Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality

Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ, Greek: Γερμανίκεια, Turkish: Kahramanmaraş) - is the capital of Kahramanmaraş Province in southeast of today's Turkey. The city lies on a plain at the foothills starting Armenian Taurus Mountains and has a population of 326,198 as of 2000. Marash was initially called Germanikeya. The city was laying at crossroads of many countries and interests throughout history.It was a part of: Seleukid kingdom and Armenian empire of Tigranes The Great, Roman empire and Byzantium, Arabic caliphate and Kingdom of Cilician Armenia, Mamluk Sultanate and eventually fell into the Ottoman hands. At 1258-1304 Marash became the seat of Armenian Apostolic Church (Catholicossate of the Great House of Cilicia). By the end of the 19th century Marash was a city populated mainly by Armenians at the north of Aleppo Vilayet of Ottoman empire. Marash city had 6 Armenian Apostolic, 3 Armenian Evangelical and a sole Armenian Catholic cathedrals. But Armenian population of Marash thrice was subjected to massacres by the Turks: 1894-96, 1915-18 and 1920-21. As a result Armenians were either expelled from the whole Cilician region or died through massacres and death marches. In 1920 after the Battle of Marash, Turks who expelled French forces from Cilicia, defeated numerically small Armenian units defending the city, massacere last remnants the Armenian population and considering this as heroism, rename historic name of Marash to Kahramanmarash. Kahraman in Turkish language means "hero". Today's Kahramanmarash region is best known for its production of salep, a flour made from dried orchid tubers, and its distinctive ice cream.