This article is about the city of Eskisehir, for the province see Eskisehir Province
Eskisehir ([[Turkish language|Turkish:Eskişehir) is a city in Anatolia, Turkey. It has a population of 482,793 and is the capital of Eskişehir Province.
The city is located on the Porsuk River, 790m above sea level, where it overlooks the fertile Phrygian valley. In the nearby hills one can find hot springs. The city is located at latitude 39.7°N, longitude 30.5°E.
The name Eskişehir means Old City in Turkish. Indeed the city was founded by the Phrygians about 1000 BC. Many Phrygian artifacts and sculptures can still be found in its Archeological Museum. There is also a museum of meerschaum stone, used to make high quality meerschaum pipes. In the fourth century AD the city moved about ten km northeast, from Karadja Hissar to Shehir Euyuk.
Whenever it was mentioned by ancient geographers, the city was described as one of the most beautiful in Anatolia.
As with many towns in Anatolia, Christianity arrived after Constantine the Great made it the official religion of the Roman Empire. Beginning in the 4th century, records exist of bishops holding office in Eskişehir. The city was known as Dorylaeum, then. One of these bishops, Eusebius, was heavily involved in shaping the evolving dogma of the church.
Modern-day Eskişehir is one of Turkey's foremost industrial cities. Traditionally dependent on flour-milling and brickyards, the city expanded with the building of railway workshops in 1894 for work on the Berlin-Baghdad Railway. Eskişehir was also the site of Turkey's first aviation industry (Aeronautical Supply Maintenance Centre) and its air base is the headquarters of Turkey's First Tactical Air Force, on NATO's southern flank during the Cold War.
There are two universities named Osmangazi and Anadolu.
The city has a significant population of Tatars. It also attracted ethnic Turks emigrating from Bulgaria and Romania who contributed to the development of the city's metalworking industries.