Urfa

For other uses, see Urfa (disambiguation). For the province, see Şanlıurfa Province.

Urfa
City
Şanlıurfa
[[File:Rizvaniye Mosque Balıklıgöl 03.jpg|0px|alt=Rizvaniye Mosque]] Clockwise from top: View of Urfa, Urfa Castle, Ayn Zeliha, St. Johannes Prodromos Addai Church, Rizvaniye Mosque
Emblem of Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality
Nicknames:  "City of Prophets", "Urfa the Glorious"
Urfa Location within Turkey Urfa Location within Near East
Coordinates: 37°09′30″N 38°47′30″E
Country	Turkey
Province	Şanlıurfa
Founded	303/302 BC
Founder	Seleucus I Nicator
Government
• Mayor	Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar (Ind.)
• Governor	Abdullah Erin
Elevation	477 m (1,565 ft)
Population  (2022)
• Urban	596,637
Time zone	UTC+3 (TRT)
Website	www.sanliurfa.bel.tr

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Urfa, (Kurdish: Riha) officially called Şanlıurfa (Turkish pronunciation: [ʃanˈɫɯuɾfa] lit. 'Urfa the Glorious'), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km (50 mi) east of the Euphrates. Its climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters.

About 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city is the famous Neolithic site of Göbekli Tepe, the world's oldest known temple, which was founded in the 10th millennium BC. The area was part of a network of the first human settlements where the agricultural revolution took place. Because of its association with Jewish, Christian, and Islamic history, and a legend recounting that it was the hometown of Abraham, Urfa is nicknamed the City of Prophets.

Religion is important in Urfa. The city "has become a center of fundamentalist Islamic beliefs" and "is considered one of the most devoutly religious cities in Turkey".

The city is located 30 miles from the Atatürk Dam, at the heart of the Southeast Anatolia Project, which draws thousands of job-seeking villagers to the city every year.