Kilis

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Kilis
Municipality
Kilis city center
Kilis city center
Kilis is located in Turkey
Kilis
Kilis
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country Turkey
Province Kilis
Government
 • Mayor Hasan Kara (AKP)
Area[1]
 • District 575.18 km2 (222.08 sq mi)
Population (2012)[2]
 • Urban 85,119
 • District 99,056
 • District density 170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Website www.kilis.bel.tr

Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province.

History and population

Kilis is a Turkish city and was part of the Aleppo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire until the First World War, after which it passed to the Republic of Turkey. There was also an Armenian and Jewish community.[3]

The population of the town was 20,000 in 1927, 45,000 in 1970, 60,000 in 1980 and 85,000 in 1990. It then fell in the 1990s to 70,000 by 2000. The population was 82,109 in 2010.

Being a border town, Kilis has long had a reputation for smuggling and drug trafficking. Although this has apparently been reduced, even today cigarettes, spirits and cheap electrical items can be bought for cash at low prices.

The local kebab known as Kilis Kebabi is renowned, and also the breads, baklava and stuffed vegetables.

Geography

The Öncüpınar Syrian border crossing is 5 km (3 mi) to the south and the large city of Gaziantep is 60 km (37 mi) to the north. Indeed, until 1996 Kilis was a district of Gaziantep, being made into a province by Tansu Çiller following an open vote-winning gambit in the 1995 general election.

Education

Kilis 7 Aralık University is located in Kilis and has around 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all around the world.

Kilis 7 Aralık University Main Gate
Logo of Kilis 7 Aralık University
File:K7AU Main Campus.jpg
Kilis 7 Aralık University campus

Places of interest

Sights in the town include a number of Ottoman era mosques and stone houses with courtyards and elaborate carved wooden fittings.

Mosques

  • Canbolat or Tekke, built in the 16th century.[4]
  • Muallak, built in the 16th century.[4]
  • Haci Dervis, built in 1551.[4]
  • Seyhler or Seyh Suleyman, built in 1655.[4]
  • Hindioglu, built in 1664.[4]
  • Çalik, built in 1683.[4]
  • Akcurun, built in the 16th or 17th century.[4]
  • Ulu, first built in 1339 but rebuilt in 1929.[4]
  • Seyh, built in 1569.[4]
  • Seyh Hilal, the minaret was built in 1641.[4]
  • Katranci or Alacali, the present structure was rebuilt in 1962.[4]
  • Murtaza, built in 1659 repaired in 1948.[4]
  • Seyh Seveden, built in 1677.[4]
  • Cüneyne, built in 1569.[4]
  • Kadi, rebuild in 1822.[4]

Climate

Kilis has a hot summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa), with very hot, dry and long summers and cool and rainy winters, with occasional snowfall.

Climate data for Kilis
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.9
(69.6)
22.5
(72.5)
28.8
(83.8)
35.4
(95.7)
40.2
(104.4)
41.0
(105.8)
44.2
(111.6)
45.0
(113)
41.4
(106.5)
36.4
(97.5)
29.6
(85.3)
25.7
(78.3)
45
(113)
Average high °C (°F) 9.7
(49.5)
11.4
(52.5)
15.9
(60.6)
21.2
(70.2)
27.3
(81.1)
32.6
(90.7)
36.0
(96.8)
36.0
(96.8)
32.6
(90.7)
26.3
(79.3)
17.8
(64)
11.4
(52.5)
23.18
(73.72)
Average low °C (°F) 2.2
(36)
3.1
(37.6)
6.0
(42.8)
10.0
(50)
14.4
(57.9)
18.4
(65.1)
21.2
(70.2)
21.2
(70.2)
18.6
(65.5)
14.3
(57.7)
8.2
(46.8)
3.8
(38.8)
11.78
(53.22)
Record low °C (°F) −11.0
(12.2)
−8.4
(16.9)
−6.8
(19.8)
−1.3
(29.7)
5.4
(41.7)
10.0
(50)
14.6
(58.3)
13.2
(55.8)
10.2
(50.4)
1.5
(34.7)
−3.5
(25.7)
−8.0
(17.6)
−11
(12.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 84.8
(3.339)
73.7
(2.902)
69.2
(2.724)
49.9
(1.965)
25.5
(1.004)
7.4
(0.291)
1.2
(0.047)
2.8
(0.11)
5.9
(0.232)
33.8
(1.331)
58.4
(2.299)
88.1
(3.469)
500.7
(19.713)
Average rainy days 12 11 11 9 6 2 0 0 2 5 8 12 78
Average relative humidity (%) 71 69 63 60 52 40 34 35 43 54 64 70 54.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 130.2 140.0 195.3 231.0 288.3 339.0 359.6 344.1 300.0 235.6 168.0 120.9 2,852
Source #1: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü [1]
Source #2: Weather2 [2]

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Avotaynu: the international review of Jewish genealogy, Volume 14, G. Mokotoff, 1998, p. 40.
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links