Akşehir | |
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 Akşehir Ethnography Museum | |
 Map showing Akşehir District in Konya Province | |
  Akşehir Location in Turkey Show map of Turkey Akşehir Akşehir (Turkey Central Anatolia) Show map of Turkey Central Anatolia | |
| Coordinates:38°21′27″N31°24′59″E / 38.35750°N 31.41639°E /38.35750; 31.41639 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Konya |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ahmet Nuri Köksal (CHP) |
Area | 895 km2 (346 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,025 m (3,363 ft) |
| Population (2024)[1] | 93,719 |
| • Density | 105/km2 (271/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Area code | 0332 |
| Climate | Csa |
| Website | www |
Akşehir is a municipality anddistrict ofKonya Province, Turkey.[2] Its area is 895 km2 (346 sq mi),[3] and its population is 93,965 (2022).[1] It was known historically asPhilomelium.[4]
The town is situated at the edge of a fertile plain, on the north side of theSultan Mountains.[5] Its elevation is 1,025 m (3,363 ft).[6]
Philomelion (Greek:Φιλομήλιον) was probably a Pergamene foundation on the great Graeco-Roman Highway fromEphesus to the east andCicero, on his way toCilicia, dated some of his extant correspondence there.St Paul passed the city on his second and third missionary journey in the first century and his impact can be traced by numerous Christian inscriptions in the region.[7] TheSmyrniotes wrote the letter that describes themartyrdom ofPolycarp to the townspeople of Philomelion. The town became at some point abishopric and remains atitular see of theCatholic Church.[8]
At some point after 1071, the city fell to the SeljukSultanate of Rum. It was retaken by forces of theFirst Crusade and in 1098Stephen of Blois met emperorAlexios I Komnenos here, persuading him to not continue his march toAntioch.[9] Alexios returned in one of his final campaigns in 1116 to Philomelion which heconquered and returned with many Greek refugees to Byzantine lands.[4] In 1146, the town was taken by emperorManuel I Komnenos after defeating forces of theSultanate of Rum atAkroinon. Manuel burned the town and released several prisoners who had been detained here. The town was taken a final time by German members of theThird Crusade in 1190 but rebuilt in 1196 byKaykhusraw I and resettled with Greek captives taken on a raid from Caria.[4]
It became an importantSeljuk town, and late in the 14th century passed intoOttoman hands. It would serve, along with Beyshehir, as the border between the Ottomans and the Karamanid beylik, and the two towns would change hands multiple times until Mehmed II annexed the Karamanid state. There SultanBayezid I is said by Ali ofYezd to have died after his defeat at theBattle of Ankara at the hands ofEmir Timur.[5]
The town's landmarks include the alleged tomb ofNasreddin Hoca, thetomb of Seydi Mahmut, the house used as headquarters by theTurkish Army during the last phase of theGreco-Turkish War (1919–1922), other monuments and old Turkish houses.
Between 5 July and 10 July each year, commemorations with concerts and other social activities are held to the memory of Akşehir's famous resident, Nasreddin Hodja.
With its rich architectural heritage, Akşehir is a member of theNorwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions.[10]
TheTurkish nameAkşehir literally means "white city". It is a compound of two words, namelyak, "white", aTurkic word; andşehir, "town", which is fromPersianشهرshahr, "town".
In English usage other spellings of the name includeAk-Shehr, Ak-Shahr, Akshehr, Akshahr, Akshehir, andAqshahr.
There are 55neighbourhoods in Akşehir District:[11]
Akşehir experiences ahot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen:Csa),[12] with hot, dry summers, and chilly, rainy, often snowy winters.[13]
| Climate data for Akşehir (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) | 7.4 (45.3) | 12.0 (53.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 22.0 (71.6) | 26.5 (79.7) | 30.4 (86.7) | 30.6 (87.1) | 26.4 (79.5) | 20.3 (68.5) | 13.2 (55.8) | 7.1 (44.8) | 18.2 (64.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.8 (33.4) | 2.6 (36.7) | 6.7 (44.1) | 11.3 (52.3) | 15.9 (60.6) | 19.9 (67.8) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.4 (74.1) | 19.2 (66.6) | 13.7 (56.7) | 7.3 (45.1) | 2.8 (37.0) | 12.3 (54.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.5 (27.5) | −1.4 (29.5) | 2.0 (35.6) | 5.8 (42.4) | 10.0 (50.0) | 13.5 (56.3) | 16.2 (61.2) | 16.2 (61.2) | 12.2 (54.0) | 7.9 (46.2) | 2.6 (36.7) | −0.6 (30.9) | 6.9 (44.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 53.66 (2.11) | 53.4 (2.10) | 58.7 (2.31) | 52.01 (2.05) | 54.63 (2.15) | 42.56 (1.68) | 13.92 (0.55) | 9.78 (0.39) | 21.98 (0.87) | 41.09 (1.62) | 50.62 (1.99) | 69.37 (2.73) | 521.72 (20.54) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 7.5 | 6.8 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.3 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 8.2 | 69.9 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 75.9 | 69.6 | 62.3 | 58.4 | 57.4 | 54.2 | 46.5 | 46.5 | 50.3 | 60.5 | 68.0 | 75.3 | 60.4 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 90.0 | 123.0 | 173.7 | 206.5 | 252.8 | 291.6 | 338.8 | 314.7 | 267.3 | 196.8 | 144.4 | 85.8 | 2,485.3 |
| Source:NOAA[14] | |||||||||||||
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ak-Shehr".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 458.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Philomelium".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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