| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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Sanl urfa |
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(shän´´l  r´fä) (KEY) , formerly Urfa (r´fä) (KEY) , city (1990 pop. 278,516), capital of Sanlurfa prov., SE Turkey. It is the trade center for a productive agricultural region and one of the most rapidly growing cities in Turkey due to its position in the midst of a large-scale irrigation development, with significant textile-related industries. The city was called Edessa until its incorporation in the Ottoman Empire in 1637. Its once large Christian population—mostly Armenian—suffered severe massacres in the late 19th cent. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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