Üsküp, Kırklareli

This article is about a town in Turkey. For the capital of Republic of Macedonia, see Skopje.

Üsküp
Town
Üsküp Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 41°44′N 27°24′E
Country	Turkey
Province	Kırklareli Province
District	Kırklareli central District
Elevation	290 m (950 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	2,272
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	39070
Area code	0288
Licence plate	39

Üsküp (Ускуп in Macedonian) is a belde (town) in Kırklareli Province, Turkey

Geography

Üsküp is in the central district (Kırklareli) of the province. It is situated to the east of Kırklaeli at a distance of 16 kilometres (9.9 mi).The population of Üsküp is 2315 as of 2011.

History

Üsküp is an old settlement and the name of the town may refer to Scythians (Template:Lang-tr), but more likely is a Turkish bastardization of the Greek word "Skopos." In 1368, during the reign of Murat I the settlement was annexed to Ottoman Empire. Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi in the 17th century describes Üsküp as a relatively populated place famous for wine production. Probably most of the population was composed of Ethnic Greeks. But after the Turkish War of Independence according to the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey agreement The Greeks were replaced by the Turks from Greece. The same year the settlement was declared a seat of township. Many of the Greek residents were transferred to the village of Neos Skopos near Serres, Greece.

Economy

The town is still known for vineyards and wine production. The best Papaskarasi grapes are produced here. The decomposed granite soils in Üsküp gives different aromas to grapes here. Other crops are vegetables and fruits. There are also some small factories around the town.