Şanlıurfa Province

Şanlıurfa Province (Turkis: Şanlıurfa ili) or simply Urfa Province is a province in Sootheast Anatolie, Turkey. The ceety o Şanlıurfa is the caipital o the province which bears its name. The day Kurds forms the majority in this ceety, an anerlie a significant Assirie/Syriac community is livin thare. The population is 1,663,371 (2010 est). Population in 1990 wis 1,001,455; 551,124 in the destrict centers, 450,331 in rural veelages. Bi 2000, the population o Şanlıurfa province haed grown tae 1,436,956 an that o Şanlıurfa ceety, 829,000. Destricts Şanlıurfa province is dividit intae 11 destricts (caipital destrict in bauld): Akçakale Birecik Bozova Ceylanpınar Halfeti Harran Hilvan Şanlıurfa Siverek Suruç Viranşehir Geography Aurie 18,584 km² (7,173 sq. mile), the lairgest province o Sootheast Anatolie wi: Adıyaman tae the north; Sirie tae the sooth; Mardin an Diyarbakır tae the east; Gaziantep tae the wast; Şanlıurfa includes several major components o the Southeastern Anatolia Project (in Turkis Güneydogu Anadolu Projesi (GAP)) designed tae: exploit the hydropouer potential o the Tigris an Euphrates Rivers; dramatically expand irrigation for agricultur; an develop the economy o the region. This vera lairge-scale, state-sponsored development project involved the dammin, redirectin, hydroelectric tappin an ither utilization o rivers in this broad, semi-arid region. (The rivers then flow intae Sirie an Iraq). The GAP project includes 22 dams, hunders o mile o irrigation wirks. Even afore GAP, Şanlıurfa Province haed the lairgest share o cultivatit an cultivable land in the GAP region, due tae its flatness an heichlie fertile, agricultural land. The Şanlıurfa an Harran Plains extend ower an aurie o aboot 1,500 km² (579 sq. mile). Irrigatin these plains is ane o the maist important components o GAP. Accordin tae the 1990 census, Şanlıurfa Province contained 148,521 hoosehaulds, an the average hoosehauld size wis 6.74 fowk. 71 % o hoosehauld heids describit thair occupation as fermin. In 1992, Şanlıurfa haed the heichest concentration o land awnership in Turkey, wi a landless rate o 48%. While 5% o the families in the province awned 65% o the land, the vast majority (70%) awned anerlie 10%. Şanlıurfa’s average annual growth rate atween 1985 an 1990 wis 4.6%, considerably heicher than baith the naitional an regional averages. History See Şanlıurfa an Edessa, Mesopotamie. Politics The politics o Şanlıurfa Province are still widely shaped bi the electoral adherence o a nummer o Zaza clans (aşiret). In pairticular, the destricts alang the Euphrates river hae lang been a pouer base for the traditional center-richt DYP, umwhile unner Süleyman Demirel an Mrs. Tansu Çiller, an nou unner ex-chief o polis Mr. Mehmet Ağar. Turkey's rulin AKP did come first in 2004 local elections wi a comfortable 43.04 %, but the DYP, currently oot o parliament, seems tae be recoverin unner the new leadership o Mr. Ağar, who is kent for his intimacy wi the local feudal structures. Hintle effort is deployed bi DEHAP, campaignin on Kurdish-identity consciousness arguments, tae attract clan votes, but this is complicatit bi polemics o the definitions o a Kurdish an a destinct Zaza identity. Several clans wur at the forefront o the struggle against PKK terrorism in the 1980s an the 1990s. Still, DEHAP registered some success in 2004 local elections, comin seicont in the province wi 16.95 %, risin frae 12,06 % in 1999, wi a faithful electorate in the twa destricts borderin Diyarbakır Province. DEHAP tradeetionally avoids the districts borderin Sirie an populatit bi ethnic Arabs, whaur thay did no even name candidates for the 2004 elections. MHP, campaignin on Turkis-identity consciousness arguments, efter haein scored an exceptional 7,18 % in 1999, haes in 2004 ebbed back tae a mair uisual 2,97 %. The center-left CHP uisually obtains a modest share, slichtly ablo 10%. The current mayor o Sanliurfa is Dr. Ahmet Eşref FAKIBABA, a umwhile general surgeon who haes helped renovate the ceety an bring it up tae a cleaner an structured level. He is kent for strang poseetion against clan govrenance. He haes helped bring transparency, dedication, an honesty back tae the entire ceety. References Freemit airtins Wabsteid o the Ceety o Sanliurfa