Kilis Province

Kilis Province

Kilis Province
Kilis ili
—  Province of Turkey  —
Location of Kilis Province in Turkey
Country Turkey
Region Mediterranean
Capital Kilis
Area
 - Total 1,642 km2 (634 sq mi)
Population (2010-12-31)
 - Total 123,135
 - Density 75/km2 (194.2/sq mi)
Area code(s) 0348
Vehicle registration 79
Website kilis.gov.tr

Kilis Province (Turkish: Kilis ili ) is a province in south-central Turkey. It used to be the southern part of the province of Gaziantep and was formed in 1994. The town of Kilis is home to around 67% of the inhabitants of the province, the other towns and villages are very small.

Contents

History

There is evidence of human occupation from 4,000 years ago, in the Middle Bronze Age. The region has been ruled by the Hurrians, the Assyrian Empire, the Hittite Empire, the Persian Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Roman Empire (including the Byzantine Empire), and finally by Ottoman Empire.

Places of historical interest include a number of burial mounds, castles and mosques.

Geography

Kilis is located in the southern foothills of the Taurus Mountains west of the Euphrates River on the northern edge of the Syria Plain. The district contains areas of good agricultural land, watered by small rivers and 68% of the land area of Kilis is planted. Almost 4% of Turkey's grape production comes from Kilis. Other important agricultural products are olives, fruit, wheat, barley and tobacco. A Mediterranean climate dominates over the region, which is around 60 to 80 km away from the sea. Winters are cool and rainy, spring and fall months warm, and summers are hot. Average winter temperatures are 4 to 7 degrees Celsius, while in summer the temperatures do not fall under 25 degrees Celsius.

There is a border crossing into Syria, from where the road goes south to the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Kilis is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Prominent citizens

  • Former chief-of-staff General Doğan Güreş was later Member of Parliament for Kilis.
  • Army general İzettin İyigün was born in Kilis (1938).
  • Columnist and beauty contest judge Hıncal Uluç was born in Kilis (1939).

Districts

Kilis province is divided into 4 districts (capital district in bold):

  • Elbeyli
  • Kilis
  • Musabeyli
  • Polateli

  1. ^ Turkish Statistical Institute, MS Excel document – Population of province/district centers and towns/villages and population growth rate by provinces

Coordinates: 36°48′03″N 37°07′26″E / 36.80083°N 37.12389°E / 36.80083; 37.12389

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