Viranşehir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Viranşehir is a market town serving a cotton-growing area of Şanlıurfa Province, in southeastern Turkey, 93 km east of Şanlıurfa city and 53 km north-west of the Syrian border at Ceylanpınar.
Thanks to the income from cotton Viranşehir is one of the fastest-growing towns in Turkey, the population having more than doubled from 57,461 in 1990 to 121,382 in 2000 (census figures).
The name Viranşehir means the ruined city and it has indeed been destroyed repeatedly in the course of history. According to tradition, the tombs of Job and Elijah (Elias) are to be found in the nearby village of Eyyup Nebi.
On April 3, 2006, violence broke out when police tried to disperse a crowd of about 500 Kurdish protesters. Some demonstrators had been throwing petrol bombs and stones.[1]
Districts of Şanlıurfa | ||
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Şanlıurfa | Akçakale | Birecik | Bozova | Ceylanpınar | Halfeti | Harran | Hilvan | Siverek | Suruç | Viranşehir |