Şanlıurfa

Şanlıurfa, historically known as Urfa and in antiquity as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province, on a plain about 80 kilometers east of the Euphrates. Its urban population reached 596,637 in 2022. The city was founded by the Seleucid general Seleucus I Nicator in 303 or 302 BC, and the Neolithic site of Gobekli Tepe, described as the world's oldest known temple and dated to the 10th millennium BC, lies about 12 kilometers to the northeast. Şanlıurfa carries associations with Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition, including a local legend of Abraham, and is nicknamed the City of Prophets; it is regarded as one of Turkey's most devoutly religious cities.