Birecik

Birecik

Birecik is a district center of Şanlıurfa province in the Middle Euphrates section of the Southeastern Anatolia Region with a population of 96,000. It was formerly located only on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, but in recent years it has been built on both banks at an altitude of 450 meters above sea level.

Birecik is 83 km from Şanlıurfa and 63 km from Gaziantep. The houses are spread on a narrow plain along the river and on a steep slope rising behind it, popularly known as "Yeşildağ". There is also a castle on this slope. The Euphrates is suitable for small-scale river transportation downstream from the point where Birecik is located. For this reason, Birecik has gained importance as a transit point between land and river transportation. In later times, the town began to decline as the Istanbul-Baghdad railway passed a little to the south instead of through Birecik and the caravan trade lost its former importance.[citation needed] The construction of the Birecik Bridge, which started in 1951 and ended in 1956, increased the importance of the town again.