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Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region. It is located approximately east of Adana and north of Aleppo, Syria and situated on the Sajur River.
The city is thought to be located on the site of ancient Antiochia ad Taurum and is near ancient Zeugma. Sometime after the Byzantine Empire-ruled city came under the Seljuk Empire, the region was administered by Armenians warlords. In 1098, it became part of the County of Edessa, a Crusader states, though it continued to be administered by Armenians, such as Kogh Vasil.
Aintab rose to prominence in the 14th century as the fortress became a settlement, hotly contested by the Mamluk Sultanate, Dulkadirids, and the Ilkhanate. It was besieged by Timur in 1400 and the Aq Qoyunlu in 1420. The Dulkadirid-controlled city fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1516 sometime before the Battle of Marj Dabiq.
As of the 2024 census, the Gaziantep province (metropolitan municipality) was home to 2,193,363 inhabitants, of whom 1,835,508 lived in the metropolitan area made of two (out of three) urban districts of Şahinbey and Şehitkamil, as Oğuzeli is not conurbated. It is the sixth-most populous city in Turkey. Gaziantep is a diverse city inhabited mostly by Turkish people and a significant minority of Kurds and Syrian refugees. It was historically populated by Turkmens, Armenians, Jews, and a plethora of other ethnic groups.
In February 2023, the city was significantly damaged by the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. Although three of the four most significant quakes of the earthquake occurred within the Gaziantep Province, the overall destruction to the city was reportedly less intense than that of Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Malatya, and Adıyaman provinces, making it the fifth most affected province at 944 buildings collapsed.http://www.gaziantep.gov.tr/cumhurbaskanimiz-sn-erdogan-deprem-anindan-itibaren-devlet-olarak-tum-kurumlarimizla-sahadayiz-23-merkezicerik The destruction was reportedly much higher in the rural districts of Nurdağı and Islahiye, although a number of historic sites within the city such as mosques and Gaziantep Castle also suffered significant damages. Due to its size, location and relative intactness, the city served as a regional hub for international organizations and NGOs for earthquake relief and reconstruction after the earthquake.
The several theories for the origin of the current name include:
After Afshin Bey captured the fortress in 1067, Aintab fell to Seljuk Empire rule and was administered by Seljuk emirs of Damascus. One of these emirs, Tutush I appointed Armenian noble Thoros of Edessa as the governor of the region.
It was captured by the Crusaders and united to the Maras Seigneurship in the County of Edessa in 1098. The region continued to be ruled by independent or vassalized Armenian lords, such as Kogh Vasil. It reverted to the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in 1150, was controlled by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia between 1155–1157 and 1204–1206 and captured by the Zengid dynasty in 1172 and the Ayyubids in 1181. It was retaken by the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in 1218.
With the turn of the 13th-century, Dülük became one of Aintab's dependencies according to geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi. In the next century, Aintab was the capital of its district and a town with fine markets much frequented by merchants and travellers, while Dülük was in ruins, according to Abulfeda. Still, Aintab continued to be hotly contested throughout these centuries. It was besieged by the Mongols in 1270.
It repeatedly changed hands between the Ilkhanate and the Mamluk Sultanate or the Dulkadirids, a Turkoman vassal state of the Mamluks. Gaziantep was near the southern frontier of the Dulkadir emirate, and on several occasions it slipped out of their control. The Ilkhans ruled over it between 1260 and 1261, 1271–1272, 1280–1281 and 1299–1317. The Mamluks controlled the city between 1261 and 1271, 1272–1280, 1281–1299, 1317–1341, 1353–1378, 1381–1389. It was unsuccessfully besieged by the Dulkadir leader Sevli Beg in 1390. Although the Mamluks and their Dulkadirid vassals could control the city from 1395 until the Ottoman conquest in 1516, the city was besieged by Timur in 1400, and then in 1420 by the leader Qara Qoyunlu of Kara Yusuf.
These attacks all caused destruction and suffering among the local population. But at the same time, the city was "acquiring a reputation as a cultured urban center". Badr al-Din al-Ayni, an Aintab native who became a successful diplomat, judge, and historian under the Mamluks, wrote at the end of the 1300s that the city was called "little Bukhara" because so many scholars came to study there. Ayni also left a firsthand account of the suffering caused during Sevli Beg's siege in 1390.
Another rough patch for Aintab's people came in the late 1460s, when the Dulkadir prince Şehsuvar rebelled against the Mamluks. Mamluk forces captured Aintab in May 1468, driving out Şehsuvar's forces; a report by the governor of Aleppo indicates that resistance had been fierce. Just a month later, Şehsuvar recaptured Aintab after four "engagements" with Mamluk forces. After Şehsuvar's final defeat and public execution by the Mamluks in 1473, Gaziantep enjoyed a period of relative peace and stability under his brother and successor Alaüddevle. Alaüddevle appears to have considered Gaziantep an important possession and commissioned several constructions in the city, including a reservoir and a large mosque in the middle of town. The city's fortress was also renovated, completed in 1481. These repairs were likely ordered by the Mamluk sultan Qaitbay during his tour of northern Syria in 1477; his name is inscribed above the entrance portal, perhaps symbolically marking his territory.
The end of the Dulkadir principality came around 1515. Alaüddevle refused to fight alongside the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514. The Ottomans used this as a pretext to overthrow him, and in June 1515 he was executed. As Alaüddevle had been a Mamluk vassal, the Mamluks considered this an affront, and the Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri mobilized an army and marched north towards Aleppo.
The conflict over the region meant that in Gaziantep, anxieties about the fate of the city and its surroundings must have been high. Later court records from the early 1540s provide documentary evidence of "dislocation and loss of population" as people fled; this may have been more pronounced in rural areas than in the city itself.
Although it was controlled by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia only between 1155–1157 and 1204–1206, for most of the last two millennia, Gaziantep hosted a large Armenian community. Armenians played a significant role in the city's history, culture, welfare, and prosperity. These communities no longer exist in the city due to the Hamidian massacres in 1895 and the Armenian genocide in 1915.
Gaziantep served a significant trade route within the Ottoman Empire. Armenians were active in manufacturing, agriculture production and, most notably, trade, and became the wealthiest ethnic group in the city, until their wealth was confiscated during the Armenian genocide.
The Ottoman victory at Marj Dabiq had profound consequences for Gaziantep, although its inhabitants had no way of knowing at the time. For the first time in almost 1,000 years, Gaziantep was located in the middle of an empire rather than a contested border region. It lost its strategic importance, but also its vulnerability to attack. For four centuries, until the French occupation in 1921, Gaziantep was relatively peaceful.
Only around the 1530s, when the Ottoman authorities turned their attention to the territories recently conquered from Dulkadir, do cadastre indicate renewed prosperity in Gaziantep. An important event was Süleyman the Magnificent's successful Mesopotamian campaign against Safavid Iran in 1534-36, which took Baghdad and increased the security of trade routes in Gaziantep's region. As with the earlier economic downturn, the renewed prosperity in Gaziantep in the 1530s was part of a broader regional pattern of economic growth during this period.
As a disclaimer – some of this apparent economic growth may be an artifact of using tax documents as a source. Tax assessors may have simply been doing more accurate counts in later surveys, or the government might have been applying more strict scrutiny as their control increased. Part of this was deliberate – the Ottomans had a policy of lowering taxes in recently conquered territories, both to placate locals and to provide an economic stimulus to help war-torn areas recover. Later, as their control solidified, the authorities would raise taxes again. According to Leslie Peirce, this seems to have been the case in Gaziantep – tax rates in 1536 were significantly lower than the rates in 1520, which she assumes were the pre-Ottoman rates. The rates went up again in the 1543 survey, which she interprets as the Ottomans raising taxes again in the meantime.
Despite being part of the former Dulkadir territories, though, the sanjak of Gaziantep was initially put under the beglerbeglik of Aleppo Eyalet instead of Dulkadir. This indicates how, just as in the Mamluk period, Gaziantep was then seen more as part of northern Syria than as part of Anatolia. The area was "culturally mixed", and many locals were bilingual in Turkish and Arabic (as well as other languages). Gaziantep's cultural and economic ties were mostly with Aleppo, which was a major international center of trade.
At some point in the 1530s, Gaziantep was moved into the beglerbeglik of Dulkadir, whose capital was Maraş. Even though it was now administratively part of Dulkadir, Gaziantep remained commercially more connected to Aleppo.
In 1818, Gaziantep was moved back into the Aleppo province.
By the end of the 19th century, Aintab had a population of about 45,000, two-thirds of whom were Muslim—largely Turkish, but also partially Arab. A large community of Christians lived in the Armenians community. In the 19th century, considerable American Protestant Christian missionary activity occurred in Aintab.American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, The Missionary Herald, January 1900, passim Alice Shepard Riggs, Shepard of Aintab: Medical Missionary amongst Armenians, Turks, Kurds, and Arabs in Aintab, In particular, Central Turkey College was founded in 1874 by the American Mission Board and largely served the Armenian community. The Armenians were systemically slaughtered during the Hamidian massacres in 1895 and later the Armenian genocide in 1915.Ümit Kurt. The Armenians of Aintab: The Economics of Genocide in an Ottoman Province (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2021). Consequently, the Central Turkey College was transferred to Aleppo in 1916.
The French made the last attempt to revive the Armenian community in the city during the Siege of Aintab, where the Armenians who fled the genocide were promised their homes back in their native lands. However, on 25 December 1921, the Treaty of Ankara was signed, and as a result, the French evacuated the city.
According to Ümit Kurt, born in modern-day Gaziantep and an academic at Harvard's Center for Middle East Studies, "The famous battle of Aintab against the French … seems to have been as much the organised struggle of a group of genocide profiteers seeking to hold onto their loot as it was a fight against an occupying force. The resistance … sought to make it impossible for the Armenian repatriates to remain in their native towns, terrorising them again to make them flee. In short, not only did the local … landowners, industrialists, and civil-military bureaucratic elites lead to the resistance movement, but they also financed it to cleanse Aintab of Armenians."Ümit Kurt, Destruction of Aintab Armenians and Emergence of the New Wealthy Class: Plunder of Armenian Wealth in Aintab (1890s-1920s), Ph.D. Dissertation, Clark University, Worcester, MA, Strassler Center of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 19 April 2016, quoted in Robert Fisk, "A beautiful mosque and the dark period of the Armenian genocide", The Independent, 15 October 2016 The same Turkish families who made their wealth through the expropriation of Armenians in 1915 and 1921/1922 continued to dominate the city's politics through the one-party period of the Republic of Turkey. (2025). 9781788312417, Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781788312417 "Official Turkish historiography claims that the Turkish–French war in Aintab was a heroic struggle for national independence, which earned the city glory and its grand title, ghazi (conqueror). Gaziantep's 'heroic epic' was in fact a struggle whose incentive was to wipe out the Armenian presence in the city for good. Its main motive was to ensure that the Armenians of Aintab would never be able to return to the city. Whether forcibly removed or through various administrative measures, the outcome of all of these 'struggles' rendered it impossible for Armenian repatriates to remain in their native cities, towns or villages. Hoping to make these people flee their homeland again, the brave national warriors continued to terrorise them. When the Armenians left Aintab for good in 1921–2, their leftover houses, fields, estates and other properties were sold at bargain prices."
In 2013, Turkey, a member state of NATO, requested deployment of MIM-104 Patriot missiles to Gaziantep to be able to respond faster in a case of military operation against Turkish soil in the Syrian Civil War, which was accepted.
On 6 February 2023, the city and nearby areas were devastated by catastrophic earthquakes. Around 900 buildings collapsed and 10,777 other buildings were heavily damaged in the city, which have been slated for demolition. Historic buildings including the Gaziantep Castle, the Şirvani Mosque and the Liberation Mosque were also heavily damaged.
According to 1966 data, on average, Gaziantep experiences 4.6 snowy days per winter with 10 days of snow cover, along with 2.5 days of hail.
Highest recorded temperature: on 29 July 2000 and 14 August 2023
Lowest recorded temperature: on 15 January 1950
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| Mayor | Years of service |
| Fatma Şahin (AK Party) | 2014–present |
| Asım Güzelbey (AK Party) | 2004–2014 |
| Celal Doğan (SHP, CHP) | 1989–2004 |
| Ömer Arpacıoğlu (ANAP) | 1984–1989 |
Traditionally, commerce in Gaziantep was centre in covered markets known as 'Bedesten' or 'Hans', the best known of which are the Zincirli Bedesten, Hüseyin Pasha Bedesten and Kemikli Bedesten.
Gaziantep also has a developing tourist industry. Development around the base of the castle upgrades the beauty and accessibility to the castle and to the surrounding copper workshops. New restaurants and tourist-friendly businesses are moving into the area. In comparison with some other regions of Turkey, tourists are still a novelty in Gaziantep and the locals make them very welcome. Many students studying the English language are willing to be guides for tourists.
Gaziantep is one of the leading producers of machined carpets in the world. It exported approximately US$700 million of machine-made carpets in 2006. There are over 100 carpet facilities in the Gaziantep Organized Industrial Zone.
With its extensive olive groves, vineyards, and pistachio orchards, Gaziantep is one of the important agricultural and industrial centres of Turkey.
Gaziantep is the centre of pistachio cultivation in Turkey, producing in 2007, and lends its name to the Turkish word for pistachio, Antep fıstığı, meaning "Antep nut".
Gaziantep is the main centre for pistachio processing in Turkey, with some 80% of the country's pistachio processing (such as shelling, packaging, exporting, and storage) being done in the city. "Antep fıstığı" is a protected geographical indication in Turkey; it was registered under this status in 2000.
In 2009, the largest enclosed shopping centre in the city and region, Sanko Park, opened, and began drawing a significant number of shoppers from Syria. Syrians' New Ardor for a Turkey Looking Eastward , The New York Times, July 24, 2010
Ties between Turkey and Syria have severely deteriorated since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
| +Mother tongue composition of the city proper of Gaziantep in 1927 according to Turkish census |
| 95.7 |
| 2.2 |
| 1.2 |
| 0.9 |
| 100 |
The cuisine of Aintab was attested to be "rich" by many travellers throughout the centuries. 19th-century British traveller noted:
Types of kofta (; Gaziantep dialect: küfte) include kibbeh ( 'stuffed kofta'), sini küfte, yoğurtlu küfte, yağlı küfte ( 'greasy kofta'), küfte, pendir ekmekli küfte ( 'kofta with bread and cheese'), and more. Some koftas do not include any meat such as yapma and malhıtalı küfte ( 'lentil kofta').
Pilafs in the Aintab cuisine often accompany the main dish and are not the main course alone. Traditionally, bulgur is used for the pilafs. The bulgur pilafs can include orzo (Şehriyeli bulgur pilavı; Şʿāreli burgul pilov) or ground beef (Kıymalı aş or Meyhane pilavı, 'tavern pilaf').
There are several types of exclusively-Armenian soups in Aintab cuisine. These include vardapet soup and omız zopalı.
Vegetable dishes of Aintab often include meat but can be vegetarian as well. These include dorgama (doğrama), moussaka, bezelye, bakla, kuru fasulye, mutanya, türlü, and kabaklama. Dolma is a very common dish, different variants of which are cooked. One is kış dolması ( 'winter dolma'), for which dried vegetables, such as squash, eggplants, and peppers are used.
Common sweets include Pestil and churchkhela.
The Zeugma Mosaic Museum houses mosaics from Zeugma and other mosaics, a total of . It opened to the public on 9 September 2011.
The Hasan Süzer Ethnography Museum, a restored late-Ottoman stone building, has the old life style decoration and collections of various weapons, documents, instruments used in the defence of the city as well as the photographs of local resistance heroes. It was originally built in 1906 as the home of Garouj Karamanoukian.
Some of the other historical remains are the Zeugma (also called Belkıs in Turkish), and Kargamış ruins by the town of Nizip and slightly more to the north, Rumkale.
Yesemek Quarry and Sculpture Workshop is an open-air museum located in the village known by the same name, south of the town of Islahiye. It is the largest open-air sculpture workshop in the Near East and the ruins in the area date back to the Hittites.
The Gaziantep Defence Museum: before you enter the Panorama Museum located within the Gaziantep Castle, you encounter the statues of three local heroes Molla Mehmet Karayılan, Şehit Mehmet Kâmil and Şahin Bey at the entrance. As you enter the museum, you hear the echoes: "I am from Antep. I am a hawk (Şahin)." The Gaziantep War Museum, in a historic Antep house (also known as the Nakıpoğlu House) is dedicated to the memory of the 6,317 who died defending the city, becoming symbols of Turkey's national unity and resolve for maintaining independence. The story of how the Battle of Antep is narrated with audio devices and chronological panels.
Gaziantep Mevlevi Lodge Foundation Museum
The Antep Mevlevi Lodge in 1638 as a Mevlevi Order monastery. The dervish lodge is part of the mosque's külliye (Islamic-Ottoman social complex centred around a mosque). It is entered via a courtyard which opens off the courtyard of the mosque. In 2007, the building was opened as the Gaziantep Mevlevi Culture and Foundation Works Museums.
Emine Göğüş Cuisine Museum Gaziantep is known for its cuisine and food culture. A historical stone house built in 1904 has been restored and turned into the Emine Göğüş Cuisine Museum. The museum opened as part of the celebrations for the 87th anniversary of Gaziantep's liberation from French occupation.
Boyacı Mosque, a historic mosque in the Şahinbey district, was built by Kadı Kemalettin in 1211 and completed in 1357. It has one of the world's oldest wooden which is elaborately adorned with Koranic verses, stars and geometric patterns. Its minaret is considered one of the symbols of the city.
Şirvani Mosque (Şirvani Mehmet Efendi Mosque), also called İki Şerefeli Cami, is one of the oldest mosques of Gaziantep, located in the Seferpaşa district. It was built by Şirvani Mehmet Efendi.
Ömeriye Mosque, a mosque in the Düğmeci district. Tradition states that it was first built during the period of the Islamic Caliphate under the second Caliph, Omar (hence its name), which would make it the oldest known mosque in Gaziantep. The modern mosque was restored at the site in 1850. It is known for its black and red marble mihrab.
Şeyh Fethullah Mosque, a historic mosque built in 1563 and located in Kepenek. It has adjoining Turkish baths and a medrese.
Nuri Mehmet Pasha Mosque, a mosque in Çukur built in 1786 by nobleman Nuri Mehmet Pasha. Between 1958 and 1968, it was changed into museum but was reinstated as a mosque after an extensive restoration.
Ahmet Çelebi Mosque, a mosque in Ulucanlar that was built by Hacı Osman, in 1672. It is noted for its elaborate wooden interior.
Tahtani Mosque, a wooden mosque located in Şahinbey, that was built in 1557. The mosque has a unique red marble mihrab.
Alaüddevle Mosque (Ali Dola Mosque), built by Dulkadir bey Alaüddevle Bozkurt. Its construction started in 1479 and was completed in 1515. It has been restored recently with the addition of a new entrance.
Ali Nacar Mosque, a mosque in Yaprak, Şehitkamil, is one of the biggest mosques in Gaziantep, originally built by Ali Nacar. It was enlarged in 1816.
Eyüpoğlu Mosque, a mosque built by the local Islamic saint Eyüboğlu Ahmet during the 14th century. There has been a major restoration, so much so that the present structure hardly resembles the original building.
Kendirli Church, a church that was built in 1860 by means of the assistance of French missionaries and Napoleon III. It is a Catholic Armenian church. It has a rectangular plan and was built through white cut stones on a foundation of black cut stone within a large garden.
Bakırcılar çarşısi is the coppersmith bazaar of Gaziantep. This trade has existed in the region for over 500 years. The bazaar is part of the official culture route designed to help visitors discover the traditions and culture of the city.
Kürkçü Inn Classic Ottoman Inn in Boyacı built in 1890.
Old Wheat Inn The original building was constructed by Mustafa Ağa in 1640 to provide an income for the dervish lodge, but was completely destroyed in a fire. The exact construction date of the present building is unknown; however the architectural style suggests the 19th century.
Şire Inn The building is built on a rectangular plan and contains many motifs of classical Ottoman inn architecture. It was built with evenly cut stones and the pitched roof is covered by tiles.
Tobacco Inn This inn has no epigraph showing the dates of construction or renovation, but according to historical data, the estimated date of construction is the late 17th century. Ownership was passed to Hüseyin Ağa, son of Nur Ali Ağa, in the early 19th century.
Yüzükçü Inn The construction date of this inn is unknown. The epigraph on the main gate of the inn is dated 1800, but the building apparently had been built earlier and was repaired at this date. The first owners of the inn were Asiye, the daughter of Battal Bey and Emine Hatun, the daughter of Hadji Osman Bey.
Gaziantep Castle, also known as Gala ( 'the castle'), located in the centre of the city displays the historic past and architectural style of the city. Although the history of castle is not fully known, as a result of the excavations conducted there, Bronze Age settlement layers are thought to exist under the section existing on the surface of the soil.
Pişirici Kastel, a "kastel" (fountain) which used to be a part of a bigger group of buildings, is thought to have been built in 1282. "Kastels" are water fountains built below ground, and they are structures peculiar to Gaziantep. They are places for ablution, prayer, washing and relaxation.
Old houses of Gaziantep, the traditional houses that are located in the old city: Eyüboğlu, Türktepe, Tepebaşı, Bostancı, Kozluca, Şehreküstü and Kale. They are made of locally found keymik rock and have an inner courtyard called the hayat, which is the focal point of the house.
Tahmis Coffee House, a coffee house that was built by Mustafa Ağa Bin Yusuf, a Turkmens ağa and flag officer, in 1635–1638, in order to provide an income for the dervish lodge. The building suffered two big fires in 1901 and 1903.
Gaziantep has a three line light rail system called the Gaziantep Tram. The Gaziantep Tram consists of three lines, is 35 km long and carries 75,000 passengers daily. The system opened in 2011 and was extended in 2012 and 2014.
Gaziray is a commuter rail line serving Gaziantep, Turkey. Being 25 km (16 mi) long, the line is the fourth largest commuter rail system in the country. The system is also a part of major upgrades along the Mersin-Adana-Osmaniye-Gaziantep railway corridor. There are a total of 16 stations on the 25.532 kilometres (15.865 mi) long Gaziray line, two of which are underground, all of which are suitable for disabled access.
| + Gaziray Suburban Railway Network Stations |
| Gaziantep Organized Industrial Zone |
| Gaziantep Organized Industrial Zone |
| Gaziantep Organized Industrial Zone |
| Dolice (Dülük) Ancient City |
| Kalyon Stadium |
| Kayaönü |
| Gaziantep Courthouse, Şehitkamil State Hospital, TEDAŞ |
| Dr. Ersin Arslan Training and Research Hospital, SANKO University Hospital, NCR International Hospital |
| Zeugma Mosaic Museum |
| İnayet Topçuoğlu Hospital |
| Küsget Industrial Zone |
| Küsget Industrial Zone |
| Oduncular Industrial Zone |
Gaziantep Science High School is a public boarding high school in Gaziantep, Turkey with a curriculum concentrating on natural sciences and mathematics, and with teaching in Turkish.
There is also a variety of high schools consisting of both private and public schools, including Gaziantep Fen Lisesi. Gaziantep College Foundation is one of the oldest colleges in Gaziantep. Gaziantep College Foundation's (abbv. GKV) science high school is the most successful high school in Gaziantep.
Sanko College is a younger but successful school in Gaziantep. Its facility is one of the most qualified school facilities in Turkey. Sanko's newest science and technology high school is also considered a very good school.
The main campus of Gaziantep University is located away from the city centre. The institution acquired state university status in 1987, but had already offered higher education since 1973 as an extension campus of the METU. It is one of the largest universities in Turkey, boasting 27,000 students.
Hasan Kalyoncu University (Hasan Kalyoncu Üniversitesi) is a private university established in 2008. Currently, the university has five faculties, three institutes and three vocational schools.
Zirve University (Zirve Üniversitesi) was a private university established in 2009. As of 2016, the university had five faculties. The university was closed by the government in 2016 and its facilities transferred to Gaziantep University.
The youngest university in Gaziantep is Sanko University (Sanko Üniversitesi). Established in 2013, Sanko University is the first "thematic university" in Turkey.
| + ! scope="col" | Club ! scope="col" | Sport ! scope="col" | Established ! scope="col" | League ! scope="col" | Venue |
| ALG Spor | Women's football | 1998 | Women's Football Super League | Batur Stadium | |
| Gaziantepspor | Football | 1969 | Bölgesel Amatör Lig | New Gaziantep Stadium | |
| Gazişehir Gaziantep F.K. | Football | 1988 | Süper Lig | New Gaziantep Stadium | |
| Gazikentspor | Women's football | 2006 | Women's Second League | Gazikent Stadium | |
| Gaziantep Büyükşehir Belediyespor (Played with sponsporship of Royal Halı since 2012) | Basketball | 2007 | Turkish Basketball League | Kamil Ocak Sports Hall | |
| Gaziantep Polis Gücü SK Men's Hockey | Hockey | 2003 | Turkish Hockey Super League | ||
| Gaziantep Asyaspor | women's football | 2021 | Women's Football Super League | Aktoprak Football Field |
Beslenspor has played in the Turkish Basketball League between 1986 and 1992 and presented Gaziantep at basketball once.
Historically, the main trade axis was the route from the castle then going southeast along the road to Aleppo. A number of hans were built along this street. Due to the hot climate, the city's streets were very narrow in order to maximize shade from the buildings. Orientation of buildings was important so they could not see into each other's courtyards (an important private space, especially for women) and so that they would not block sunlight from neighboring houses.
Generally, the city's population was organized according to ethno-religious groups who lived close together in the same neighborhood. Around the time of World War I, the city's population was divided between Muslims in the east and non-Muslims (mostly Armenians) in the west. Muslims lived in the Karagöz, Çukur, Tıslaki, and Şekeroğlu districts; Armenians lived in the Akyol and Bey districts; and Jews lived in the Düğmeci and Karagöz districts.
An early city planning effort took place in 1891 under Mustafa Ağa, the first mayor of Gaziantep, involving a city plan and province map. According to Kuyucu and Özer, though, the resulting maps and plans are unavailable. Another early city plan for Gaziantep was drawn up by Barsumyan and Nazaryan in the early 1920s, during the Turkish War of Independence. The Barsumyan-Nazaryan plan included an airport for the city but omitted any railway connections. During this period, because the Jewish and Armenian communities had left the city during the war period, the city did not expand into new areas; instead, now-vacant neighborhoods were used to meet new demand.
The Jansen plan sought to preserve the existing urban character of Gaziantep while also planning new areas outside the traditional core. It mainly focused on new development on the north, south, and west sides of the city. New industrial zones were drawn up along important transportation arteries, particularly the Nizip and Aleppo roads. The most important was a 33-hectare industrial zone on the north side of town, which was to be connected to the railway network. The new industrial area was specifically chosen to be on the northeast because the prevailing wind direction is from the northwest, so this way air pollution would not be blown over the city.
The plan introduced several important changes to the city's transportation network. One of the most important was the addition of a rail line to connect Gaziantep to the national rail system. Up to now, Turkish railway construction had ignored Gaziantep (partly because of its mountainous surroundings); a national railway plan also introduced in 1938 left Gaziantep unconnected to the rail network. The Jansen plan represented the first major proposal to construct a railway to Gaziantep. Jansen wanted to put the train station on the north side of the city, for multiple reasons. First, because the topography on the north side is flatter; and second, because putting a railway on the south side would separate the old town from the new planned residential areas further south, which Jansen wanted to avoid.
Jansen also planned significant changes to the city's streets, opening up several new boulevards and widening pre-existing streets to help make a continuous transportation network. He proposed combining the Narlı and Aleppo roads into İsmet İnönü Caddesi, which was to be the main transportation axis of the city. The existing commercial axis along the Aleppo road, lined with hans and marketplaces, was to be expanded with new commercial buildings along the new İnönü Cd. The plan also sought to create a SW-NE axis connecting the Kilis and Nizip roads by way of İstasyon Caddesi in the north and Atatürk Caddesi in the west; this axis would also be connected to İnönü Cd. Two important pre-existing streets in the old town, Suburcu Cd and Eski Saray Cd, would also be expanded and connected with these other streets. Finally, besides road and rail, Jansen also proposed the construction of an airport on the west side of town.
One of the most important features of the Jansen Plan was the designation of a green belt along Alleben Creek, running east–west across the entire city, where no construction was to take place. This would provide a large open recreational area. Jansen also proposed a large area to the north of the creek to be used for sports fields and a hippodrome, although these were never built.
The Jansen plan zoned for new residential areas to the south of the old city. This may have been done to follow the pre-existing main axis along the southbound Aleppo road. It may have also been because Jansen wanted the existing houses of the old city to be visible from the south. He wanted to build new residential areas in a similar fashion, with two-story houses arranged on parallel streets that followed the slope of hills. In order to provide space for the southward residential expansion, Jansen proposed that the pre-existing cemetery on the south side of town be moved to a new planned location in the northeast.
To the northwest of the old city, Jansen wanted to build one-story houses among vineyards in a low-density agricultural area. The proposed workers' quarter, in the northeast near the planned industrial zone, was to follow a similar plan, with low-cost single-story houses.
For the city's new administrative buildings, Jansen chose to develop the Çukurbostan area, located in the old city center but with some vacant space available. In a departure from his typical policy of not modifying the old urban fabric, also proposed demolishing some existing buildings and altering the pre-existing street layout to accommodate this new construction.
The planned residential expansion to the south did take place, as did the proposed relocation of the cemetery to the northeast, but ultimately the main direction of residential expansion shifted to the northwest instead. This is partly because the hilly area to the south is less conducive for construction. The industrial zone on the northeast was built, but the adjacent workers' quarter never materialized. Although the recreational areas to the north were never built, the Alleben green belt became an important green space in the city, and it remains to this day (although some of it has since been turned over for new construction). Jansen's recommendation of low-rise development also succeeded at preserving the silhouette of the city until the 1970s.
One failing of the Jansen plan was that it significantly underestimated the population growth of the city during the next 50 years, particularly after 1945. This lack led to the growth of uncontrolled, unplanned settlements in the city. In addition, Jansen's general non-intervention policy with the old city center proved insufficient to maintain its character – in the absence of managed oversight, many old buildings ended up deteriorating, ultimately getting demolished, and then being replaced with new structures that architecturally did not blend in.
The main goal of the Aru-Söylemezoğlu plan was to provide new housing to meet the needs of the growing urban population. There was also an effort to shift from agriculturally-oriented economy to industrial.
Among the important features introduced in the Aru-Söylemezoğlu plan were the railway station, now in its current location, and the addition of the new İpek Yolu highway as a northwards continuation of İstasyon Cd. The new planned upscale residential neighborhoods of Bahçelievler, Kavaklık, and Öğretmenevleri signalled a shift towards building new neighborhoods to the southwest. Ordu Cd, a westward extension of Atatürk Cd, was opened up, and the Kilis-Aleppo axis shifted to this route. In general, the Aru-Söylemezoğlu plan planned a grid plan for the city's streets.
The area north of Alleben Creek, which under the Jansen plan had been designated as recreational areas, were converted into residential development under Aru-Söylemezoğlu plan. Several small new industrial areas were also developed around Nizip Cd, Araban Yolu, and İpek Yolu.
The Can plan focused on developing Gaziantep as an industrial center, with an increasing share of land dedicated to industrial use. These industrial areas were also increasingly set apart from residential areas. The Can plan envisioned a three-pole city with industrial areas at the west and east ends and new residential development in the south. Gaziantep's Organized Industrial Zone had been established in 1969 and was one of the first in Turkey. By 1978, manufacturing had reached 11.6% of Gaziantep's GDP, compared to about 17% for the country as a whole.
The 1970s were Gaziantep's highest period of immigration. New residential development during this period was clustered into two main areas. The first area was neighborhoods on the south and east sides of town like Karşıyaka, Düztepe, and Çıksorut, where many manufacturing jobs were available. The second consisted of areas on the north and west where relatively higher-income people who worked in the service sector lived. The patterns for urban development differed between these two areas. In the south and east, there was an irregular settlement pattern formed by purchasing land around factories. In the north and west, there was a regular grid of wide streets lined with houses and apartment complexes.
Beginning in the mid-1980s, the Can plan was undermined by illegal building and zoning amnesties, which disrupted the plan's form and caused the city to grow in unplanned ways. The municipal government tried to address the situation by performing piecemeal interventions to rehabilitate these areas, but ultimately the effect was that poorly integrated pockets of the city were formed.
The Aldan plan followed a metropolitan, polycentric model, with new commercial zones mixed in with the residential areas to serve as secondary urban centers. The main directions for new development were toward the west and south. A new ring road on the east, south, and west helped boost growth in these directions. Some of the new secondary centers were built in the Karataş and İbrahimli areas. Another major addition was a new commercial area on the east side of the city called the Gaziantep Ticaret ve Endüstri Merkezi (Gaziantep Trade and Industry Center), or GATEM for short. Located on the Araban-Adıyaman highway, on the city's outskirts, the GATEM was to occupy 40 ha and also include an intercity bus terminal.
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