Şanlıurfa (often simply known as Urfa in aily language), formerly cited as Edessa or in Kurdish; Riha or Urhāy, or in Armenian Urhai) is a city in south-eastern Turkey, and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain under big open skies, about eighty kilometres east of the Euphrates River. The climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. The urban population of Urfa is mainly Turkish while the outlying regions are mixed Kurdish and to a lesser degree Arabian.