Gaziantep

Gaziantep exists because rivers need bridges. Around 300 BC, Seleucus I Nicator—Alexander the Great's successor—founded Zeugma where the Euphrates could be crossed. The name literally means 'bridge' in Greek, and the twin cities on opposing banks became the major crossing point between Anatolia and Mesopotamia. With two Roman legions stationed here, Zeugma prospered as both military base and toll-collection hub on the Silk Road. The Zeugma mosaics, now housed in the world's largest mosaic museum, testify to the wealth that crossing-point economics generated.

But Gaziantep's roots extend deeper than Greek colonization. Hittite watchtowers crowned the rocky outcrop that became Gaziantep Castle in the 2nd century BC. The Romans maintained it for centuries before Byzantine Emperor Justinian I added fortifications and twelve towers in the 6th century AD. Archaeological layers reveal continuous occupation from the Paleolithic—Assyrians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Abbasids, and Seljuks all controlled what geography made inevitable.

Modern Gaziantep channeled crossing-point legacy into industrial prowess. The province accounts for 4.4% of Turkey's total exports—sixth-highest nationally—built on textiles, food processing, and manufacturing. Sanko Holding and other industrial groups transformed the city into southeastern Anatolia's economic engine. The culinary tradition that made Gaziantep UNESCO-recognized for gastronomy reflects centuries as a spice-route crossroads.

February 6, 2023, tested whether modern infrastructure could survive ancient fault lines. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed over 50,000 across southern Turkey, with Gaziantep among the five provinces absorbing 81% of the estimated $34 billion in damages. Nearly one-third of Turkey's healthcare infrastructure was severely damaged. The earthquake exposed how industrial concentration creates systemic vulnerability—when Gaziantep's factories stopped, southeastern Turkey's economy stopped.

Recovery has been deliberately industrial. IFC provided $150 million to Sanko Holding for earthquake-damaged infrastructure. The World Bank's $450 million MSME Recovery project has supported nearly 40,000 small businesses since September 2023. UNDP renovated Gaziantep's Model Factory to help SMEs adapt. A new 1,875-bed hospital near the epicenter will anchor healthcare reconstruction. By 2026, Gaziantep aims to prove that industrial clusters can regenerate faster than they were destroyed—the crossing-point metabolism that rebuilt after Roman legions withdrew, after Byzantine fortifications crumbled, after every previous destruction.