Urfa

About Urfa

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 80 km (50 mi) east of the Euphrates. Its climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters.

About 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city is the famous Neolithic site of Göbekli Tepe, the world's oldest known temple, which was founded in the 10th millennium BC. The area was part of a network of the first human settlements where the agricultural revolution took place. Because of its association with Jewish, Christian, and Islamic history, and a legend recounting that it was the hometown of Abraham, Urfa is nicknamed the City of Prophets.

Religion is important in Urfa. The city "has become a center of fundamentalist Islamic beliefs" and "is considered one of the most devoutly religious cities in Turkey".

The city is located 30 miles from the Atatürk Dam, at the heart of the Southeast Anatolia Project, which draws thousands of job-seeking villagers to the city every year.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.