Gaziantep, Turkey

The citadel, or cale, of Gaziantep sits atop a strategically located hill which dominates the fertile agricultural region near the Syrian-Turkish border. It is a smaller version of the citadel in Aleppo, only 60 miles to the south. Although 'Antep' is growing apace, the city hasn't forgotten its historical resources. [2014]

THE BACKSTORY ~ Posted on the 10^th Anniversary of Geographically Yours, 4 August 2020: My heart skipped a beat when I saw the citadel (or cale, “castle”) of Gaziantep. Although smaller and perched not as high on its hilltop, it was the mirror image of the citadel of Aleppo, Syria. The two cities are separated by a mere 60 miles, but also by an international border. For me, ‘Antep was new terrain and Halab was old (local names for the two cities). I had lived in Aleppo for three months in the early 1990s, returned several times after that, and even led a group of American teachers there later that decade. Aleppo was my favorite city in the world. But the Aleppo I knew is no more. It was destroyed in the civil war that unfolded after the so-called Arab Spring. I cannot go back, and I do not want to. But, when I saw the citadel of ‘Antep, my heart and mind returned to wonderful days of roaming around Halab’s citadel, the city at large, and the welcoming country of Syria. In fact, the Middle Eastern city model I devised and published is based on the cities I got to know best in the Middle East and North Africa: Aleppo and Damascus; Amman, Jordan; and Rabat and Marrakech, Morocco. During my trip to Gaziantep (including a visit to the nearby Syrian refugee camp), the citadel was closed for renovations, so it was impossible to get in. It didn’t matter. I knew what I would find inside: I saw it years before. In Aleppo! D.J.Z.