Şanlıurfa
The mosque built on the site where prophet Abraham is believed to have been born.
Şanlıurfa Location of Şanlıurfa within Turkey.
Coordinates: 37°09′N 38°48′E / 37.15°N 38.8°E / 37.15; 38.8
Country	Turkey
Region	Southeastern Anatolia
Province	Şanlıurfa
Government
• Mayor	Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba (SP)
• Governor	Nuri Okutan
Elevation	518 m (1,699 ft)
Population (2010)[1]
• Urban	498,111
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	63x xx
Area code(s)	0414
Licence plate	63
Website	http://www.sanliurfa.bel.tr/

Şanlıurfa, pronounced [ʃanˈlɯuɾfa], often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Kurdish Riha, Arabic الرها al-Ruhā, Syriac ܐܘܪܗ Urhoy, Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants (2009 estimate^[2]) in south-eastern Turkey, and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. It is a city with a predominant Kurdish and Turkmen population. 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.

Name[link]

Costumes of the rich women of Urfa in the early 20th Century.

The city has been known by many names in history: Ուռհա Owr'ha in Armenian, ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhai in Syriac, ره, الرها, al-Ruhā in Arabic and Ορρα, Orrha in Greek (also Ορροα, Orrhoa). For a while it was named Callirrhoe or Antiochia on the Callirhoe (Ancient Greek: Αντιόχεια η επί 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, Εδεσσα, Edessa.

Şanlı (from Arabic shan (شأن) "dignity" + Turkish adjectival suffix -lı) 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.

History[link]

The history of Şanlıurfa is recorded from the 4th century BC, but may date back to 9000 BC, when there is ample evidence for the surrounding sites at Duru, Harran and Nevali Cori.^[3] 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 of the Chaldees, due to its proximity to the biblical village of Harran. However, some historians and archaeologists claim the city of Ur is in southern Iraq, and the true birthplace of Abraham is still in question. Urfa is also known as the birthplace of Job.

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, Hurri-Mitannis, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, Macedonians (under Alexander the Great), Seleucids, Armenians, Arameans, Osrhoenes, Romans, Sassanids, Byzantines, and Crusaders.

The city of Edessa[link]

In the Byzantine period Edessa was a powerful regional centre with churches, schools and monasteries.

The age of Islam[link]

Islam first arrived in Urfa around 638 C.E., when the Rashidun army conquered the region without a fight. Islam was then established permanently in Urfa by the empires of the Ayyubids (see: Saladin Ayubbi), Seljuks and Ottoman Turks. In March of 1098, the Crusader Baldwin of Boulogne established the County of Edessa. The city remained in Christian hands until 1144, when it was captured by the Turk Zengui who had most of its inhabitants slaughtered together with the Latin archbishop (see Siege of Edessa). By the end December of 1145, a Second Crusade was launched to recapture the city, but failed in this objective.^[4] Subsequently, Urfa was ruled by Zengids, Ayyubids, Sultanate of Rum, Ilkhanids, Memluks, Akkoyunlu and Safavids before Ottoman conquest in 1516.

Under the Ottomans Urfa was a centre of trade in cotton, leather, and jewellery. There were three Christian communities: Assyrians, Armenian, and Latin. According to Lord Kinross,^[5] 8,000 Armenians were massacred in Urfa in 1895. The last Syrian Christians left in 1924 and went to Aleppo (where they settled down in a place that was later called Hay al-Suryan "The Syriac Quarter").^[6]

The First World War and after[link]

In 1914 Urfa was estimated to have 75,000 inhabitants: 45,000 Muslims, 25,000 Armenians and 5,000 Syrian Christians. There was also a Jewish presence in the town, most of whom fled to Istanbul, Egypt and other countries.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Climate[link]

Şanlıurfa has a semi-arid climate. Şanlıurfa is very hot during the summer months. Temperatures in the height of summer usually reach 41.5°C (108°F). Rainfall is almost non-existent during the summer months. Winters are cool and wet. Spring and autumn are mild and also wet.

Şanlıurfa today[link]

Şanlıurfa's old town.

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 Turkish 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 from 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 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.

Politics[link]

It is a stronghold of the governing Justice and Development Party.

Economy[link]

The climate of the region being mostly arid, the plains of Urfa and Harran are hot and dry. However, since the early 1990s Şanlıurfa has made huge leaps of development thanks to the Southeastern Anatolia Project, that provided a reliable supply of water for local farmers and fostered a real agricultural boom in every cultivar, but especially organic cotton production. This in turn is driving significant development of medium and light industry in the city itself. Hence, unemployment and poverty are present on a way smaller scale than in other Eastern Turkish cities, and many luxury cars can be spotted on the streets of Urfa. The huge reservoir is also a spectacular sight, hosting regular water-sports tournaments, also offering the commodity of many waterfront restaurants.

Cuisine[link]

As the city of Urfa is very deeply rooted in history, so is its unique cuisine, an amalgamation of the cuisines of many civilizations that have ruled in Urfa, since the Prophet Abraham and the Sumerian times and many dishes carry names in Arabic, Armenian, Syriac, and Turkmen. At the first glance, it carries the staple of the Eyalet of Aleppo in a very classic, albeit in a very spicier manner;

There are very important pieces of work done on the Urfa cuisine as it is widely believed that Urfa is the birthplace of many dishes, including Raw Kibbé (Çiğ Köfte), that according to the legend, was crafted by no-one else but the Prophet Abraham himself from the ingredients he had in hand.^[9]

Urfa is also known throughout Turkey and the bordering Syria for its very rich kebab culture, making large use of lamb meat, fat and offal.

The offal has also a primordial place in the regular Urfa cuisine, being prepared in more than two hundred different ways.

Urfa's meze menu is also very rich, and carries a great variety, mostly unknown in other parts of Turkey, such as the "Ağzı Yumuk" or the "Semsek".

One will note, from the vegetables used in the Urfa cuisine, a lot of endemic varieties like the "'Ecır" or the "Kenger", and of course, the "İsot", the legendary local red capsicum that is a smaller and darker cultivar of the Aleppo pepper that takes a purplish black hue when dried and cured, used to flavor a lot of dishes, even a variety of ice cream.

The cuisine also makes an extensive use of the eggplant and attributes more than a hundred recipes to that item only.

Unlike most of the Turkish cities that use different versions of regular butter in their regional cuisine, Urfa is, together with Antep, Mardin and Siirt a big user of clarified butter, made exclusively from sheep's milk, called locally "Urfayağı" ("Urfabutter"). Other than that, Urfa is a heavy consumer of quality Olive oil, that mostly arrives into the city from nearby Syria.

Among Urfa's classic sweets, one should definitively count the "Şıllık", that is a coarse walnut ground covered in sweet pastry, the Kahke, flavored with aniseed and baked in a steamer, and the "Külünçe", that is a masonry oven baked pastry item in a way similar to the Iraqi Kleyça.

The bitter Arab coffee "Mırra" and the coffee substitute drink made from wild terebinth "Menengiç kahvesi" are among the most common hot beverages of Urfa.

Cultural Notes[link]

-The legend of the "isot" goes that during the French invasion and subsequent occupation of the early 1920s, the people of Urfa were at first not much concerned about their city being invaded and their homes looted. They apparently only began the armed resistance when they heard the French were marching in their capsiucum fields.

-Although well connected to the Turkey's highways and with a decent industrial production, Urfa is not a huge metropolis, but still a large city. Known for its relative conservatism (most restaurants do not serve Alcohol), many coffee-houses have separate sections for families or groups of single-men (unlike the most of Turkey).

-An important local tradition usually associated with Urfa and Mardin is the "Sıra Gecesi", where groups of young men gather at each others home following a preestablished sequence, especially in winter evenings, to play Ottoman Instruments such as Kanun Ud and Bağlama, sing regional classics and to eat together. Kebabs, Rakı and Çiğ Köfte are the indispensable staples of these evenings.

Places of interest[link]

• The birthplace of the prophet Abraham – a cave to the south of the lake
• Urfa castle – built in antiquity, the current walls were constructed by the Abbasids in 814 AD.
• The legendary Pool of Sacred Fish (Balıklıgöl) 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 courtyard is where the fishes thrive. A local legend says seeing a white fish will open the door to the heavens.
• Rızvaniye Mosque – a more recent (1716) Ottoman mosque, adjoining the Balıkligöl complex.
• 'Ayn Zelîha – A source nearby the historical center, named after Zulaykha, a 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 or burial cloth (mendil) of Jesus was thrown (see Image of Edessa and Shroud of Turin). 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 (selâm). There is an example open to the public next to the post office in the district of Kara Meydan.
• The Temple of Nevali Çori – Neolithic settlement dating back to 8000BC, now buried under the waters behind the Atatürk Dam, with some artefacts relocated above the waterline.
• Göbekli Tepe – The world's oldest known temple, dated 10th millennium BC (ca 11,500 years ago).^[10]
• Have breakfast at the wonderful "Zahter Kahvalti" in Köprübasi Caddesi opposite to the entrance of "Otel Ipek Palace"

Famous people[link]

• Yusuf Nabi – 17th century Ottoman poet
• İbrahim Tatlıses (Ibo) – Famous Turkish entertainer
• Bedih Yoluk (b 1929 – d. 2004)- folk singer, known nationally for his contributions to the Eşkiya film soundtrack.
• Bekir Yıldız – Columnist in Hürriyet
• Bekir Coşkun – Columnist in Hürriyet
• Bekir Fırat – Columnist in Güneydoğuhaber
• Nejat Kırbulut – Columnist in Bursahaber
• UR – Band formed in the 1940s.
• Matthew of Edessa – Historian
• Ahmet Özhan – Singer of Turkish Sufi music, and movie actor
• Knai Thomman
• Neodim – Rapper
• Müslüm Gürses- Turkish singer.
• Seyyal Taner- Turkish pop singer.
• Ferhat Göçer – popular pop singer.
• Mahmut Tuncer- Turkish singer.
• Mirkelam- Turkish pop singer.

See also[link]

• Cilicia War
• Urfa Resistance
• Chronology of the Turkish War of Independence
• Knanaya
• Cities of the ancient Near East

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Urfa

External links[link]

• Şanlıurfa Governor's Office (English)
• Sanliurfa News
• Old and new photos
• Sanliurfa Mayor's Office
• Sanliurfa News
• Sanliurfa News
• Urhoy – the mother of all cities in Mesopotamia
• Tourism information is available in English at the Southeastern Anatolian Promotion Project site.

v t e Şanlıurfa in Şanlıurfa Province (in the Southeastern Anatolia region) of Turkey Urban districts Şanlıurfa Rural districts Akçakale - Birecik - Bozova - Ceylanpınar - Halfeti - Harran - Hilvan - Siverek - Suruç - Viranşehir Regions Provinces Aegean Afyonkarahisar - Aydın - Denizli - Izmir - Kütahya - Manisa - Muğla - Uşak Black Sea Amasya - Artvin - Bartın - Bayburt - Bolu - Çorum - Düzce - Giresun - Gümüşhane - Karabük - Kastamonu - Ordu - Rize - Samsun - Sinop - Tokat - Trabzon - Zonguldak Central Anatolia Aksaray - Ankara - Çankırı - Eskişehir - Karaman - Kayseri - Kırıkkale - Kırşehir - Konya - Nevşehir - Niğde - Sivas - Yozgat Eastern Anatolia Ağrı - Ardahan -Bingöl - Bitlis - Elâzığ - Erzincan - Erzurum - Hakkâri - Iğdır - Kars - Malatya - Muş - Siirt - Tunceli - Van Marmara Balıkesir - Bilecik - Bursa - Çanakkale - Edirne - Istanbul - Kırklareli - Kocaeli - Sakarya - Tekirdağ - Yalova Mediterranean Adana - Antalya- Burdur - Hatay - Isparta - Kahramanmaraş - Mersin - Osmaniye Southeastern Anatolia Adıyaman - Batman - Diyarbakır - Gaziantep - Kilis - Mardin - Şanlıurfa - Şırnak

Coordinates: 37°09′N 38°48′E / 37.15°N 38.8°E / 37.15; 38.8

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2010)

İbrahim Tatlıses
Background information
Also known as	İbo
Born	1/1/1952
Occupations	Singer, actor, director, writer, producer, businessman
Instruments	davul, zurna, violin
Years active	1970 - present
Labels	Various
Website	İbrahim Tatlıses

İbrahim Tatlıses, also known as İbo (born January 1, 1952), is a Kurdish pop-folk singer (singing in Kurdish & Turkish) and actor. He was born in the city of Şanlıurfa, in southeastern Anatolia. Tatlıses has recorded 25 albums, including notable albums such as Ayağında Kundura and Selam Olsun. He is also the host of the television programme İbo Show and is a leading actor who has appeared in several dozen films. He has directed most of the films he acted in. Also, he is a businessman involved in the restaurant and tourism businesses, as well as in construction projects in Iraqi Kurdistan.^[1] He has been the target of a serious assassination attempt in 2011

Biography[link]

İbrahim Tatlıses was born in the south-eastern town of Sanliurfa and is of Arabic and Kurdish descent. His father died when he was a child, and Tatlıses was raised by his Mother Leyla. He began singing at weddings when he was young.

Then while he was working in constructions as a normal worker, singing, his singing was heard by a businessman from Adana, and he started appearing in nightclubs.

Ayağında Kundura, released in 1975 helped him spread his name throughout Turkey.

He now has a lot of companies in various industries and had been a candidate in the 2007 General Elections in Turkey, in which his party, Genç Parti could not overcome the election threshold of 10% which further resulted in him not being elected.

Shootings[link]

He was shot in the leg in 1990, and survived an assassination attempt in 1998. In March 2011, he was attacked and was wounded seriously in the headshot.^{[2] [3]}

2011 Shooting[link]

On Monday March 14, 2011, at 00:30 local time, Ibrahim Tatlises and his spokeswoman Buket Çakıcı were shot at by unknown assailants after leaving the offices of the private Turkish channel Beyaz TV following his weekly television show. While entering their vehicle Tatlises was hit with a bullet that entered the back of his skull and exited through the front. His spokeswoman was also hit in the neck, but survived the attack. The perpetrators carried Kalashnikov rifles and escaped in a black car ^[4]. He was taken to the Acıbadem Hospital in Istanbul for emergency treatment.^[5] He underwent a four-hour surgery to have the bullet removed and slowly recovered from his critical condition.^[6] After Tatlises's operation, he was in a stable condition and put to rest for a week. Then the doctors made the announcement saying he is recovering well and healing. Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited him to see how he was coping. He then made an announcement publicly reporting he is in a good condition and his traveling along fine. The police in Turkey have reported to have caught around 20 criminals involved in the attack. On Thursday April the 7th, Tatlıses left Acıbadem Hospital with a police escort and travelled to the Atatürk International Airport where he boarded the Ministry of Health’s Hawker 900XP air ambulance. He left for Germany, where he will receive six months of physical rehabilitation in a condensed period of one month.^[7] He returned from Germany.

Ibrahim got married to Ayşegül Yıldız in the Dar al Shifa Hospital on Sept. 27th 2011.

Discography[link]

1. 1965 Ozel Album
2. 1970 Kara Kız
3. 1974 Palandöken Plak
4. 1975 Ben İnsan Değil Miyim?
5. 1975 Ayağında Kundura
6. 1975 Yağmur
7. 1976 Urfa Emektaroglu Bant Studyosu
8. 1976 Ashab Gecesi
9. 1978 Ölürsem Kabrime Gelme Istemem
10. 1978 Doldur Kardeş Icelim
11. 1980 Ceylan
12. 1981 Acı Gerçekler
13. 1982 Yalan
14. 1983 Yaşamak Bu Değil
15. 1984 Benim Hayatim
16. 1984 Mutlu Ol Yeter
17. 1985 Mavi Mavi
18. 1986 Gülüm Benim
19. 1987 Allah Allah - Hülya
20. 1986 Amerika Konseri
21. 1988 Kara Zindan
22. 1989 Fosforlu Cevriyem
23. 1989 Insanlar
24. 1990 Ben Aşk İçin Ölürüm
25. 1990 Söylim Mi - Hesabim Var
26. 1991 Vur Gitsin Beni - Yemin Ettim
27. 1992 Ah Keşkem
28. 1993 Mega Aşk
29. 1994 Haydi Söyle
30. 1995 Klasikleri
31. 1996 Bende Isterem
32. 1996 Türkü Dinle Türkü Söyle
33. 1998 At Gitsin
34. 1998 Sabuha
35. 1999 Selam Olsun
36. 2001 Yetmez Mi
37. 2002 Megamix
38. 2003 Tek Tek
39. 2003 Yaşamak Bu Değil
40. 2004 Imparatordan Uzun Havalar
41. 2004 Aramam
42. 2005 Israil Konseri
43. 2005 Sizler Için
44. 2007 Türküler
45. 2007 Bulamadim
46. 2008 Neden
47. 2009 Benim Remixlerim
48. 2009 Yağmurla Gelen Kadin
49. 2009 Iste Tatlises
50. 2010 Imparatorun Doğuşu
51. 2010 Hani Gelecektin
52. 2011 Mucize

Filmography[link]

References[link]