Gaziantep Province
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Gaziantep Province | |
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Location of Gaziantep Province in Turkey | |
Overview | |
Region: | Southeastern Anatolia Region, Turkey |
Area: | 6,000 (km²) |
Total Population | 1,426,816 TUIK 2006 (est) |
-->Urban Population | 853,513 |
Licence plate code: | 27 |
Area code: | 0342 |
Governor Website | http://www.Gaziantep.gov.tr |
Gaziantep is a province in south-central Turkey. Its capital is the city of Gaziantep which had a population of 853,513 as of 2000. Her neighbours are Adıyaman at north, Şanlıurfa at east, Syria and Kilis at south, Hatay at southwest, Osmaniye at west and Kahramanmaraş at nortwest.
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 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 extraordinary courage during the Turkish War of Independence.
Kilis Province was formerly part of Gaziantep Province.
[edit] Districts
Gaziantep province is divided into 9 districts (capital district in bold):
[edit] Politics
Gaziantep Province is traditionally said to reflect in advance the rising political trends in Turkey, according preference to ANAP in 1984, DYP in 1989, Necmettin Erbakan's (then named as) Welfare Party in 1994, and AKP in 2004 local elections. One exception was in 1999 when, boosted by the successful image of Gaziantep city mayor Mr. Celal Doğan, CHP came first with 17.02 % of the votes for the Provincial General Assembly (with four parties scoring over 15 %, and the rightist MHP's rise at that time (campaigning on Turkish-identity consciousness arguments) still being reflected by its second position after CHP for the province. DEHAP, campaigning on Kurdish-identity consciousness arguments, after having touched a modest 5 % ceiling in 1999, seems to have ebbed down, its score under SHP's cover in 2004 local elections remaining at a still more modest 1.81 % (with MHP at 5.36 %). Although Kurdish sources seem to show an interest in and put forth categorizations concerning the province's ethnic structure, in the light of the voter's trends, it is doubtful whether Gaziantep Province fits in the viewpoint, and many inhabitants would even consider it as offensive. It is to be noted that there are people of Kurdish stock living all over Turkey. In any case, in 2004, AKP obtained 55.11 % and CHP 21.57 %, and all other parties below 6 % at the Provincial General Assembly elections. Prime Minister Erdoğan is known to have deemed the local elections in Gaziantep as particularly important and to have mobilized considerable governmental weight beforehand. Current mayor is Mr. Dr. Asım Güzelbey, who successfully continued his career after serving 30 years in Gaziantep as an orthopaedic surgeon till the elections in 2004.
[edit] External links
- Pictures of the capital of this province
- Pictures of Gaziantep
- Gaziantep Weather Forecast Information
- Local politics
- All about cultural activities in Gaziantep
Gaziantep Province (in the Southeastern Anatolia region) of Turkey | ||
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Urban districts | Gaziantep | |
Rural districts | Araban - Islahiye - Karkamış - Nizip - Nurdağı - Oğuzeli - Şahinbey - Şehitkamil - Yavuzeli | |
Regions
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Aegean | ||
Black Sea | ||
Central Anatolia | ||
East Anatolia | ||
Marmara | ||
Mediterranean Sea | ||
Southeastern Anatolia |