Kahramanmaraş

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)
Kahramanmaraş
A view of the city center
Kahramanmaraş is located in Turkey
Kahramanmaraş
Location of Kahramanmaraş within Turkey.
Coordinates: 37°35′N 36°56′E / 37.583°N 36.933°E / 37.583; 36.933
Country Turkey
Region Mediterranean
Province Kahramanmaraş
Area[1]
 • District 3,017.45 km2 (1,165.04 sq mi)
Elevation 67 m (220 ft)
Population (2012)[2]
 • Urban 443,575
 • District 558,664
 • District Density Bad rounding here190/km2 (Bad rounding here480/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code
Area code(s) 0344
Licence plate 46
City and province of Kahramanmaraş
The minaret of Grand Mosque of Kahramanmaras (Kahramanmaraş Ulu Camii), one of the city's many historic mosques

Kahramanmaraş (Kurdish: Gurgum) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province . The city lies on a plain at the foot of the Ahır Dağı (Ahır Mountain) and has a population of 430.000 as of 2011. The region is best known for its production of salep, a flour made from dried orchid tubers, and its distinctive ice cream. It is connected by air to Istanbul and Ankara. Turkish Airlines has daily direct flights from İstanbul and also Anadolu Jet operates direct flights from Ankara.

Contents

History [edit]

Kahramanmaraş was called Germanicia Caesarea (Γερμανίκεια, Germanikeia, in Greek) in the time of the Roman and Byzantine empires. (According to an article published in newspaper Cumhuriyet on 20 December 2010, the first ruins of Germanicia have already been unearthed in the Dulkadiroğulları quarters of the city.[3])

In 645, Germanicia was taken from the Byzantines by the Muslim Arabs, to whom the city was known as Marʻash (Arabic: مرعش [ˈmarʕaʃ]), which is also the Syriac name (Syriac: ܡܪܥܫ). Mar'ash was an important Syrian Orthodox diocese. Mor Dionysius Bar Salibi (died 1171) was its bishop.

Over the next three centuries, Mar'ash belonged to the fortified Arab-Byzantine frontier zone (Thughur) and was used as a base for incursions into Byzantine-held Asia Minor by the Arabs. It was destroyed several times during the Arab-Byzantine Wars. It was rebuilt by the Umayyad caliph Muawiya I and was expanded ca. 800 by the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. The city was also controlled by the Tulunids, Ikhshidids and Hamdanids before the Byzantines under Nikephoros Phokas recovered it in 962.

After the defeat of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Philaretos Brachamios, a former Byzantine general, founded a principality centred on the city, which stretched from Antioch to Edessa.

Germanikeia was captured by Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1098 during First Crusade and was part of County of Edessa. It was an important centre during Crusaders rule. According to the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa, it was destroyed by an earthquake and 10,000 people were killed, which is probably an exaggeration. In 1100, it was captured by Danishmends and by Seljuks in 1103. But in 1107 Crusaders retook it with aid from Byzantine. In 1135, Danishmends besieged Germanikeia unsuccessfully but they captured it next year. However, Crusaders retook it in 1137.[4] Baldwin of Germanikeia died in a war in 1146. He was trying recover Edessa Nur ad-Din Zangi which had taken the side of Joscelin II of Edessa. His successor, Reynald of Germanikeia also died in battle of Inab against Zengids and Mesud I, Sultan of Rum took the city in 1149.

Maraş was captured by Zengids in 1151 but recaptured by Seljuks in 1152. But, Maraş was recaptured by Zengids in 1173 and was left to Mleh, his collaborator. Maraş passed to Seljuks in 1174 and to Ayyubids in 1182.

View along Trabzon Avenue (Trabzon Caddesi)

Kaykhusraw I, Sultan of Rum captured Maraş in 1208. Seljuk rule lasted to 1258. In 1258, Maraş fell to the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, following the invasion of Anatolia by the Ilkhanate. Maraş was left to Armenians on condition that he be a vassal of the Mongols. Maraş was captured by Al-Ashraf Khalil, Mamluk Sultan in 1292. But, it was recaptured by Hethum II, King of Cilician Armenia in 1299. Maraş finally passed to the Mamluks in 1304.

Maraş was ruled by Dulkadirs, as vassals of Mamluks between 1337-1515 before being annexed to the Ottoman Empire. In the early days of Ottoman rule (1525-6) there were 1,557 adult males (total population 7,500), at this time all the inhabitants were muslims.[5] Later a substantial number of non muslims immigrated into the city mainly in the 19th century.[6] Ottoman rule, the city was at first centre of Eyalet of Dulkadir (Also called Eyalet of Zûlkâdiriyye) before first half of 19th century, later in was a sanjak centre in the Vilayet of Aleppo before 1918. It was occupied first by British troops between 22 February 1919 and 30 October 1919, after by French ones after signing Armistice of Mudros. It was liberated from French occupation after Battle of Marash in 13 February 1920.

Until 1973, Kahranmanmaraş was known as Maraş, pronounced Marash. It received its modern name on October 7, 1973, when the Grand National Assembly of Turkey added "Kahraman" to the name. The addition of "Kahraman" ("Hero" in Turkish) was in commemoration of the victory against French forces during the Battle of Maraş in the Turkish War of Independence. After the war, Maraş also received the Turkish Medal of Independence, given to the city as a whole for such actions as the Sütçü İmam Incident.

In December 1978, Kahramanmaraş was the site of a massacre of leftist Alevis. A Sunni nationalist group, the Grey Wolves, incited the violence that left over 105 dead. The incident was important in the Turkish government's decision to declare martial law, and the eventual military coup in 1980.[7]

Year Population[8]
1525-6 7500
1564-5 13500
1914 32700
1927 25672
1940 27744
1945 33104
1950 34641
1960 54447
1970 110761
1980 178557

Climate [edit]

Kahramanmaraş has a mediterranean climate. Summers are hot and dry with an average of 35°C (95°F) but can go higher than +40°C (104°F). The highest recorded temperature being 45.2°C (113.36°F) on 30 July 2007. Winters are cold and damp with temperatures ranging from 0-5°C (32-41°F). The coldest temperature recorded was -9.6°C (14.72°F) on 6 February 1997.

Climate data for Kahramanmaraş
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.7
(65.7)		 21.8
(71.2)		 29.2
(84.6)		 36.0
(96.8)		 38.0
(100.4)		 42.0
(107.6)		 45.2
(113.4)		 44.4
(111.9)		 41.3
(106.3)		 37.2
(99)		 27.2
(81)		 24.0
(75.2)		 45.2
(113.4)
Average high °C (°F) 9.1
(48.4)		 10.9
(51.6)		 15.7
(60.3)		 21.1
(70)		 26.7
(80.1)		 31.9
(89.4)		 35.6
(96.1)		 35.9
(96.6)		 32.4
(90.3)		 25.8
(78.4)		 17.2
(63)		 10.9
(51.6)		 22.77
(72.98)
Average low °C (°F) 1.3
(34.3)		 2.2
(36)		 5.6
(42.1)		 9.9
(49.8)		 14.2
(57.6)		 18.9
(66)		 22.1
(71.8)		 22.2
(72)		 18.4
(65.1)		 12.9
(55.2)		 6.8
(44.2)		 3.1
(37.6)		 11.47
(52.64)
Record low °C (°F) −7.8
(18)		 −9.6
(14.7)		 −7.6
(18.3)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 5.0
(41)		 11.0
(51.8)		 15.6
(60.1)		 16.0
(60.8)		 8.6
(47.5)		 2.2
(36)		 −4.4
(24.1)		 −7.6
(18.3)		 −9.6
(14.7)
Precipitation mm (inches) 125.4
(4.937)		 112.3
(4.421)		 94.8
(3.732)		 76.1
(2.996)		 39.3
(1.547)		 7.4
(0.291)		 2.5
(0.098)		 1.5
(0.059)		 9.3
(0.366)		 53.1
(2.091)		 93.5
(3.681)		 129.2
(5.087)		 744.4
(29.306)
Avg. rainy days 12.4 12.2 12.3 11.6 8.1 2.7 1.5 1.3 2.7 6.7 9.1 12.1 92.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 108.5 117.6 173.6 204 263.5 312 341 319.3 273 213.9 135 102.3 2,563.7
Source: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü [9]

Industry [edit]

The Covered Market (Kapalı Çarşı) of the Kahramanmaraş

Kahramanmaraş's industry is mainly based on textile and ice cream. Kahramanmaraş is one of the biggest textile industry cities of Turkey. Companies like Kipaş, İskur, Arsan and Bozkurt are one of the richest companies in the city. Also, many of the American clothing companies like Aéropostale and American Eagle are supplying their yarns from Kahramanmaraş.

Some of the internationally-known ice-cream companies like MADO, Yaşar Pastanesi, EDO and Ferah Pastanesi started their business in this ice-cream city and thousands of people visit Kahramanmaraş, just because of its ice-cream (dondurma in Turkish).

The town was (and may still be) the home town of the 172nd Armoured Brigade of the Turkish Second Army.

Sports [edit]

The city has a local football team called; Kahramanmaraşspor which plays in the Turkish 2nd Division league. Kahramanmaraşspor plays its home games in Hanefi Mahçiçek Stadium. Some famous Turkish players like Mehmet Özdilek and Kemalettin Şentürk played in Kahramanmaraşspor before transferring to bigger clubs.

Notable natives [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05. 
  2. ^ "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27. 
  3. ^ Cumhuriyet , 20.December 2010 p.20
  4. ^ http://www.k-maras.com/a_dos/t_gelisimi.htm
  5. ^ The Supreme Muslim Council: Islam Under the British Mandate for Palestine, Uri M. Kupferschmidt, page 508
  6. ^ The Supreme Muslim Council: Islam Under the British Mandate for Palestine, Uri M. Kupferschmidt, page 508-509
  7. ^ Zurcher, Eric. "Turkey: A Modern History". I.B. Tauris: London, 1993: 276-277
  8. ^ The Supreme Muslim Council: Islam Under the British Mandate for Palestine, Uri M. Kupferschmidt, page 508 - 509
  9. ^ "İl ve İlçelerimize Ait İstatistiki Veriler- Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü". Meteor.gov.tr. Retrieved 2013-01-01. 

External links [edit]

 This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (July 2011)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kahramanmaraş&oldid=554903323"