Oldest city in the world

August 3, 2012 | In: History facts

Although all over the world you can still find relics dating back thousands of years, there still exist cities that are continuously inhabited for the last 3-4, or even 5 millenniums.

If you’re thinking of Athens or Sparta, Rome or Zurich, i’m sorry, but i have to tell you you’re wrong.

Asia is one continent full of ancient sites and cities. Here is where we find the oldest City in the World, although many say there are older settlements elsewhere.

We found ourselves in Turkey. Our journey brings us to Gaziantep. It represents the capital city of the province with the same name. In an ancient language, the city is commonly know as Antep.

To remind us of its past, all over the city there can br found rock buildings and citadels. In the center of the city, a fortress still stands, more than 2000 years old. It was reabbilitated by the byzantines in the 6th century A.D.

From the 7th century it was occupied and regained over and over by the byzantines and the arab people. For almost 1000 years, the city didn’t have any peace.

But in 1516, the Otoman Empire captured the city, transforming it in a prosperous cultural and industrial center of the Empire. From now on, Gaziantep became a turning point in the otoman history. In 1700 there were almost 4000 shops in the city, so imagine the popullation at the time.

Nowadays, the city holds more than 1.3 million people and still is a cultural capital of Asia. I hope you get there soon, because i sure do.