Hançerli is a former

Karamanlides The Karamanlides (; ), also known as Karamanli Greeks: "Turkophone Greeks are called Karamanli Greeks or Karamanlides, and their language and literature is called Karamanli Turkish or Karamanlidika, but the scholarly literature has no equivalent ...

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, famous for its Dermason

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s. The village, officially a

neighborhood 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. Neigh ...

, is in the

Niğde district Niğde District (also: ''Merkez'', meaning "central" in Turkish) is a district of the Niğde Province of Turkey. Its seat is the city of Niğde.Niğde province Niğde Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Its area is 7,234 km2, and its population is 365,419 (2022) of which 170,511 live in the city of Niğde. The population was 348,081 in 200 ...

in central

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 9 kilometers from the capital of the province, and its population is 294.

Name

The village has been known by many names, many of them similar to each other. It is listed as Dilmuson in official Ottoman records from the years 1500, 1518, and 1530. The village's name is listed as Dylmusun or Termissos in an early 20th-century catalog of

archeological sites Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

in southern

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 ...

, as Τελμησσός, Τελμησός, Ντελμισσόν, Ντελμοσό, Hancereli, or Dulmucum in a study of late 19th- and early 20th-century migrants or refugees, and as Τερμισσός in a late 19th-century study of Cappadocian monasteries. Its name is listed as Dilmisson or ديلميصون in a Turkish Interior Ministry report in 1928, but as Hançerli in a 1957 geographical study.

History

The village flourished economically from 1839 to 1870 as a center of

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

trade in

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

. In 1920, the population of the village included 1045

and 1283

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. In the Population Exchange of 1923, the Karamanlides of the village were sent to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

while 176 Muslims from

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

and Chroupista in Greece were settled in the village.

Local sights

In the village center is an old

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, the former

Analepsis A flashback, more formally known as analepsis, is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of ...

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

; it was built in 1832, constructed of cut

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

on a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

plan, but is now used as a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. Before the construction of this building, the village's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

was a cave church dedicated to the

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

. Within the village are three historic

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

s ('' çeşmeler''), one with an inscription in

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 ...

and Karamanli and the date 1832. Also in the village is an old washery (''

yunak Yunak is a municipality and district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,101 km2, and its population is 20,991 (2022). Composition There are 42 neighbourhoods in Yunak District: * Altınöz * Ayrıtepe * Beşışıklı * Böğrüdelik ...

'') or

laundry Laundry is the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with this u ...

building ('' çamaşırhane''). To the northeast of the village are the ruins of the Koimesis of the

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are or (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-beare ...

Monastery.

Local products

The village is known for the Dermason variety of beans, registered for protected

geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town or region). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, is inten ...

by the Niğde Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The beans are defined as "white in color, with a somewhat plump but flat (oblate) shape, one edge straight and the other edge rounded, and generally large in size."

References

Villages in Niğde District Former Greek towns in Turkey Cappadocian Greeks Greeks in Turkey {{improve categories, date=September 2024