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Eskişehir
Metropolitan municipality
Top left:Eskişehir Central railway station, Top right: Tepebaşı Municipality, Bottom left: Museum of Modern Glass Art, Bottom right: Porsuk River.
Eskişehir Location of Eskişehir
Coordinates: 39°47′N 30°31′E / 39.783°N 30.517°E / 39.783; 30.517
Country	Turkey
Region	Central Anatolia
Province	Eskişehir
Government
• Metropolitan Mayor	Yılmaz Büyükerşen (CHP)
• Governor	Azmi Çelik
Area
• Metropolitan municipality	2,678.00 km2 (1,033.98 sq mi)
Elevation	788 m (2,585 ft)
Population (2016)[1]
• Metropolitan municipality	844,842
• Density	236/km2 (610/sq mi)
• Metro	734,807
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	26 xxx
Area code(s)	(+90) 222
Registration plate	26
Website	http://www.eskisehir-bld.gov.tr/

Estram, the city's tram service.

Eskişehir (pronounced [esˈciʃehiɾ]) (Turkish: eski "old", şehir "city"),^[2] is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. In the Byzantine era its name was Dorylaeum.^[3] The urban population of the city is 717,135 with a metropolitan population of 826,135.^[1] The city is located on the banks of the Porsuk River, 792 m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian Valley. In the nearby hills one can find hot springs. The city is 233 km (145 mi) to the west of Ankara, 330 km (205 mi) to the southeast of Istanbul and 78 km (48 mi) to the northeast of Kütahya. Known as a university town, both Eskişehir Osmangazi University and Anadolu University (which has one of the largest student enrollments in the world) are based in Eskişehir. The province covers an area of 2,678 km² (1,034 sq mi).^[4]

History

The name Eskişehir literally means "Old City" in Turkish; indeed, the city was founded by the Phrygians in at least 1000 BC, although it has been estimated to be older than 4000 years old. Many Phrygian artifacts and sculptures can still be found in the city's archeological museum. There is also a museum of meerschaum stone, whose production remains still notable, used to make high quality meerschaum pipes. In the fourth century AD the city moved about ten km northeast, from Karacahisar to Şehirhöyük.

Many ancient geographers described the city as one of the most beautiful in Anatolia.

As with many towns in Anatolia, Christianity arrived after Constantine the Great legalized the religion in the Roman Empire. Beginning in the 4th century, records exist of bishops holding office in Eskişehir. The city was known as Dorylaeum (Δορύλαιον) in Greek in that period. One of these bishops, Eusebius, was heavily involved in shaping the evolving dogma of the church.

It was called Sultanönü during Sejuk period.^[5]

Economy

Traditionally dependent on flour milling and brickyards, the city expanded with the building of railway workshops in 1894 for work on the Berlin-Baghdad Railway.

As of 1920, Eskişehir was one of the major locations for meerschaum mining. At that time, most of the mining sites were owned by the state.^[6]

Devrim, the first Turkish automobile, was produced in 1961 at the TÜLOMSAŞ factory in Eskişehir. Devrim never put into mass production and stayed a concept study and can be viewed in TÜLOMSAŞ factory Eskişehir. In addition to production, first Turkish steam powered locomotive called Karakurt was produced at the TÜLOMSAŞ in 1961. Eskişehir was also the site of Turkey's first aviation industry (Aeronautical Supply Maintenance Centre) and its air base was the command center of Turkey's first Tactical Air Force headquarters on NATO's southern flank during the Cold War.

Eskişehir produces trucks, home appliances, railway locomotives, fighter aircraft engines, agricultural equipment, textiles, brick, cement, chemicals, processed meerschaum and refined sugar. Eti (tr), one of Turkey's largest food brands (mostly producing biscuit, chocolate and candy varieties) is based in Eskişehir. Arçelik, a major Turkish home appliances and consumer electronics manufacturer, has one of its production plants in Eskişehir. Eskişehir was the first stage of High-speed rail in Turkey from Ankara. This service improved the travel and commerce between Eskişehir and Ankara, thanks to reduced journey time.

The city is served by the Anadolu Airport.

Education

Library of the Anadolu University

There are two universities in Eskişehir. These are the Anadolu University and Eskişehir Osmangazi University. In addition to its on-campus study offering, Anadolu university started open university courses through TV broadcast already in the 1980s, allowing access to thousands of students who otherwise would not have been able to benefit from tertiary education. The current Metropolitan Mayor of Eskişehir, Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Büyükerşen, was formerly the rector of the Anadolu University.

Culture

The city has a significant population of Turkic Crimean Tatars. It also attracted ethnic Turks emigrating from Balkan countries such as Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia, and the Sandžak region of Serbia, who contributed to the development of the city's metalworking industries. Eskişehir also hosted the inaugural Turkvision Song Contest in 2013, which aims to highlight music and artists from various regions of Turkey. The city is also home to the Dünya Müzeleri Müzesi or Museum of World Museums.

Other museums in the city are Eti Archaeology Museum, Aviation Museum, Meerschaum Museum, Museum of Independence, Museum of Modern Glass Art, Tayfun Talipoğlu Typewriter Museum and Yılmaz Büyükerşen Wax Museum.

Attractions

Most of modern-day Eskişehir was rebuilt after the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923), but a number of historic buildings remain, such as the Kurşunlu Mosque. The archaeological site of the ancient Phrygian city of Dorylaeum is close to Eskişehir. The city is noted for its natural hot sulphur springs.

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  Tepebaşı Municipality
  

  
  
  
  


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  Museum of Modern Glass Art
  

  
  
  
  


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  Haller Youth Center
  

  
  
  
  


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  Old houses in Odunpazarı
  
  

  
  
  
  


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  A view from downtown
  

  
  
  
  


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  Cengiz Topel statue
  

  
  
  
  

Climate

Eskişehir has a humid continental climate with a warm summer subtype (Dsb) under the Köppen climate classification,^[7] with cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summers. Due to the low annual precipitation, the climate is near the borderline of a cold semi-arid climate (BSk). Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn. Due to Eskişehir's high altitude and its dry summers, nightly temperatures in the summer months are cool. Precipitation levels are low, but precipitation can be observed throughout the year.

Sports

Notable natives

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  Eusebius of Dorylaeum - 5th century bishop


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  Battal Gazi - 8th century Muslim saint buried in Seyitgazi
  


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  Yunus Emre - 13th century Turkish folk poet


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  Sheik Edebali - 13th century religious leader, spiritual founder of the Ottoman Empire
  


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  Behiç Erkin - Turkish Schindler, first director (1920–1926) of the Turkish State Railways, Minister of Public Works (1926–1928), Turkish Ambassador (Budapest 1928-1939, Paris and Vichy 1939-1943)


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  Yakup Satar - last Turkish veteran of the First World War


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  Fahrettin Kerim Gökay - Professor, former Mayor of Istanbul (1949–1957), former Turkish Ambassador (Bern), former Minister of State


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  Yılmaz Büyükerşen - Professor, Metropolitan Mayor of Eskişehir, Reporter, Columnist, Caricaturist, Editor, former Rector of Anadolu University, former member of RTYK, Professional Wax Sculptor


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  Cüneyt Arkın - Actor, Director, Producer, Martial Artist, Doctor in Medicine


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  Nuri Alço - Actor, Director, Producer


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  Eqrem Çabej - Linguist and scholar


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  Melis Birkan - Actress


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  Zeki Sezer - former Leader of the Democratic Left Party DSP, Chemical Engineer, Minister of State (57th government)


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  Hasan Polatkan - Politician


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  Mehmet Terzi - Long-Distance Runner


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  Gamze Bulut - Mid-Distance Runner


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  Zeki Önder Özen - Football Manager


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  Ömer Çatkıç - Football Goalkeeper


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  Neslihan Demir Darnel - Volleyball Player


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  İpek Şenoğlu - Tennis Player


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  Ersan İlyasova - Basketball Player


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  Kerem Gönlüm - Basketball Player


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  Ceyhun Yıldızoğlu - Basketball Coach


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  Emin Boztepe - Martial Artist, Actor


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  Asya (singer) - Pop Singer, Song-Writer


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  Tuna Kiremitçi - Author, Poet, Columnist, Composer


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  Enis Batur - Author, Lecturer


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  Alper Erturk - Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology
  


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  Gürer Aykal - Conductor, Adjunct Professor at Bilkent University


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  Banu Avar - Writer and journalist

Non-natives

Fikri Cantürk, Professor of Painting, Anadolu University

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Eskişehir is twinned with:

See also

Notes

References

• 
  Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. "Geographical information on Eskişehir, Turkey". Retrieved 2008-04-03. 
  


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  Municipality of Eskişehir, Turkey. "General information on Eskişehir". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-03. 
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eskişehir.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Eskişehir.

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  District governor's official website (in Turkish)
  


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  District municipality's official website (in Turkish)
  


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  Eskişehir Police Headquarters (in Turkish)
  


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  Eskişehir News (in Turkish)
  


• Eskişehirspor Sports Club

v t e Largest cities or towns in Turkey TÜİK's address-based calculation from December, 2013.[1]
	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.
Istanbul Ankara	1	Istanbul	Istanbul	13,820,334	11	Kayseri	Kayseri	880,255	İzmir Bursa
	2	Ankara	Ankara	4,474,305	12	Eskişehir	Eskişehir	670,544
	3	İzmir	İzmir	2,828,927	13	Gebze	Kocaeli	582,352
	4	Bursa	Bursa	1,769,752	14	Urfa	Şanlıurfa	551,511
	5	Adana	Adana	1,645,965	15	Denizli	Denizli	540,000
	6	Gaziantep	Gaziantep	1,465,019	16	Samsun	Samsun	523,192
	7	Konya	Konya	1,138,609	17	Kahramanmaraş	Kahramanmaraş	458,628
	8	Antalya	Antalya	1,027,551	18	Adapazarı	Sakarya	449,290
	9	Diyarbakır	Diyarbakır	906,013	19	Malatya	Malatya	425,000
	10	Mersin	Mersin	898,813	20	Erzurum	Erzurum	381,104

Coordinates: 39°46′36″N 30°31′14″E / 39.77667°N 30.52056°E / 39.77667; 30.52056