Gülşehir, formerly Aravissos and Arapsun, ancient Zoropassos (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: ''Ζωρόπασος''), is a town and district of

Nevşehir Province Nevşehir Province ( tr, , from the Persian compound نو شهر ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city") is a province in central Turkey with its capital in Nevşehir. Its adjacent provinces are Kırşehir to the northwest, Aksaray to the southwest, ...

in the

Central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is bordered ...

region of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, in the vicinity of the Fairy Chimney valley of

Göreme Göreme (; grc, Κόραμα, Kòrama) is a village of around 2,000 people in Nevşehir province in Central Anatolia. It is well known for its fairy chimneys ( Turkish: ''peribacalar''), eroded rock formations, many of which were hollowed out i ...

. According to 2010 census, population of the district is 24,503 of which 8,866 live in the town of Gülşehir, and the remainder in surrounding villages.Statistical Institute
/ref> The district covers an area of , and the average elevation is .

History

The old name of Gülşehir, situated on the southern bank of the

Kızıl River Kizil may refer to: People * Bahar Kizil (born 1988), German singer-songwriter Places * Kizil Caves, Buddhist rock-cut caves located near Kizil Township * Kızıl Kule, main tourist attraction in the Turkish city of Alanya * Kızılırmak River, ...

, 20 km from Nevşehir, is Arapsun and in ancient times it was called “Zoropassos” by the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...

. In the vicinity of Gülşehir there are still rocks and steles with inscriptions from the Hittites. The Ottoman Grand Vizier Karavezir Mehmet Seyyid Pasha did the same thing in Gülşehir as

Damat İbrahim Pasha Damat Ibrahim Pasha ( tr, Damat İbrahim Paşa, sh, Damat Ibrahim-paša; 1517–1601) was an Ottoman military commander and statesman who held the office of grand vizier three times (the first time from 4 April to 27 October 1596; the second ti ...

did in the nearby

Nevşehir Nevşehir (from the Persian compound ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city"), formerly Neapolis (Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις) and Muşkara, is a largely modern city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of Tur ...

and a

külliye A külliye ( ota, كلية) is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa ("cl ...

was built in the town which had only 30 houses. The complex consisted of a mosque, a

madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

and a fountain. According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82-1893, the

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

of Gülşehir had a total population of 14.984, consisting of 11.029 Muslims, 3.935

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

and 20

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

Kemal Karpat Kemal Haşim Karpat (15 February 1924, Babadag Tulcea, Romania – 20 February 2019, Manchester, New Hampshire, United States) was a Romanian- Turkish naturalised American historian and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Earl ...

(1985)
Ottoman Population, 1830-1914, Demographic and Social Characteristics

The University of Wisconsin Press The University of Wisconsin Press (sometimes abbreviated as UW Press) is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It publishes work by scholars from the global academic community; works of fiction, memoir and po ...

, p. 142-143 The

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

, located completely inside an artificial cave deep in the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, is a local tourist attraction.

Villages and towns

Villages and towns in the district: * Abuuşağı * Alemli *

Alkan Alkan may refer to: Places Iran * Alkan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad * Alkan, Qom Turkey * Alkan, Gülşehir, in Gülşehir, Gülşehir district Given name * Alkan Chaglar (born 1981), Turkish Cypriot journalist and columnist Surname * Ahmet Alk ...

* Bölükören * Civelek * Dadağ * Eğrikuyu * Emmiler * Eskiyaylacık * Fakuşağı * Gökçetoprak * Gülpınar * Gümüşkent * Gümüşyazı * Hacıhalilli *

Hacılar Hacılar is a town and district of Kayseri Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, tra ...

* Hamzalı * Karacaşar * Karahüyük * Kızılkaya * Oğulkaya * Ovaören * Şahinler * Terlemez * Tuzköy * Yakatarla * Yalıntaş * Yamalı * Yeniyaylacık * Yeşilli * Yeşilöz * Yeşilyurt * Yüksekli

Notes

References

* *

External links

A detailed website about Gülşehir

District governor's official website

Map of Gülşehir district

Administrative map of Gülşehir district
Towns in Turkey Cappadocia Populated places in Nevşehir Province Districts of Nevşehir Province {{Nevşehir-geo-stub

History

Villages and towns

See also

Notes

References

External links