Under the Ottomans Urfa was part ( Sanjak ) of the Aleppo Vilayet . The area became a centre of trade in cotton , leather , and jewellery . There was a small but ancient Jewish community in Urfa , with a population of about 1,000 by the 19th century . Most of the Jews emigrated in 1896 , fleeing the Hamidian massacres , and settling mainly in Aleppo , Tiberias and Jerusalem . There were three Christian communities : Syriac , Armenian , and Latin . According to Lord Kinross , 8,000 Armenians were massacred in Urfa in 1895 . The last Neo-Aramaic Christians left in 1924 and went to Aleppo ( where they settled in a place that was later called '' Hay al-Suryan '' " The Syriac Quarter " )
Hamidian massacres
Hamidian massacres
Urfa