Gaziantep
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Gaziantep is the seat of Gaziantep Province in Turkey. With a population of 853,512 'n 2000, it is the largest city in the Turkey's Southeast Anatolia region.
Most modern scholars agree that Gaziantep is the site of the Hellenistic city of Antiochia ad Taurum ("Antiochia in the Taurus Mountains"). The city was known by the Arabs and Seljuks as Aintab or Aïntab. A few km to the north are the ruins of Greek and Roman Doliche (Turkish: Dülük).
Gaziantep is one of the most developed provinces of the region and is also one of the oldest, its history reaching as far back as the Hittites. Being the center of pistachio nut cultivation in Turkey and with its extensive olive groves and vineyards, Gaziantep is one of the important agricultural and industrial centres of Turkey.
In the center of the city stands the Gaziantep Fortress and the Ravanda citadel as the reminders of past. The Archaeological Museum, with its important collections from Neolithic and the Hittite ages as well as the Roman and Commagene times, attracts many visitors. The surroundings of the city are also full of valuable Hittite remains. The Hasan Süzer House, which has been restored to its original beauty, now houses the Ethnographical Museum. The Yesemek Sculpture Workshop, 30 kilometers south of the town of Islahiye, is one of the world's first of this kind. Some of the other historical remains are the Belkis (Zeugma), and Kargamış Ruins by the town of Nizip. Dülük, which is close to the city center, has camping facilities in a natural setting.
Gaziantep is famous for its regional specialties: the copper-ware products, region specific slippers yemeni, the delicious lahmacun (a kind of pizza) and the sweet pastry baklava.
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