Kilis

Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province.

Kilis is a Turkish city and was part of the Aleppo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire until the First World War, after which it passed to the Republic of Turkey. There was also an Armenian and Jewish community.^[3]

The population of the town was 20,000 in 1927, 45,000 in 1970, 60,000 in 1980 and 85,000 in 1990. It then fell in the 1990s to 70,000 by 2000. The population was 82,109 in 2010.

Being a border town, Kilis has long had a reputation for smuggling and drug trafficking. Although this has apparently been reduced, even today cigarettes, spirits and cheap electrical items can be bought for cash at low prices.

The local kebab known as Kilis Kebabi is renowned, and also the breads, baklava and stuffed vegetables.

The Öncüpınar Syrian border crossing is 5 km (3 mi) to the south and the large city of Gaziantep is 60 km (37 mi) to the north. Indeed, until 1996 Kilis was a district of Gaziantep, being made into a province by Tansu Çiller following an open vote-winning gambit in the 1995 general election.

KILIS PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANY