Beyşehir

The Hittite monument situated in Beyşehir's depending locality of Eflatunpınar, at a short distance to the northeast from the town, proves that the Hittite Empire had reached as far as the region, marking in fact, in the light of present knowledge, the limits of their extension to the southwest. Evidence points out that an earlier settlement, perhaps dating back to the Neolithic Age, was also located in Eflatunpınar. Another important early settlement was located in Erbaba Höyük, situated 10 km (6 mi) to the southwest of Beyşehir, and which was explored by the Canadian archaeologists Jacques and Louise Alpes Bordaz in the 1970s, leading to finds from three neolithic building layers.

The Beyşehir region corresponds to classical antiquity's Pisidia. At the location of the town itself there was in all likelihood a Greek city, which in one view was probably named Karallia, which was one of the two urban centers that surrounded the lake at the time, and in Roman times was known as Claudiocaesarea (Greek: Κλαυδιοκαισάρεια, Klaudiokaisareia), and Mistheia (Greek: Μίσθεια) in Byzantine times. Another theory is that Beyşehir's site corresponds to that of Casae (Κἀσαι), the seat of a Christian diocese of the Roman province of Pamphylia, which under Roman rule included large parts of Pisidia.[4][5] The names of some of its bishops are given in documents concerning church councils held from 381 to 879.[6][7] No longer a residential bishopric, Casae in Pamphylia is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[8]

The state of desolation into which the ancient city, whatever it was called, had fallen by the first decades of the 13th century is suggested by the name "Viranşehir" that the Seljuk Turks had given to the town, meaning "the desolate city". The Seljuk Sultans of Rum based in Konya nevertheless built their summer residence nearby, in an agglomeration situated on the southwestern lake shore at a distance of 80 km (50 mi) from Beyşehir city, and which came to be known as Kubadabad Palace. While the most precious finds of Kubadabad site date from the reign of Alaeddin Keykubad (1220–1237), it was a seasonal settlement area chosen by and for the sultans already in the late 12th century.

After the fall of the Seljuks, Viranşehir was renamed for a time as Süleymanşehir in honor of one of the beys of the region's ruling dynasty, the Eshrefids, who made the town into his capital. Since the beys of Eshrefids resided here, the present name of Beyşehir was gradually adopted for the town. The Great Mosque of Beyşehir built by the dynasty between 1296–1299, also called Eşrefoğlu Mosque, is considered one of the masterpieces of the intermediate period of Anatolian beyliks between the Seljuk and Ottoman architecture styles.

There are 67 neighbourhoods in Beyşehir District:[9]

• Suleiman Sirr Koydemir (Beshtoev) — is a well-known political and public figure in Turkey. Graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Konya. He served as Mayor of Beysehir. He was awarded the highest award of Turkey "Istiklal Medallion" (Medal of Freedom). Ingush by nationality. [10]
• Makki Sharif Bashtav — The largest Turkish medieval historian and Turkologist, Byzantine scholar and specialist in Hungarian studies, professor. Ingush by nationality.[11]

• Eşrefoğlu Mosque, 13th-century mosque
• Lake Beyşehir, Turkey's third biggest lake, and the biggest freshwater lake.
• Kubadabad Palace
• Eflatunpınar, a spring with a monument by Hittites inside the nearby Lake Beyşehir National Park.
• Taşköprü, a historic regulator dam and pedestrian bridge

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beyşehir.

• District governor's official website (in Turkish)
• District municipality's official website (in Turkish)
• Beyşehir Göl Gazetesi - Local Newspaper
• Beyşehir Pictures and some information
• Beyşehir Pictures, very many of the wonderful mosque