Birecik

Sitting on a limestone cliff above the east bank of the Euphrates, Birecik is a town in southeastern Turkey's Şanlıurfa Province that has served as a transfer point between land and river routes for centuries. A castle crowns the steep hillside locals call Yeşildağ, and the town's position on the river — navigable downstream from this point — shaped its long history as a crossing and trading hub. A bridge completed in 1956 restored the town's regional importance after the Baghdad railway bypassed it to the south.

• Population44,284
• Nearest water0.4 km
• Nearest mountain5.5 km