Eskişehir

Eskişehir
—  City  —
Eskişehir Location of Eskişehir
Coordinates: 39°47′N 30°31′E
Country	Turkey
Region	Central Anatolia
Province	Eskişehir
Government
• Mayor	Yılmaz Büyükerşen (CHP)
• Governor	Kadir Koçdemir
Area
• City	2,678.00 km2 (1,033.98 sq mi)
Elevation	788 m (2,585 ft)
Population (2010)Tuik.gov
• Density	236/km2 (610/sq mi)
• Urban	629.609
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	26 xxx
Area code(s)	(+90) 222
Licence plate	26
Website	http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr/

Night view of the Tepebaşı neighbourhood in winter.

Estram, the city's tram service.

Eskişehir (pronounced [esˈciʃehiɾ]) (Latin: Dorylaeum; Ancient Greek: Δορύλαιον, Dorýlaion) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. According to the 2009 census, the population of the city is 631,905. The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby hills one can find hot springs. The city is 233 km (145 mi) to the west of Ankara, 330 km (205 mi) to the southeast of Istanbul and 78 km (48 mi) to the northeast of Kütahya. Known as a university town, both Eskişehir Osmangazi University and Anadolu University (which has one of the largest student enrollments in the world) are based in Eskişehir. The province covers an area of 2,678 km² (1,034 sq mi).

History

The name Eskişehir literally means Old City in Turkish; indeed, the city was founded by the Phrygians in about 1000 BC. Many Phrygian artifacts and sculptures can still be found in the city's archeological museum. There is also a museum of meerschaum stone, whose production remains still notable, used to make high quality meerschaum pipes. In the fourth century AD the city moved about ten km northeast, from Karacahisar to Şehirhöyük.

Whenever it was mentioned by ancient geographers, the city was described as one of the most beautiful in Anatolia.

As with many towns in Anatolia, Christianity arrived after Constantine the Great made it the official religion of the Roman Empire. Beginning in the 4th century, records exist of bishops holding office in Eskişehir. The city was known as Dorylaeum in that period. One of these bishops, Eusebius, was heavily involved in shaping the evolving dogma of the church.

Economy

Modern-day Eskişehir is one of Turkey's foremost industrial cities. Traditionally dependent on flour milling and brickyards, the city expanded with the building of railway workshops in 1894 for work on the Berlin-Baghdad Railway.

Devrim, the first Turkish automobile, was produced in 1961 at the TÜLOMSAŞ factory in Eskişehir.

Eskişehir was also the site of Turkey's first aviation industry (Aeronautical Supply Maintenance Centre) and its air base was the command center of Turkey's first Tactical Air Force headquarters on NATO's southern flank during the Cold War.

Eskişehir boasts many modern industries: production of trucks, home appliances, railway locomotives, fighter aircraft engines, agricultural equipment, textiles, brick, cement, chemicals, processed meerschaum and refined sugar.

Eti, one of Turkey's largest food brands (mostly producing biscuit, chocolate and candy varieties) is based in Eskişehir.

Arçelik, a major Turkish home appliances and consumer electronics manufacturer, has one of its production plants in Eskişehir.

Attractions

Most of modern-day Eskişehir was rebuilt after the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922), but a number of historic buildings remain, such as the Kurşunlu Cami Mosque. The archaeological site of the ancient Phrygian city of Dorylaeum is close to Eskişehir. The city is noted for its natural hot sulphur springs.

Education

There are two universities in Eskişehir. These are the Anadolu University and Eskişehir Osmangazi University. The current Metropolitan Mayor of Eskişehir, Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Büyükerşen, was formerly the rector of the Anadolu University.

Culture

The city has a significant population of Turkic Crimean Tatars. It also attracted ethnic Turks emigrating from Balkan countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Sandžak who contributed to the development of the city's metalworking industries.

Climate

Eskişehir has a continental climate, with cold, snowy winters with an average of 0 °C (32.0 °F) and hot, dry summers averaging at 30 °C (86.0 °F). Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn. Under Köppen's climate classification Eskişehir features a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). Due to Eskişehir's high altitude and its dry summers, nightly temperatures in the summer months are cool. Precipitation levels are low, but precipitation can be observed throughout the year.

Climate data for Eskişehir
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	3.8 (38.8)	6.2 (43.2)	11.2 (52.2)	16.4 (61.5)	21.8 (71.2)	25.9 (78.6)	28.9 (84.0)	29.2 (84.6)	25.0 (77.0)	19.8 (67.6)	12.4 (54.3)	5.5 (41.9)	17.18 (62.92)
Average low °C (°F)	−4.1 (24.6)	−3.9 (25.0)	−1.5 (29.3)	2.8 (37.0)	6.9 (44.4)	10.4 (50.7)	13.1 (55.6)	13.0 (55.4)	8.4 (47.1)	4.4 (39.9)	0.3 (32.5)	−2 (28)	3.98 (39.17)
Precipitation mm (inches)	39.8 (1.567)	28.7 (1.13)	31.5 (1.24)	43.2 (1.701)	44.2 (1.74)	25.9 (1.02)	12.7 (0.5)	9.4 (0.37)	15.6 (0.614)	30.4 (1.197)	34.5 (1.358)	44.0 (1.732)	359.9 (14.169)
Avg. rainy days	12.9	11.4	11.3	11.5	10.3	7.2	3.7	3.2	4.7	8.3	9.9	12.8	107.2
Avg. snowy days	10	9	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	6	34
Sunshine hours	77.5	140.6	158.1	183	260.4	309	353.4	331.7	267	186	123	65.1	2,454.8
Source no. 1: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü
Source no. 2: Weather2

Sports

Club	Sport	Established	League	Venue
Eskişehirspor	Football	1965	Turkcell Super League (Turkish Premier Division)	Eskişehir Atatürk Stadium
Anadolu University	Basketball	?	Turkish Basketball League 2	Anadolu University Sports Hall

Image gallery

• 

  Tepebaşı Municipality
• 

  Museum of glassware arts
• 

  Haller Youth Center
• 

  Old houses in Odunpazarı
• 

  A view from downtown

Notable natives

• Battal Gazi - 8th century Muslim saint buried in Seyitgazi
• Yunus Emre - 13th century Turkish folk poet
• Sheik Edebali - 13th century religious leader, spiritual founder of the Ottoman Empire
• Nasreddin Hoca - 13th century Philosopher,
• Behiç Erkin - Turkish Schindler, first director (1920–1926) of the Turkish State Railways, Minister of Public Works (1926–1928), Turkish Ambassador (Budapest 1928-1939, Paris and Vichy 1939-1943)
• Yakup Satar - last Turkish veteran of the First World War
• Orhan Oğuz - Professor, founder and first Rector of Marmara University, Author
• Fahrettin Kerim Gökay - Professor, former Mayor of Istanbul (1949–1957), former Turkish Ambassador (Bern), former Minister of State
• Yılmaz Büyükerşen - Professor, Metropolitan Mayor of Eskişehir, Reporter, Columnist, Caricaturist, Editor, former Rector of Anadolu University, former member of RTYK, Professional Wax Sculptor
• Cüneyt Arkın - Actor, Doctor in Medicine,
• Eqrem Çabej - Linguist and scholar
• Serpil Çakmaklı - Actress
• Melis Birkan - Actress
• Zeki Sezer - former Leader of the Democratic Left Party DSP, Chemical Engineer, Minister of State (57th government)
• Hasan Polatkan - Politician
• Mehmet Terzi - Long-Distance Runner
• Ömer Çatkıç - Football Goalkeeper
• Neslihan Demir Darnel - Volleyball Player
• İpek Şenoğlu - Tennis Player
• Ersan İlyasova - Basketball Player
• Kerem Gönlüm - Basketball Player
• Emin Boztepe - Martial Artist
• Mithat Körler - Singer, Song-Writer
• Asya (singer) - Pop Singer, Song-Writer
• Ertugrul Algan - Lecturer, Photographer, Author
• Nazmi Ağıl - Lecturer, Poet
• Nur İpek Önder - Author, Poet
• Tuna Kiremitçi - Author, Poet, Columnist, Composer
• Enis Batur - Author, Lecturer
• Nuri Alço - Movie Star

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Turkey

Twin towns — Sister cities

Eskişehir is twinned with:

Paju, South Korea Kazan, Russia Changzhou, China Simferopol, Ukraine Berlin, Germany Chişinau, Moldova Paterson, United States See also Anadolu University Eskişehir Osmangazi University Meerschaum Boron [1] Notes References Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.. "Geographical information on Eskişehir, Turkey". http://www.fallingrain.com/world/TU/26/Eskisehir.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.  Municipality of Eskişehir, Turkey. "General information on Eskişehir". http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr/esk_taniyin/esk2.html. Retrieved 2008-04-03.  External links Wikitravel article on Eskişehir Eskişehir Internet/Web Portal Eskişehir Internet Portal District governor's official website (Turkish) Map of Eskişehir central district District municipality's official website (Turkish) Eskişehir Police Headquarters (Turkish) Local information website (Turkish) Eskişehir Photo Gallery (Turkish) Local information website with Panaromic Photos (Turkish) Information about Eskişehir (Turkish) The best information about the "Highlands of Phrygia" from the author of "Phrygia: The Land of King Midas" (Turkish)