Gaziantep Province 5.87

Gaziantep Province is a province in south-central Turkey. Its capital is the city of Gaziantep, which had a population of 1.931.836 in 2015. Its neighbours are Adıyaman to the north, Şanlıurfa to the east, Syria and Kilis to the south, Hatay to the southwest, Osmaniye to the west and Kahramanmaraş to the northwest.An important trading center since ancient times, the province is also one of Turkey's major manufacturing zones, and its agriculture is dominated by the growing of pistachio nuts.In ancient times, first the Hittites and later the Assyrians controlled the region. It saw much fighting during the Crusades, and Saladin won a key battle there in 1183. After World War I and the Ottoman Empire's disintegration, it was invaded by the forces of the French Third Republic during the Turkish War of Independence. It was returned to Turkish control after the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, formally ending hostilities between Turkey and the Allies of World War I.