Eğirdir is a town in Isparta Province in the Mediterranean Region of

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 ...

. It is the seat of Eğirdir District.İlçe Belediyesi
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Its population is 16,759 (2022). Eğirdir is located on a peninsula in Lake Eğirdir, with two nearby islands that are now connected to the mainland by a causeway. In the Middle Ages, the town was the capital of a small principality.

Geography

Eğirdir is located near the south end of Lake Eğirdir, on a peninsula extending northwards into the lake. Immediately southwest of Eğirdir is a mountain called Eğirdirsivrisi or Camili dağı, which rises to 1,733 m above sea level. Northeast of Eğirdir are two islands called Can Ada and Yeşil Ada, which are now connected to the mainland by a causeway. Yeşil Ada was formerly called Nis Ada, probably derived from Greek ''νησί'' (''nesí'') "island". The town is located about 110 km north of

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

Climate

Eğirdir has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

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 ...

: ''Csa'') with some continental influence; hot, dry summers, and chilly, wet winters with frequent snow.

History

The town and the lake were formerly called ''Eğridir'', a Turkish pronunciation and possible appropriation of the town's old

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

name Akrotiri. Moreover, the name "Eğridir" means '(It) is bent.'. The Greek name ''Akroterion'' () is first attested in 1438, although it was probably in use earlier, in Byzantine times. The discovery of numerous ancient coins suggests that there was an early settlement here. The ancient settlement of Prostanna was most likely located nearby, on the Eğirdirsivrisi mountain. The

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

first conquered it around 1080. It was probably conquered along with Isparta in 1204 by Kilij Arslan III of the Seljuk

Sultanate of Rum The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. ...

. The later Seljuk sultan Kayqubad I probably built the town's citadel during his reign in the 1220s-30s. In the 1300s, Eğirdir (also known as ''Falakābād'' during this period) became the capital of the Hamidoğulları beylik.

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

, who visited the town in 1332 (and called it ''Akrīdūr'' in Arabic), described it as "a great and populous city with fine bazaars and running streams, mosques, fruit trees and orchards", which was situated beside "a lake of sweet water". He also referred to merchant shipping on Lake Eğirdir at this point. The Hamidoğulları principality lasted until 1381. Can Ada was uninhabited in ancient and medieval times, but Yeşil Ada used to have a domed Christian basilica decorated with numerous frescoes which are stylistically dated to the 9th through 13th centuries. Another adjacent church, now converted into a mosque, was dated to the 14th century.

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

captured Eğirdir in 1403, and then the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

took control in 1417. Most of Eğirdir's population consisted of Greek Orthodox people until the population exchanges of the 1920s.

Features

Eğirdir lies between Lake Eğirdir and the Mount Sivri, and contains the Eğirdir Castle said to have been built by

Croesus Croesus ( ; ; Latin: ; reigned: ) was the Monarch, king of Lydia, who reigned from 585 BC until his Siege of Sardis (547 BC), defeat by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 547 or 546 BC. According to Herodotus, he reigned 14 years. Croesus was ...

, king of

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

, although additions were built by the Romans, Byzantines, and

. The population of Eğirdir was 19,469 in 2010, but swells in the summer months as part-time residents return for the holidays. Eğirdir is a fishing community and local residents fish in Lake Eğirdir year round. Yeşil Ada (Turkish for "green island") is a small island connected to Eğirdir by a short causeway. Restaurants, hotels, pensions (pansyons or hostels), and a few private residences fill the island. Known for its past as a Greek village, Yeşıl Ada still has quite a few stone homes remaining from the Greek era. Locals claim that Eğirdir is home to the world's only walk-through minaret.

References

Gallery

File:Eğirdir View 005.jpg, Eğirdir View File:Eğirdir Dündar Bey Medresesi and Hızır Bey Camii 3002.jpg, Eğirdir Dünbar Bey Medresesi and Hızır Bey Camii File:Eğirdir Dünbar Bey Medresi and Hızır Bey Camii 019.jpg, Eğirdir Dünbar Bey Medresesi, Hızır Bey Camiye File:Dündar Bey Madrasa.jpg, Dündar Bey Madrasa File:Eğirdir Dünbar Bey Medresi and Hızır Bey Camii 3009.jpg, Eğirdir Dünbar Bey Medresesi and Hızır Bey Camii years later File:Eğirdir Hızır Bey Camii 2993.jpg, Eğirdir Hızır Bey Camii interior File:Eğirdir Museum 031.jpg, Eğirdir Museum File:Eğirdir, byzantinisch-seldschukische Burg.jpg, Eğirdir, byzantinisch-seldschukische Burg

External links

District municipality's official website

Egirdir, Turkey Information Website
Populated places in Eğirdir District Fishing communities in Turkey District municipalities in Turkey Cittaslow {{Isparta-geo-stub