Şanlıurfa Province (; ), also known as Urfa Province, is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

and

metropolitan municipality A metropolitan municipality is a municipality established to serve a metropolitan area. Canada In generic terms and in practical application within Canada, a metropolitan municipality is an urban local government with partial or complete consol ...

in southeastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The city of

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), 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 Eup ...

is the capital of the province which bears its name. Its area is 19,242 km², and its population is 2,170,110 (2022). The province is considered part of

Turkish Kurdistan Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan () is the southeastern part of Turkey where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of them in the ...

and has a Kurdish majority with a significant

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

and Turkish minority.

Districts

Şanlıurfa province is divided into 13

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, listed below with their populations as at 31 December 2022 according to the official government estimates: * Akçakale (123,721) * Birecik (93,613) * Bozova (52,680) * Ceylanpınar (90,440) * Eyyübiye (391,795) * Halfeti (41,662) * Haliliye (396,656) *

Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...

(96,072) * Hilvan (42,218) * Karaköprü (265,035) *

Siverek Siverek (; ; ) is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 3,936 km2, and its population is 267,942 (2022). Siverek is in the Şanlıurfa province but is geographically closer to the large city of Diyarbakır (a ...

(267,942) * Suruç (100,961) *

Viranşehir Viranşehir () is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,297 km2, and its population is 207,315 (2022). It is a market town serving a cotton-growing area, 93 km east of the city Şanlıurfa and 53&nbs ...

(207,315)

Geography

With an area of , it is the largest province of Southeast Anatolia with: *

Adıyaman Province Adıyaman Province (, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. The capital is Adıyaman. Its area is 7,337 km2, and its population is 635,169 (2022). The province is considered part of Turkish Kurdi ...

to the north; *

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

to the south; *

Mardin Province Mardin Province (; ; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in Turkey. Its area is 8,780 km2, and its population is 870,374 (2022). The largest city in the province is Kızıltepe, while the capital Mardin is the second largest ci ...

and Diyarbakır Province to the east; and *

Gaziantep Province Gaziantep Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in south-central Turkey. It is located in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in ...

to the west. Şanlıurfa includes several major components of the

Southeastern Anatolia Project The Southeastern Anatolia Project (, GAP) is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people (2023) living in the Southeastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, Southeastern An ...

(in Turkish ''Güneydogu Anadolu Projesi'' (GAP)) designed to: * exploit the

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

potential of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; * dramatically expand

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

for agriculture; and * develop the economy of the region. This very large-scale, state-sponsored development project involved the damming, redirecting,

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

tapping and other use of rivers in this broad, semi-arid region. (The rivers then flow into Syria and Iraq). The GAP includes 22 dams and water supply for 1.8 million hectares for agricultural areas.

Climate

The Urfa region is characterized by a semi-arid

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

. Rainfall mostly comes in winter, when the temperature is mildest; summers are very hot and dry. Annual mean precipitation is 458.1 mm. The annual mean temperature is 18.5 °C. The coldest month is January, which has an average temperature of 2.7 °C, while the hottest month is July, with an average temperature of 39 °C. The dry season typically begins around April, peaks in intensity around July, and ends around October. Wind typically blows from the northwest, with west-northwest winds being the strongest. The area around Urfa and Viranşehir, and continuing towards

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

further east, is the driest part of a "desert-like steppe" region in southeastern Anatolia. This area is characterized by vast plains as well as "low and broad hills

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

come neafter another". As one approaches the Syrian border in the south, the climate gets drier due to less rainfall and it becomes more desert-like. In some areas, however, water from

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

ic sources makes things greener. The plant life of this southeastern steppe region is less diverse than the steppes of central and eastern Anatolia because the dry season is longer here.

Perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

xerophytes like ''

Astragalus Astragalus may refer to: * ''Astragalus'' (plant), a large genus of herbs and small shrubs *Astragalus (bone) The talus (; Latin for ankle or ankle bone; : tali), talus bone, astragalus (), or ankle bone is one of the group of foot bones known ...

'', '' Verbascum'', ''

Phlomis ''Phlomis'' is a genus of over 100 species''Phlomis''.
Flora of China. of

'', ''

Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding ...

'', and '' Cirsium'' predominate. In some sheltered valleys, though, pockets of Mediterranean flora still exist – remnants of what was once a more widespread distribution prior to a climactic shift in the region sometime in the past.

Geology

Most of Şanlıurfa province consists of

Cenozoic The Cenozoic Era ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three g ...

formations.

Calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

formations are predominant on the Fatik plateau, west of the Urfa-Harran plain, and in the Tektek Mountains to the east of the plain. Among these are vast

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

deposits north and west of Urfa, as well as younger

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

deposits on the Tektek and lower Fatik plateaus. There are also

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

deposits, dating from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

periods, just north of the city of Urfa itself. These are associated with the Karacadağ Formation. These basalt deposits are generally covered by just 5 to 10 cm of soil deposits; in some places, though, there is thick enough topsoil for agriculture. On the Harran plain, more recent

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

deposits from the Quaternary period predominate.

Economy

Agriculture is the largest economic sector in Şanlıurfa province. As of 2000, 43% of the province's GDP is in agriculture, 40% service, 11% industry, and 6% in construction. The total GDP is US$1.85 billion.

Agriculture

Şanlıurfa province is a major producer of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

, and

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

. Cotton production in particular increased dramatically after the GAP was initiated in 1995. The influx of irrigation availability meant that many farmers could switch from dry to irrigated agriculture, and cotton's high market value enticed a majority of farmers to start planting it. The province's annual cotton yield rose from 277,000 tons in 1995 to 708,602 tons in 2004. By 2021, the province produces 42% of all cotton in Turkey. As of 2008, the province also produced 11% of all dry legumes, 6.4% of barley, and 4% of wheat in the country. Other crops include red lentil,

pistachio The pistachio (, ; ''Pistacia vera'') is a small to medium-sized tree of the Anacardiaceae, cashew family, originating in Iran. The tree produces nut (fruit)#Culinary definition and uses, seeds that are widely consumed as food. In 2022, world ...

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

sesame Sesame (; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for ...

, and various vegetables. In terms of

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s are the most important. As of 2015, about 32% of the province's workforce is employed in agriculture. However, the employment share of agriculture has been declining. Another problem is that excessive irrigation has caused increased soil salinity. Şanlıurfa province is among the leading producers of pistachios in Turkey. As of 2021, the province has 29.7 million pistachio trees and produced 38,576 tons of pistachios — about a third of the national total of 119,000 tons. However, most of the processing for the pistachios is done in Gaziantep instead. The province is also a major producer of several varieties of peppers. As of 2021, Şanlıurfa province produced 77,663 tons of capia peppers; 6,180 tons of sivri peppers; and 1,296 tons of

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as sweet pepper, paprika, pepper, capsicum or, in some parts of the US midwest, mango) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in diff ...

s. Agriculture in Şanlıurfa province is dominated by large-scale landowners. Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, an influx of Syrian refugees willing to work for cheap have changed the agricultural labor market here. Local seasonal farm workers, who demand higher wages, are unable to find work in the province and are increasingly temporarily migrating to other provinces for seasonal farm work.

Dairy products

Urfa cheese (''Urfa peyniri'') bears similarity to other cheeses in the region, such as Diyarbakır's ''örgü'', Kahramanmaraş's ''Maraş-sıkma'', or Gaziantep's ''Antep-sıkma''. It is mostly made from sheep and goat milk. Most production is done in villages using traditional techniques and low-tech equipment and lacking hygienic standards or pasteurized milk; however, industrial-scale production has begun in recent decades. There is no single standardized method of production for Urfa cheese, so its qualities can vary. It is aged for anywhere between 3 and 7 months. Another regional specialty is Urfa butter (''Urfa yaği''), a type of

clarified butter Clarified butter is butter from which all milk solids have been removed. The result is a clear, yellow butter that can be heated to higher temperatures before burning. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to ...

made from

sheep's milk Sheep milk is the milk of Sheep, domestic sheep. It is commonly used to make cultured Dairy product, dairy products, such as cheese. Some of the most popular sheep cheeses include feta (Greece), pecorino romano (Italy), Roquefort (France) and Ma ...

. It is made in Urfa itself as well as in other towns in the province like

, Ceylanpınar, and

Industry

Industry has been increasing in employment share in Şanlıurfa province, reached 16% in 2006. The biggest industries include food processing (especially baked goods and dairy products) and textiles (especially cotton fabrics), which as of 2002 together employ 54% of industrial workers in the province. Other important industries (based on location quotient) include treatment and coating of metals (especially copper) and the manufacturing of pumps, compressors, and other agricultural equipment.

Services

The largest part of the service sector in Şanlıurfa province, both in GDP and employment, is wholesale and retail trade. Many wholesalers and retailers in the province are closely linked to the agricultural sector - for example, through wholesale of seeds for farmers, wholesale of dairy products, retail sale of meat products, or retail sale of textiles. Another important activity in this sector is freight transport by road, which has a high location quotient for the province because it lies on the main road connection between the port of

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

and the Habur border crossing into

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Demographics

As of 2000, the province has a population growth rate of 30.9%, which is well above the national rate of 14.9%. Average household size in the province is 6.87 people, which is above the national average of 4.5. About 42% of the province's population lives in rural areas and 58% in urban areas - a somewhat lower rate of urbanization than the country as a whole, which is 65% urban. The average per capita income is US$1,300 annually. The province has a low literacy rate - especially among women, who are only 52% literate in the province compared to 80% nationwide. The province also has high out-migration. Şanlıurfa province has the highest population of Syrian refugees in Turkey. There are an estimated 350,000 to 400,000 Syrian refugees in the province, including some 80,000 living in 4 refugee camps. The presence of large Kurdish and Arab populations in the province means that there is less of a language barrier for Syrians in Şanlıurfa province than in other parts of Turkey, and the similar cultural and religious values make the province a more comfortable setting for many migrants as well. As a result, tensions between locals and refugees are somewhat lower in Şanlıurfa province than elsewhere. Employment for Syrians is concentrated most heavily in the construction, retail and wholesale, and agricultural sectors. Syrian labor is desirable for many employers because they are willing to work for lower wages than locals. For example, while mechanized cotton harvesting is an option for farmers, it is cheaper for them to hire Syrian workers to pick cotton by hand. Competition between Syrian and local seasonal farm workers has contributed to tension between the two groups, as the influx of Syrian labor has driven local farm workers to migrate to other provinces for seasonal farm work. Şanlıurfa province has one of the highest rates of

child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...

in Turkey. According to

TÜİK Turkish Statistical Institute (commonly known as TurkStat; or TÜİK) is the Turkish government agency commissioned with producing official statistics on Turkey, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It was founded in 1926 ...

, there were 955 marriages of girls under the age of 18 in Şanlıurfa province in 2021, which was the second-highest in the country behind Gaziantep.

Culture

The traditional culture of the city of Urfa differs from the rest of the province.

Cuisine

The famous çiğ köfte belongs to the culinary traditions of the city and was unknown to the rural population until 1980s. ''Tırşik'' is a traditional dish of the rural population within the province.

Games and dance

"Çan Çekiç Oyunu" is a traditional dice game of Urfa played with eight dice for money. "Dörtlü Oyunu" is a traditional dance of Urfa involving four people who each hold a red handkerchief in the right hand and a white one in the left hand. It is set to music played on the zurna and

davul The davul, dhol, tapan, atabal or tabl is a large double-headed drum that is played with mallets. It has many names depending on the country and region. These drums are commonly used in the music of the Middle East and the Balkans. These drums ...

(types of horn and drum, respectively).

Playground games

"Derrebu Derinebu" is a tag-like playground game from Urfa that is a variant of the game "Darabil" from Gaziantep. In Derrebu Derinebu, players form two teams that face each other. A player from one team attempts to cross over to the other team, tag any number of players, and return, all while singing a rhyme without pausing for breath. The game locally known as "Arası Kesme" (called "Ara Kesme", "Esir Almaca", or other names in other parts of Turkey) is a capture-style game where one team tries to retrieve players from a designated area while the other team tries to stop them. A local variety of hide-and-seek (''Saklambaç'') is known as "Ebe Saklama". "Alkuç Balkuç" is an object-hiding game from Urfa where players stand in a circle and secretly pass an object from hand to hand. "Çukur Atma" is a

marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. These toys can be used for a variety of games called marbles, as well being placed in marble runs or races, or created as a form of art. They are ofte ...

-type game of Urfa, except played with plum or apricot seeds instead of actual marbles. Another game particular to Urfa is "İğne Miğne Kiraz" and the finger-and-hand-based games "Beş Parmağı Yüz veya Bin Yapmak" and "Açıl Kilidim Açıl".

Music

A rich body of folk literature from Urfa is the mâni — a type of sung, single-

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

folk poetry consisting of seven lines with an A-A-B-A

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...

. The hoyrat is a local subgenre of the mâni where the first line is missing a syllable. The hoyrat is a cultural tradition also present at

Kirkuk Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Cit ...

in Iraq.

Politics

On 1 January 1928 the province was included into the First Inspectorate-General over which an Inspector-General ruled according to the policies recommended in Report for Reform in the East. The Inspectorate was governed with martial law and span over the provinces of

Hakkâri Hakkari or Hakkâri may refer to: * Hakkari (historical region), a historical region in modern-day Turkey and Iraq *Hakkâri (city), a city and the capital of Hakkâri Province, Turkey *Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province ...

, Siirt, Van,

Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Elaziğ and

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

. The office of the Inspector General was dissolved in 1952. Şanlıurfa once being a relatively competitive province between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the True Path Party (DYP), it is now one of the most solid AKP provinces. While the AKP managed to win Şanlıurfa with a comfortable 43.04% during the 2004 local elections, it has since then increased its margins of victory here. Following the diminishing popularity of smaller parties such as the DYP, Şanlıurfa heavily shifted towards the AKP, winning the November 2015 election with 64.55% of the votes. Şanlıurfa once again showed its status as an AKP stronghold in the 2017 referendum, with the Yes vote winning with a wide margin of 41.8%. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) came in second with 38.1 in the general elections in June 2015, and with 28.2% the HDP was also second in the November 2015 general election. The far-right

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...

(MHP) scored an exceptional 7.18% in the 1999 local elections. Its vote share eventually ebbed to a more usual 2.97% in the 2004 local elections. The MHP showed a significant recovery in the indecisive June 2015 election by winning 5.56% of the votes. However, the MHP went on to suffer from a nationwide loss in the upset November 2015 election, with its vote share declining to 2.75% in Şanlıurfa. The centre-left

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

(CHP) usually maintains a modest share of slightly below 5%. Similar to the other two opposition parties, the CHP suffered a loss in Şanlıurfa, going from 4.10% in the June 2015 election to 2.70% in the November 2015 election. The current Governor of Sanliurfa is Abdullah Erin.

Places of interest

The province is famous for its

Abrahamic The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

sites such as Balıklıgöl, where Prophet

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

was cast by

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

into fire that is believed to have turned to water. Also the Mevlid-i Halil Mosque, where Abraham is believed to be born in the cave next to the mosque is well known. Within the province, approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa, is the pre-historic site of

Göbekli Tepe Göbekli Tepe (, ; Kurdish: or , 'Wish Hill') is a Neolithic archaeological site in Upper Mesopotamia (''al-Jazira'') in modern-day Turkey. The settlement was inhabited from around to at least , during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. It is famou ...

, where continuing excavations have unearthed 12,000-year-old sanctuaries dating from the early

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period, considered to be the oldest temples in the world, predating

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

by 6,000 years. The following tombs and sacred spots are located within the province:TÜRBELER
/ref> * Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham)'s birthplace * Prophet Ayyub ( Job)'s cave and tomb * Prophet Alyasa (

Elisha Elisha was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a Jewish prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, Ełishe (Yeghishe/Elisha) via Armenian or Alyasa via Arabic, a ...

)'s Tomb * Imam Bakir's Tomb * Shaykh Hayat al-Harrani's Tomb * The first burial place of Said Nursi * Rahma Hatun's Tomb * Neolithic Temple at

* Neolithic Settlement at

Nevalı Çori Nevalı Çori (, ) was an Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, early Neolithic settlement on the middle Euphrates, in Şanlıurfa Province, Southeastern Anatolia Region, Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey. The site is known for having some of the world's oldest kn ...

Gallery

File:Şanlıurfa,_Şanlıurfa_Merkez-Şanlıurfa_Province,_Turkey_-_panoramio_(16).jpg, File:Balikli_Göl_03.jpg, File:Mevlid-i_Halil_Mosque_19.jpg, File:Eyyup Peygamber mosque urfa.jpg, File:UrfaBasar.jpg, File:Urfastreet.jpg, File:Urfa01.jpeg, File:Harran-beehouses.jpg,

References

External links

Website of the City of Sanliurfa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanliurfa Province 1928 establishments in Turkey States and territories established in 1928 Provinces of Turkey Turkish Kurdistan Upper Mesopotamia