Editing Urfa (section)

==Demographics==
===History===
The ethnic and religious demographics of the city have shifted over the centuries and were largely diverse. In ancient times, the region was mixed with [[Greeks]], [[Arabs]], [[Syrians]], and [[Armenians]].<ref name = "Buckingham"/> At the time of the [[First Crusade]], the majority of the population were either Armenian or [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]].

There was an ancient Jewish community in Urfa, with about 1,000 people by the 19th century. Most of them emigrated in 1896, fleeing the [[Hamidian massacres]], and settling mainly in Aleppo, Tiberias and Jerusalem.<ref name=vgm>{{Cite web |title=Kaza of Urfa / ܐܘܪܗܝ - Urhoy / Ուռհա - Urha / Ἔδεσσα - Edessa |url=https://virtual-genocide-memorial.de/region/ort-3/ort-33/mutesarrifat-sancak-of-urfa-%DC%90%DC%98%DC%AA%DC%97%DC%9D-urhoy-%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%BC%D5%B0%D5%A1-urha-%E1%BC%94%CE%B4%CE%B5%CF%83%CF%83%CE%B1-edessa/kaza-of-urfa-%DC%90%DC%98%DC%AA%DC%97%DC%9D-urhoy-%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%BC%D5%B0%D5%A1-urha-%E1%BC%94%CE%B4%CE%B5%CF%83%CF%83%CE%B1-edessa/ |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=Virtual Genocide Memorial |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1910, [[Ely Bannister Soane]] wrote that apart from Turkish [[effendi]]s, Urfa was populated by [[Arabs]], [[Kurds]] and a large number of [[Armenians]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soane |first=Ely Bannister |title=To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise |year=1910 |pages=46–47}}</ref> British forces reported a mixed pre-war population of [[Kurds]], [[Turkish people|Turks]] and 7,500 [[Armenians]].<ref name = "Brit">{{cite book |title=Military Report on Mesopotamia (Iraq) |year=1923 |page=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=62NBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA17 |access-date=28 October 2022}}</ref> The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople reported 25,000 to 30,000 Armenians in Urfa and its environs, on an overall population of 60,000.<ref name=vgm/> According to [[Agha Petros]], there were 7,200 [[Syriac Christianity|Syriacs]] in the city of Urfa, and 8,000 in ten surrounding villages.<ref name=vgm/> [[Joseph Tfinkdji]] reports 200 [[Chaldean Catholics|Chaldeans]].<ref name=vgm/> According to 1918 reports of the Urfa [[mutasarrif]]ate, there were 33,000 [[Turkish people|Turks]], 27,000 [[Kurds]], 12,000 [[Arabs]], 5,500 [[Armenians]], 3,000 [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], and 500 [[Jews]] in the central [[kaza]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aslan |first1=Ahmet |title=URFA'DA ASAYİŞ VE GÜVENLİK (1913–1918) |url=http://nek.istanbul.edu.tr:4444/ekos/TEZ/ET002813.pdf |website=İstanbul Üniversitesi |access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>

The [[Armenian genocide|Armenian]] and [[Sayfo|Assyrian Genocides]], undertaken by Ottoman troops and Ottoman-sponsored militias such as the [[Special Organization (Ottoman Empire)|special organization]],<ref>Bloxham, Donald (2003). "The Armenian Genocide of 1915–1916: Cumulative Radicalization and the Development of a Destruction Policy". Past & Present. 181 (181): 141–191.</ref> led to the slaughter, deportation,<ref name = "Brit"/> and ethnic cleansing of much of the Christian population of Urfa and the surrounding region. Following the establishment of the [[Turkey|Republic of Turkey]], most of the remaining non-Muslim population left the city due to continued persecution.<ref>Biner, Zerrin Özlem (2019), p371. States of Dispossession: Violence and Precarious Coexistence in Southeast Turkey</ref>

==== Language ====
In the early 19th century, the dominant language of the city was [[Turkish language|Turkish]],<ref>{{cite book |title=London Magazine, Volume 7 |date=1827 |location=London |page=546 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SUTaFrXiQiQC&pg=PA546 |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> while Armenian, Syriac, Kurdish, Arabic, and Persian were also spoken. Armenians were observed to speak Turkish to strangers, while Assyrians spoke Arabic.<ref name = "Buckingham">{{cite book |title=The Oriental Herald, and Journal of General Literature Vol. XII |date=1827 |location=London |pages=39, 40, 47, 48 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oRkYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA39 |access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref>

=== Present-day ===
Today, the city is mainly composed of [[Arabs]] and [[Kurds]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Çınar |title=The Decline of Democracy in Turkey: A Comparative Study of Hegemonic Party Rule |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2019 |isbn=9780367729233 |pages=102}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Muslu |first=Olcay |title=Music, Communities, Sustainability: Developing Policies and Practices |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2022 |editor-last=Schippers |editor-first=Huib |pages=124 |chapter=UNESCO-Based and UNESCO-Free: Governmental and Non-Governmental Efforts for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Turkey |editor-last2=Seeger |editor-first2=Anthony}}</ref> as well as [[Turkish people|Turks]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yavuz |first1=M. Hakan |title=Islamic Political Identity in Turkey |date=28 August 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-534770-8 |page=157 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqqxxm47ZVAC&pg=PA157 |access-date=28 October 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

==== Syrian refugees ====
{{see also|Refugees of the Syrian civil war in Turkey}}
Since the outbreak of the [[Syrian Civil War]], large numbers of refugees from Syria have settled in Urfa because of its closeness to the border and opportunities for employment.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|111–2}} As of 2017, as many as 300,000 Syrians live in Urfa, out of the total population of 750,000 in the province.<ref name="EB 2017">{{cite news |title=Ramadan Sidewalk Merchandise Displays: Job Opportunities for Syrians in Urfa |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2017/06/ramadan-sidewalk-merchandise-displays-job-opportunities-syrians-urfa/?so=related |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=[[Enab Baladi]] |date=21 June 2017}}</ref> As of 2014, about 79% of Syrian refugees in Urfa were Arabic-speakers, while the other 21% were Kurdish-speakers.<ref name="Hayata Destek 2014">{{cite book |title=Situation Report: An Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Şanlıurfa Province |date=2014 |publisher=Hayata Destek |url=https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/39769 |access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref>{{rp|7}}

In general, Syrians in Urfa have clustered in areas where home rental prices are lower; typical rents range from 600 to 900 liras (as of 2019).<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|112, 22}} These homes are often small, and often more than one nuclear family shares the same residence, so a 100-140-square-meter may accommodate 6–17 people.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|122}} Syrians with the lowest incomes are most heavily concentrated in run-down neighborhoods with a lot of [[squatting]] that were previously inhabited mostly by poor people who had moved to Urfa from the countryside.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|112}} Often, they are in outlying neighborhoods far from the city center.<ref name="EB Tarahum">{{cite news |title="Tarahum 2" Community Opens its Doors in the Turkish City of Urfa |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2017/11/tarahum-2-community-opens-doors-turkish-city-urfa/?so=related |access-date=30 November 2022 |work=Enab Baladi |date=9 October 2017}}</ref> The largest number of Syrians in Urfa are in the [[Haliliye]] district, where they are especially concentrated in the neighborhoods (''[[mahalle]]''s) of Devteşti, Ahmet Yesevi, Süleymaniye, Bağlarbaşı, Şehitlik, Cengiz Topel, Şair Nabi, Yeşildirek, İpekyolu, Sancaktar, İmam Bakır and Yavuz Selim.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|119}} The second-highest concentration is in [[Eyyübiye]], whose neighborhoods (''mahalle''s) with the highest concentrations of Syrians are Eyyüpnebi, Hayati Harrani, Eyüpkent, Akşemsettin, Yenice, Muradiye, Direkli and Kurtuluş.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|118–9}} In both cases, the Syrians here tend to prefer single-story residences where rents are not too high.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|118–9}} The third urban district of Urfa, [[Karaköprü]], has a much smaller Syrian presence.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|120}} This area has been built up significantly in recent decades, with lots of luxury multi-story residences with high rents preferred by middle- and high-income residents.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|120}} The Syrians who live here mostly had relatively high pre-war incomes.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|120}} They are clustered in Maşuk, Karşıyaka, Akbayır and Şenevler.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|120}} As of 2014, the largest concentrations of Syrians in the city were in the mahalles of Hayati Harrani (165 families), Bağlarbaşı (115), Devteşti (105), Ahmet Yesevi (91), and Eyyüpnebi (90 families).<ref name="Hayata Destek 2014"/>{{rp|10}}

Syrian refugees in Urfa often struggle with financial difficulties and unemployment.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|122}} The language barrier hinders integration into the surrounding community, and many Syrians tend to form their own communities and interact less with Turkish locals.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|122}} Many Syrians in Urfa run their own businesses; workplaces belonging to Syrian refugees are clustered around Şehit Nusret Caddesi and Atatürk Boulevard, Sarayönü and Divanyolu Streets, and Haşimiye Meydan.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|122}} Many Syrians are also self-employed as street vendors, selling food, clothes, toys, and other items.<ref name="EB 2017"/>

Before 2017, relations were relatively friendly between Syrians and Turks, but after 2017 relations began to deteriorate as there was a growing perception among Turks that Syrians were to blame for economic stagnation.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|122}} The rapid increase in Syrian-owned businesses in Urfa, depressed wages for workers, and a perception that Syrians are "cheap labor"  have all contributed to anti-Syrian sentiment among Turks.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|121}} Some Turks also resent the fact that Syrian refugees have free access to healthcare and education.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|112}} In July 2019, local authorities removed all Arabic-language signs on Syrian-owned businesses in Urfa and made Turkish-language signs mandatory.<ref name="Karademir and Doğan 2019"/>{{rp|122}}