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Akehir
Found in: Cities in Turkey
Akehir is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 114,918 of which 60,226 live in the town of Akehir. The town was known in the Roman and Byzantine Empires as Philomelium (Latin language) and Philomelion (Greek language) respectively.
The town is situated at the edge of a fertile plain, on the north side of the Sultan Dagh.
History
Philomelion was probably a Pergamenian foundation on the great Graeco-Roman Highway from Ephesus to the east, and to its townsmen the Smyrniotes wrote the letter that describes the martyrdom of Polycarp. Cicero, on his way to Cilicia, dated some of his extant correspondence there; and the place played a considerable part in the frontier wars between the Byzantine emperors and the Sultanate of Rum. It became an important Seljuk town, and late in the 14th century passed into Ottoman hands. There Bayezid Yilderim is said by Ali of Yezd to have died after his defeat at Angora.
Modern times
The town's landmarks include the alleged tomb of Nasreddin Hodja, the house used as headquarters by the Turkish Army during the last phase of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), other monuments and old Turkish houses.
Between 5 July - 10 July each year, commemorations with concerts and other social activities are held to the memory of Akehir's famous resident that was Nasreddin Hodja.
With its rich architectural heritage, Akehir is a member of the Norwich-based European Association of Historic Towns and Regions.
Name
The name Akehir literally means "white city" in Turkish. It is a compound of two Turkish words, namely ak, "white", and ehir, "town". The word ehir comes from Persian shahr, "town".
In English usage other spellings of the name include Ak-Shehr, Ak-Shahr, Akshehr, Akshahr, Akshehir, and Aqshahr.
Notable People From Akehir
Nasreddin Hodja
Ali Kirca
Aykut Karaman
Meltem Cumbul
Lutfi Kibiroglu
Tarik Bugra
Ozgu Namal
External links
District governor's official website
District municipality's official website
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Akehir