Gaziantep, previously and as still used informally; Antep), is the capital city of Gaziantep Province in Turkey. It is considered to be among the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. The city has two central districts under its administration, Şahinbey and Şehitkamil, and the metropolitan area has a total population of 1,237,874 (2007) and an area of 2,138 km².
Known by the ancient Greeks and the Romans as Doliche or Dolichenus (Turkish: Dülük), and by the Arabs, Seljuks, and Ottomans as ʿAintab or Aïntab, officially named Gaziantep since February 8, 1921, the city today is the sixth largest in Turkey and the largest city in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region. |
