Kadirli

:"For places in Azerbaijan, see Qədirli."Infobox Settlement

settlement_type = District
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = TUR
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
map_caption =Location of PAGENAME within Turkey.
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3

official_name = Kadirli
map2 =
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map1 =
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subdivision_type1=Region
subdivision_name1=Mediterranean
subdivision_type2=Province
subdivision_name2 = Osmaniye| population_total =
population_as_of =
population_footnotes =
population_density_km2 =
area_total_km2 = 1497|elevation_m = 95|latd = 36
latm = 23
latNS = N
longd = 36
longm = 05
longEW = E
postal_code =
area_code = 0328
blank_info = 80|blank_name=Licence plate
leader_name =
website = [http://www.kadirli.gov.tr www.kadirli.gov.tr]

Kadirli (formerly called Kars, and possibly the ancient Flaviasor Flaviopolis), is a town and district of Osmaniye Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. It is located in the Cilicia or Çukurova plain, convert|90|km|mi|0|abbr=on from the large city of Adana. Population is 81,417 (2007 census).

History

The Cilicia/Çukurova plain is rich farmland and is also a place of strategic importance on an important trade route between the Middle East and Anatolia. It has therefore been settled since the time of the Hittites and many civilisations have owned the land since: Assyrians, Romans (he Roman city of Flavius may have been located here), Byzantines, Armenians and finally Turks. The most prominent group of Turks to settle here were the Dulkadir lords, semi-autonomous barons during the Ottoman era, who ruled Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş and Hatay for two centuries. They were routed when the land was brought under Ottoman control by Selim I in 1522.

Kadirli was occupied by French forces at the end of the First World War under the terms of the armistice signed by the Ottoman Empire. The French forces were resisted by local elements and eventually withdrew from the town in March 1920. Kadirli was a district (ilçe) in Kozan province between 1923-1926 and in Adana Province between 1926-1995.

Kadirli today

Kadirli is a small town providing the basic infrastructure, such as shops and schools, to an area of rich farmland, which produces grain and 70% of Turkey's radishes. There are two reservoirs for irrigating the area. There is small scale industry.

In the summertime, families move to the uplands of Taurus Mountains adjacent to Kahramanmaraş because of hot weather in a general manner, also working people staying in town join their families in the weekends.In recent times, inhabitants also prefer to spend their summertime at the sea side in Yumurtalık and Mersin during hot season as an alternative of moving to plateau.

In Kadirli, there is a vocational college [ [http://www.cukurova.edu.tr/Content/Asp/English/cubilgi04.asp Çukurova University Academic Units] ] connected with the Cukurova University, Adana. The college offers two educational programs: Computer Programming and Industrial Electronics since 1997.

Places of interest

There are many archaeological and touristic sites nearby such as:
*Karatepe National Park [ [http://www.flickr.com/photos/efendi/sets/226074/detail/?page=2 Karatepe/Aslantas Neo-Hittite Open Air Museum] ] - 23km from Kadirli. The ruins of a walled city of the time of the Hittites. Discovered by archaeologists Halet Cambel and Helmut Bossert. Relics found here date from a late Hittite kingdom (8th century BC) and include vast historic tablets, statues and ruins, even a monumental gate and pillars of lions and sphinxs. The ruins even gave us inscriptions in Hittite and Phoenician, which have been used to decipher the Hittite language.
*The Alacami [ [http://museums.ncl.ac.uk/alacami/alacami.htm The Alacami] ] is the oldest surviving monument in Kadirli. Its remains display over a millennium and a half of local history in several building phases. In the late 5th / early 6th century the site was artificially terraced for the construction of a large basilical church, built in at least two stages from a variety of reused architectural elements and incorporating the hypogeum as a crypt. It later seems to have fallen into disuse until the medieval period when it was converted into an Armenian church. This involved some modification to the original structure and the addition of a small church that sits inside the former nave of the church and reuses the original apse. This small church was converted into a mosque in the late 15th century, and a minaret was attached to the original Byzantine structure.

ee also

*Kozan, Adana Kadirli's bitter rival, also claims to be Flavias.

References

External links

* [http://www.kadirli.gov.tr/ District governor's official website] tr icon
* [http://www.kadirli.bel.tr/ District municipality's official website] tr icon
* [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-312182/Karatepe Karatepe (archaeological site)]