Gaziantep
Cityscape

The historical core of Gaziantep is located on the Alleben Creek to the north and with heights to the south. The location of the city among these heights was likely because of their defensibility.

Historically, the main trade axis was the route from the castle then going southeast along the road to Aleppo. A number of hans were built along this street. Due to the hot climate, the city's streets were very narrow in order to maximize shade from the buildings. Orientation of buildings was important so they could not see into each other's courtyards (an important private space, especially for women) and so that they would not block sunlight from neighboring houses.

Generally, the city's population was organized according to ethno-religious groups who lived close together in the same neighborhood. Around the time of World War I, the city's population was divided between Muslims in the east and non-Muslims (mostly Armenians) in the west. Muslims lived in the Karagöz, Çukur, Tıslaki, and Şekeroğlu districts; Armenians lived in the Akyol and Bey districts; and Jews lived in the Düğmeci and Karagöz districts.

An early city planning effort took place in 1891 under Mustafa Ağa, the first mayor of Gaziantep, involving a city plan and province map. According to Kuyucu and Özer, though, the resulting maps and plans are unavailable. Another early city plan for Gaziantep was drawn up by Barsumyan and Nazaryan in the early 1920s, during the Turkish War of Independence. The Barsumyan-Nazaryan plan included an airport for the city but omitted any railway connections. During this period, because the Jewish and Armenian communities had left the city during the war period, the city did not expand into new areas; instead, now-vacant neighborhoods were used to meet new demand.
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