Elbistan
Elbistan is a district of Kahramanmaraş province. Due to its location, the district is located at the intersection of the Mediterranean, Central Anatolian Region and Eastern Anatolian regions. The population of the city center is approximately 110,000. According to TURKSTAT 2020 ABPRS census, the population of all districts, including towns and villages, is 142 778. It is famous for the Ceyhan River, which originates from the city center and empties into the Mediterranean.
With Kahramanmaraş becoming a metropolitan city in March 2014, Elbistan Municipality became active. However, the municipal services coming from the Metropolitan Municipality, which is 200 kilometers away, caused the services to be insufficient. On October 24, 2014, the people of Elbistan accelerated their efforts to become a province again and established the "Let's Become a Province" Platform together with representatives of NGOs and political parties.
Elbistan is a city dating back to ancient times and was the capital of the Dulkadiroğlu Principality, which was the last principality to join the Ottoman Empire. The capital of the principality was moved to Maraş only after Elbistan was completely burned in the war in 1507. However, the principality, which was ruled from Maraş for a short time, joined the Ottoman Empire in 1515 with the Battle of Turnadağ. Ottoman Sultan II. Murat's mother Emine Hatun is the daughter of Dulkadiroğlu lord Nasıreddin Mehmed Bey. It is known that there are ruins of a beylik castle and palace around the old Seljuk bath located near the bazaar today.
