Gümüşhacıköy is located in the westernmost district of

Amasya Province Amasya Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey, situated on the Yeşil River in the Black Sea Region to the north of the country. The provincial capital is Amasya, the antique ''Amaseia'' mentioned in documents from the era of Alexander the Gre ...

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

, 20 km from the larger town of

Merzifon Merzifon ( hy, Մարզուան, Marzvan, Middle Persian: ; grc, Μερσυφὼν, Mersyphòn, el, Μερζιφούντα, Merzifounta) is a town and district in Amasya Province in the central Black Sea region of Turkey. It covers an area of , ...

. It covers an area of 653 km², and the population (2010 census) is 24,806 of which 14,525 live in the town of Gümüşhacıköy, with the remainder spread throughout the surrounding mountainous countryside. The mayor is Zehra Özyol ( CHP). The name Gümüşhacıköy is an amalgamation of two separate villages ''Gümüş'' (silver) and ''Hacıköy'' (the village of pilgrims).

Climate

Gümüşhacıköy has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Csb'').

History

The town achieved some prosperity during the 13th and 14th centuries due to the nearby silver mines. Both the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

and the Ilkhans minted coins in the town, then known as ''Gümüşbazar'' ( ar, كمشبازار). The town grew and continued to thrive under Ottoman rule. The population shrank as the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

collapsed, and many men of Gümüşhacıköy were lost in the Balkan Wars and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Today Gümüşhacıköy is a small town in attractive countryside. Successive generations migrate to larger cities in search of careers leaving an aging and shrinking population behind.

Places of interest

* The town has had a rich history and the many Seljuk and Ottoman buildings include urban architecture such as Bedestan (the covered bazaar), Büyük hamam (Turkish bath), and Kabak çeşmesi (fountain) and especially..... * Mosques such as Haliliye Medresesi, Yörgüç Paşa Camii, Darphane Camii, Maden Camii (a converted church). * There is also an attractive picnic area with a waterfall in the forests near the district of Şarlayuk.

Villages of Gümüşhacıköy

References

Populated places in Amasya Province Districts of Amasya Province Gümüşhacıköy District {{Amasya-geo-stub