Metropolitan municipality in Turkey
About Gaziantep
Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region. It is located approximately 185 km (115 mi) east of Adana and 97 km (60 mi) north of Aleppo, Syria and situated on the Sajur River.
Name
Due to the city's contact with various ethnic groups and cultures throughout its history, the name of the city has many variants and alternatives, such as: Hantab, Hamtab, or Hatab as known by the Crusaders, Antab and its variants in vulgar Turkish and Armenian since 17th century the latest, Aīntāb (عين تاب) in Ottoman Turkish, Gazi Ayıntap in official Turkish after February 1921, when the Turkish parliament honored the city as غازى عینتاب Ghazi Aīntāb to commemorate its resistance to the French Siege of Aintab during the Franco-Turkish War, Gaziantep in official Turkish after 1928, 'Aīntāb (عينتاب) in Arabic, Êntab or Dîlok in Kurdish, Aïntab or Verdun Turc in French. The several theories for the origin of the current name include: Aïn, an Arabic and Aramaic word meaning "spring", and tab as a word of praise. Antep could be a corruption of the Arabic 'aīn ṭayyib meaning "good spring". …
History
Gaziantep is the probable site of the Hellenistic city of Antiochia ad Taurum ("Antiochia in the Taurus Mountains"). During its early history, Aintab was largely a fortress overshadowed by the city of Dülük, some 12 km to the north. Aintab came to prominence after an earthquake in the 14th century devastated Dülük. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant 634–638 AD, the region passed to the Umayyads in 661 AD and the Abbasids in 750. It was ravaged several times during the Arab–Byzantine wars. After the disintegration of the Abbasid dynasty, the city was ruled successively by the Tulunids, the Ikhshidids, and the Hamdanids. In 962, it was recaptured by the Byzantines, upon the expansion led by Nikephoros II Phokas. After Afshin Bey captured the fortress in 1067, Aintab fell to Seljuk rule and was administered by Seljuk emirs of Damascus. …
Geography
The city is located on the Aintab plateau. Gaziantep has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa, Trewartha: Cs), with very hot, dry summers and cool, wet and often snowy winters. According to 1966 data, on average, Gaziantep experiences 4.6 snowy days per winter with 10 days of snow cover, along with 2.5 days of hail. Highest recorded temperature: 44.0 °C (111.2 °F) on 29 July 2000 and 14 August 2023Lowest recorded temperature: −17.5 °C (0.5 °F) on 15 January 1950
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