Gaziantep Province

Gaziantep Province
Gaziantep ili
Province of Turkey

Location of Gaziantep Province in Turkey
Country Turkey
Region Southeast Anatolia
Subregion Gaziantep
Government
 • Electoral district Gaziantep
Area
 • Total 7,194 km2 (2,778 sq mi)
Population (2010-12-31)[1]
 • Total 1,700,763
 • Density 240/km2 (610/sq mi)
Area code(s) 0342
Vehicle registration 27

Gaziantep Province (Turkish: Gaziantep ili) is a province in south-central Turkey. Its capital is the city of Gaziantep, which had a population of 1.931.836 in 2015. Its neighbours are Adıyaman to the north, 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 growing of pistachio nuts.

In ancient times, first 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 majority in the province.[2]

Geology

Two major active geological faults meet in western Gaziantep near the border with adjoining Osmaniye Province: the Dead Sea Transform and the East Anatolian Fault. These represent the tectonic boundary between the northward-moving Arabian Plate to the east, and the converging African and Eurasian Plates to the west.

Geography

Gaziantep is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Districts

A view from Gaziantep castle

See also

References

  1. ↑ Turkish Statistical Institute, MS Excel document – Population of province/district centers and towns/villages and population growth rate by provinces
  2. ↑ Khanam, R. (2005). Encyclopaedic Ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia. A-I, V. 1. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 470. ISBN 9788182200623.
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Coordinates: 37°02′26″N 37°18′25″E / 37.04056°N 37.30694°E / 37.04056; 37.30694

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