Beypazarı is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Ankara Province Ankara Province (, ) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey with the capital city Ankara. Its area is 25,632 km2, and its population is 5,782,285 (2022). History The site of the modern city has been home to settlements ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 1,697 km², and its population is 48,357 (2022). It is approximately 100 km northwest of the city of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

. The elevation in the center is . It used to be an important city in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

in ancient times.

Etymology

The name ''Beypazarı'' means ''The

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

's market'' in Turkish, as in the Ottoman period this was an important military base and the cavalry stationed here were an important element of the local economy.

History

The area has a long history of occupation by

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

Phrygians The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity. Ancient Greek authors used "Phrygian" as an umbrella term t ...

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Beypazarı was known as ''Lagania'' (), meaning 'rocky peak' or alternatively 'cooking pot' in the

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

during the

Ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

times, and the town was a regional administrative center. Like most Luwian cities located in West Anatolia, Lagania supported the Trojans during the famous Trojan war.The area was conquered by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

in 333 BC. It was followingly occupied Galatians namely the

Tectosages The Tectosages or Tectosagii (Gaulish: *''Textosagioi'', 'Dwelling-Seekers', or 'Possessions-Seekers') were one of the three ancient Gallic tribes of Galatia in central Asia Minor, together with the Tolistobogii and Trocmii.Livy, xxxviii. 16 ...

. The gallic region was later (189 BC) subjected by the Romans. It became a

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

in 25 BC, and was split into two provinces, Galatia Prima and Galatia Secunda. The town gained importance in

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

times when it was also an episcopal see, suffragan of the Metropolis of Ancyra (modern

), mentioned by the when it took the name ''Anastasiopolis'' ()during the reign of Emperor Anastasius I () after he visited the city which he liked very much. One of its most known bishops was Theodore of Sykeon, later declared saint. No longer a residential bishopric, Lagania remains a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The town was conquered by the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

in the 12th century and was settled by various lords of the

Oghuz Turks The Oghuz Turks ( Middle Turkic: , ) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia ...

, eventually becoming part of the

. Gazi Gündüzalp, the grandfather of

Osman I Osman I or Osman Ghazi (; or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4) was the eponymous founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as a bey, beylik or emirate). While initially a small Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman principality during Osman's lifetime, h ...

, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, is buried in the village of Hırkatepe in the district.

Beypazarı today

Beypazarı today is a small town in a rural district famous for its carrots, (producing nearly 60% of Turkey's carrots), silverwork ( Telkari), and a high quality natural mineral water. The crystal mineral

trona Trona (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, also sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate, Na2CO3·NaHCO3·2H2O) is a non- marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replaced ...

, a kind of natural soda used in glass-making is extracted in Beypazarı. With its rich history,

architectural heritage ''Architectural Heritage'' is an academic journal published by Edinburgh University Press on behalf of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland in November each year. It was founded in 1991. The journal focuses on architectural history an ...

and attractive rocky countryside Beypazarı is becoming increasingly attractive to visitors, especially day-trippers from Ankara. The cobbled streets of white Ottoman period buildings are particularly attractive; many of the old houses have been restored as hotels and restaurants (and are also popular with Turkish film directors looking for ''authentic'' locations. Every June the town holds its popular ''Traditional Historical Houses, Handicrafts, Carrot and stew Festival''. The visitors of course are bringing valuable income to the town, shopping for silverware and providing good custom for the food markets and restaurants. For many visitors a major attraction is the cuisine, which includes typical Turkish dishes such as the yoghurt drink ''

ayran Ayran ( ) is a cold savory yogurt-based beverage that is consumed across Central Asia, and the Balkans, in Turkey and Iran. The principal ingredients are yogurt, water and salt. Herbs such as mint may be optionally added. Some varieties are ...

'', cracked wheat (or flour), yoghurt, and vegetables fermented then dried and mixed with water to make a thick soup '' tarhana'', stuffed vine leaves, home-made sausage '' mumbar'', and a stew cooked in a stone-oven called ''

güveç Güveç () is a family of earthenware pots used in Balkan, Persian, Turkish, and Levantine cuisine; various casserole or stew dishes cooked in them are called ghivetch. The pot is wide and medium-tall, can be glazed or unglazed, and the dish ...

''. Sweets include the sweet cream pudding called '' höşmerim'' and pastries including a dry buttery biscuit called '' Beypazarı kurusu'', and a renowned 80-layer ''

baklava Baklava (, or ; ) is a layered pastry dessert made of filo pastry, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It was one of the most popular sweet pastries of Ottoman cuisine. There are several theories for the origin of th ...

''. They are also very inventive with their carrots, drinking carrot juice and producing carrot-flavoured Turkish Delight and carrot ice-cream. Beypazarı is surrounded by good farmland and the fresh ingredients are a large part of why Beypazarı's cooking is so popular with visitors. One of the best-known eateries is the restored Ottoman house, the ''Taş Mektep'' restaurant. A popular gift to take back home is the sticky sausage-shaped sweet made from dried molasses-like grape syrup stuffed with walnut '' cevizli sucuk''. The town is unusual in Turkey, for celebrating a religious festival (''Regaip Kandili'', the conception of the prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

) with lights and fireworks. Beypazarı is a member of the European Association of Historic Towns and Regions (EAHTR). Mayor of Ankara

Mansur Yavaş Mansur Yavaş (; born 23 May 1955) is a Turkish lawyer and politician who is currently the Mayor of Ankara, holding the office since April 2019. He was elected in the 2019 Ankara mayoral election as the candidate of the Nation Alliance (Turkey), ...

was born in the district and he was the mayor of Beypazarı between 1999 and 2009.

Composition

There are 78

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Beypazarı District: * Acısu * Adaören * Akçakavak * Akçalı * Aşağıgüney * Ayvaşık * Bağözü * Başağaç * Başören * Batça * Beytepe * Boyalı * Çakıloba * Çantırlı * Cumhuriyet * Dağşeyhler * Dereli * Dibecik * Dibekören * Dikmen * Doğançalı * Doğanyurt * Dudaş *

Fasıl The ''fasıl'' is a suite in Ottoman classical music. It is similar to the Arabic '' nawba'' and '' waslah''. A classical ''fasıl'' generally includes movements such as '' taksim'', '' peşrev'', '' kâr'', '' beste'', ''ağır semâ'î'', '' ...

* Gazipaşa * Geyikpınarı * Gürsöğüt * Hacıkara * Harmancık * Haydarlar * Hırkatepe * İncepelit * İstiklal * Kabaca * Kabalar * Kaplan * Kapullu * Karacaören * Karaören * Karaşar * Kargı * Kayabükü * Kerbanlar * Kırbaşı * Kırşeyhler * Kızılcasöğüt * Köseler * Köst * Kozağaç * Kozalan * Kurtkovan * Kurtuluş * Kuyucak * Kuyumcutekke * Macun * Mahmutlar * Mençeler * Mikail * Nuhhoca * Oymaağaç * Rüstempaşa * Saray * Sarıağıl * Sekli * Sopçaalan * Tacettin * Tahir * Üreğil * Uruş * Uşakgöl * Yalnızçam * Yeşilağaç * Yiğerler * Yıldız * Yoğunpelit * Yukarıgüney * Yukarıulucak * Zafer

Climate

Beypazarı has a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''BSk''), with hot, dry summers, and chilly, damp, occasionally snowy winters.

Places of interest

* Hıdırlık Tepesi, a hilltop view of the town * Ottoman period buildings include the 17th-century Suluhan

Caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

and the 13th-century Sultan Alaedin Mosque * The ''Kültür Evi'' museum, displaying items from Hittite, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman times * Inözü Valley, a steep-walled canyon, giving access to the caves, tombs, and churches carved into the rock

Notes

References

* *

External links

District municipality's official website

District governor's official website

The Unique Tourism Site of Beypazari

Beypazarı local news website

Travel guide to Beypazarı

Beypazarı Facebook Official Fan Page

Series of travel articles about Beypazari
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beypazari, Ankara Populated places in Ankara Province Districts of Ankara Province Lagania World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey