Kahramanmaraş is a city of roughly 550,000 people in southeastern Turkey, perched between the Taurus Mountains and the upper Euphrates plain. Famous throughout Turkey and the world for its uniquely stretchy dondurma (ice cream) and fiery Maraş pepper, the city pairs a proud culinary identity with a rich layered history — Hittite, Roman, Byzantine, Dulkadirli, and Ottoman — visible in its hilltop castle and archaeology museum. The city was at the epicentre of the devastating February 2023 earthquakes and has undergone significant reconstruction; visitors today witness both historic resilience and ambitious rebuilding alongside remaining ancient monuments.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Kahramanmaraş.
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1
Hittite period — Maraş is capital of the Neo-Hittite state of Gurgum; distinctive basalt steles created
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2
Assyrian conquest; city incorporated into Neo-Assyrian Empire
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3
Roman period — city integrated into the province of Commagene; commercial prosperity
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4
Byzantine rule; castle on the hill strengthened as frontier fortress
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5
Arab-Byzantine frontier period; city changes hands repeatedly between Hamdanids and Byzantines
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6
Dulkadirli Beylik — Maraş serves as the capital of the Dulkadiroğlu dynasty; İbrahim Bey İmareti and mosques built
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7
Ottoman conquest; Maraş becomes part of the Ottoman Empire
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8
French occupation; city population resists for 53 days — the resistance becomes a symbol of the Turkish War of Independence
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9
Atatürk's legacy — Turkish Grand National Assembly awards the city the prefix 'Kahraman' (heroic)
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10
Double earthquake sequence (7.7 and 7.6 magnitude) centred on Pazarcık; one of the deadliest disasters in Turkish history; massive reconstruction begins
Historical sites
Places where Kahramanmaraş's past comes alive.
Byzantine–Ottoman
Kahramanmaraş Castle
Neo-Hittite to Ottoman
Archaeology Museum
Dulkadirli (15th century)
İbrahim Bey İmareti
Roman (ancient Comana)