Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa ( ; Arabic: الرها; Kurdish: Riha; Armenian: Uṙha; Syriac: Ūrhāi and known in ancient times as Edessa, is a city with a population of over 2 million residents in south-eastern Turkey, and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is a multiethnic city with a Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian and Arab population. Urfa is situated on a plain about eighty kilometres east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features extremely hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters.