East, although a lot of residents are ethnically Kurdish and Kurdish is widely spoken, the local population is largely assimilated into Turkish society, and there is little political support for Kurdish nationalism. There is also a large
Turkmen population, mainly consisting of the
Baraks. Urfa is regarded in Turkish popular sentiment as being, second only to
Konya, the most devout in Turkey and it is a stronghold of the governing
Justice and Development Party.
The strength of political Islam is perhaps partly due to Urfa's having an established population of ethnic
Arabs, whose adherence to the traditions of Islam are naturally stronger than speakers of Turkish or Kurdish. (The traditional Middle-eastern hospitality is much in evidence, you will be offered tea by shopkeepers in Urfa). (Another Middle-eastern pastime, horse-racing is also popular in Urfa, where there is a hippodrome and a number of stud farms).
Tragically, Urfa is also the scene of a large number of ''honour killings'', in which (typically) young women are murdered by members of their family for crimes such as having a boyfriend.
[3]
Food and drink
The cuisine is typical of the south-east; bread and meat are at the centre either
kebab,
doner or
kavurma (fried meats or liver), with lots of use of aubergine, tomato and hot pepper, including the legendary local red pepper
isot. Other dishes include: the spicy appetiser
çiğ köfte (in Urfa even spicier than usual); the rich sweets such as the hot butter and syrup
künefe or the walnut pastry ''sillik''; the bitter Arabic-style coffee ''mırra'' and the coffee-like drink made from
Terebinth ''menengiç kahvesi''.
★ (The legend of ''isot'' goes that during the French occupation in the 1920s the people of Urfa were at first not much concerned about the town being invaded or losing their homes and only began the resistance when they saw the French marching in the pepper fields. Now they even make isot flavoured ice-cream.
Urfa is not a huge metropolis and in many ways feels like a conservative country town (albeit a largish one). You will not be served an alcoholic drink with your dinner in Urfa and even the tea-gardens (the only public social venue that Urfa provides) are strictly segregated for families or single-men (not the case in western Turkey for example). One local tradition is the ''sıra gecesi'', where groups of men gather at home, especially in winter evenings, to play lutes (
ud or
bağlama) and sing folk songs. However, today there are a couple of smart hotels where you can get a drink and with the new economic growth, plus the growing university, Urfa's social infrastructure must surely develop soon.
Economy
In this roasting climate the plains of Urfa and Harran are hot and dry. However, since the early 1990s Şanlıurfa has prospered on the back of the
Southeastern Anatolia Project, which has provided a reliable supply of water for local farmers and fostered and agricultural boom, including cotton production. This in turn is driving significant development of light industry in the city. Unemployment and poverty, while real problems, are on a smaller scale than in other eastern Turkish cities, and luxury automobiles can be seen on the streets of Urfa (incidentally one phenomena is common to many Eastern cities, the newer smarter cars usually carry Istanbul or Ankara number-plates not the local plate). The huge reservoir is also a spectacular sight, and now there are waterfront restaurants popping up.
==Places of interest
[4]==
★ A traditional birthplace of the prophet Abraham - a cave to the south of the city
★ Urfa castle - built in antiquity, the current walls were constructed by the
Abbasids in 814AD.
★ The legendary Pool of Sacred Fish (''Balikligöl'') where Abraham was thrown into the fire by Nimrod. The pool is in the courtyard of the mosque of Halil-ur-Rahman, built by the
Ayyubids in 1211 and now surrounded by attractive gardens designed by architect
Merih Karaaslan. The fish are not a pretty sight as they thrash about frantically devouring bread thrown by visitors. But the courtyard is very peaceful and it is said that if you see a white fish you will go to heaven.
★ Rizvaniye Mosque - a more recent (1716) Ottoman mosque, adjoining the Balikligöl complex.
★ Ayn Zeliha - another pool nearby, named after a lady follower of Abraham.
★ The Great Mosque of Urfa was built in
1170, on the site of a Christian church the Arabs called the "red church," probably incorporating some Roman masonry. Contemporary tradition at the site identifies the well of the mosque as that into which the towel (''mendil'') of the prophet Jesus was thrown (see
Image of Edessa). In the south wall of the ''medrese'' adjoining the mosque is the fountain of Firuz Bey (1781).
★ Ruins of the ancient city walls.
★ Eight Turkish baths built in the
Ottoman period.
★ The traditional Urfa houses were split into sections for family (''harem'') and visitors {''selam''). There is an example open to the public next to the post office in the district of Kara Meydan.
★ The Temple of Nevali Cori - Neolithic settlement dating back to 8000BC, now buried under the waters behind the
Atatürk Dam, but some artefacts relocated above the waterline.
★ Gobeklitepe - The world's oldest known stone temples (dated to before 9000 BC).
Göbekli Tepe
Famous People
★
Dr. Ahmet Esref Fakibaba - Current mayor in Sanliurfa.
★
Nabi -
17th century Ottoman poet
★
İbrahim Tatlıses - singer, Urfa's own beloved working class hero, one of Turkey's wealthiest music and TV stars. His oft-quoted remark on his hometown ''Was there an Oxford (university) in Urfa and we didn't go to it?''.
★
Ferhat Göçer - popular singer
★
Kazancı Bedih (b 1929 - d. 2004)- folk singer, known nationally for his conributions to the
Eşkiya film soundtrack.
★
Bekir Yıldız - Columnist in
Hürriyet
★
UR - Band formed in the 1940s.
★
Ahmet Özhan - Singer of Turkish Sufi music, and movie actor
See also
★
Cilicia War
★
Urfa Resistance
★
Chronology of the Turkish War of Independence
City of Sanliurfa's Official Page (Government)
City of Sanliurfa
References
1. Sanliurfa, Encyclopedia of Orient.
2. Edessa:'The Blessed City', , J. B., Segal, Gorgias Press, 2001,
3. [1]
4. http://sanliurfa.meteor.gov.tr/ortasayfa/sanliurfa/sanliurfaorta.htm
External link
★
Şanlıurfa Governor's Office (English)
★
Old and new photos
★
Sanliurfa Mayor's Office
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