Urfa
| Şanlıurfa | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitan municipality | |
Şanlıurfa skyline
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 Şanlıurfa
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| Coordinates: 37°09′30″N 38°47′30″E / 37.15833°N 38.79167°ECoordinates: 37°09′30″N 38°47′30″E / 37.15833°N 38.79167°E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Şanlıurfa |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Nihat Çiftçi (AKP) |
| Area | |
| • District | 3,668.76 km2 (1,416.52 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 477 m (1,565 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Urban | 526,247 |
| • District | 788,956 |
| • District density | 220/km2 (560/sq mi) |
| Website | www |
Şanlıurfa, pronounced [ʃanˈlɯuɾfa], often simply known as Urfa or Al-Ruha (Kurdish: Riha, Arabic: الرها ar-Ruhā, Syriac: ܐܘܪܗ Urhoy), in ancient times Edessa (Έδεσσα in Greek), is a city with 561,465 inhabitants in south-eastern Turkey, and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. It is a city with a primarily Arabic, Kurdish and Turkmen population. Urfa is situated on a plain about eighty kilometres east of the Euphrates River. Urfa's climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters.
The city has been known by many names in history: Ուռհա Uṙha in Armenian, ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhai in Syriac, الرها Ar-Ruhā in Arabic and Ορρα, Orrha in Greek (also Ορροα, Orrhoa). For a while during the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175 - 164 BCE) it was named Callirrhoe or Antiochia on the Callirhoe (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Καλλιρρόης). During Byzantine rule it was named Justinopolis. Prior to Turkish rule, it was often best known by the name given it by the Seleucids, Ἔδεσσα, Edessa.
Şanlı means "great, glorious, dignified" in Turkish, and Urfa was officially renamed 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 cities 'Gazi' (veteran) Antep and 'Kahraman' (Heroic) Maraş.
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Wikipedia