Kahramanmaraş

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City and province of Kahramanmaraş
City and province of Kahramanmaraş
Overview over City
Overview over City
Covered Market of Marash
Covered Market of Marash

Kahramanmaraş is the capital city of Kahramanmaraş Province in southeastern Turkey. The city lies on a plain at the foot of the Taurus Mountains and has a population of 326,198 as of 2000. The region is best known for its production of salep, a flour made from dried orchid tubers, and its distinctive ice cream.

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[edit] Historical background

Kahramanmaraş was a Hittite city-state ca. 1000 BC. The city was called Germanicia Caesarea in the time of the Roman Empire. It is historically also known as Maraş and Marash.

The city's name was first called Maraş or Marash, then later changed to Kahramanmaraş (English: Maraş the Hero) by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on October 7, 1973 for its victory against the armies of France and the French Armenian Legion in the Turkish War of Independence. Heroes like Sütçü İmam are well known heroes of the Kahramanmaraş History.

After the war, Maraş also received the Turkish Medal of Independence, given to the city as a whole.

In December 1978, Kahramanmaraş was the site of a massacre of leftist Alevis. An ultra-nationalist group, the Grey Wolves, incited the violence that left over 100 dead. The incident was of key importance in the Turkish government's decision to declare martial law, and the eventual military coup in 1980.[1]

See also: Battle of Maraş

[edit] Crusades

Baudouin, who led the crusader army, altered his path, on advice from the Armenian guide, towards the east. Instead of marching directly towards the plains of Cilicia, he went to the mountainous Taurus area and later to the Marash plain, where he came in direct contact with the Armenian forces. Thereby he continued towards Orfa (or Ourfa). As Stevenson observes, it was only because of the Armenian assistance that he was able to conquer this area, create a principality and rule it 14 Hence the principality of Orfa came to be a neighbour and an ally of Constantine and Baudouin strengthened this alliance by marring the nephew of Constantine. [2]

[edit] Industry

Kahramanmaraş's industry is mainly based on textile and ice cream. Kahramanmaraş is one of the biggest textile industry cities of Turkey. Companies like Kipaş, İskur, Arsan and Bozkurt are one of the richest companies in the city. Also, many of the American clothing companies like Aéropostale and American Eagle are supplying their yarns from Kahramanmaraş.

Some of the internationally-known ice-cream companies like Mado, Yaşar Pastanesi, EDO and Ferah Pastanesi started their business in this ice-cream city and thousands of people visit Kahramanmaraş, just because of its ice-cream (dondurma in Turkish).

[edit] Sports

The city has a local football team called; Kahramanmaraşspor which is currently in Turkish 2nd Division Category B Group 5. Kahramanmaraşspor plays its home games in Hanefi Mahçiçek Stadium. Some famous Turkish players like Mehmet Özdilek and Kemalettin Şentürk played in Kahramanmaraşspor before transferring to bigger clubs.

[edit] Notable natives

  • Şeref Eroğlu - European and World champion, Olympic medalist wrestler

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Zurcher, Eric. "Turkey: A Modern History". I.B. Tauris: London, 1993: 276-277
  2. ^ W. Stevenson, The Crusaders in the East, Cambridge, 1907, p. 22

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 37°35′N, 36°56′E

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