Aksaray (Karsaura)
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- aksaray
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- aksaray
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- aksaray
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- aksaray
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- aksaray
The city of Aksaray is located to the north of Hasan Mountain and to the southeast of the Salt Lake. It is right on
the intersection of the Kayseri – Konya and Ankara – Adana main roads. The first known name of the city is Garsaura. During the reign of Arkhaleos, the Persian King of Cappadocia, the city was called Archelais. After the Anatolian Seljuk State was established, Kihcarslan II changed the name to Aksaray – the white palace when a palace was built of marble upon his orders. After the Battle of Ankara, fought in 1402 between the Ottoman Sultan Yıldırım Beyazıt and the Mongol warrior Tamerlane, the city was taken over by the Karamanids and remained under their control until it was restored back to the Ottoman empire in 1468 by Mehmet II, the Conqueror who actually eliminated the emirate of the Karamanids. Aksaray was a provincial capital from 1924 to 1933 when it was made a town in the province of Nigde. It gained its position as the provincial capital again on 15 July 1989.
Among the places of interest in Aksaray are caravanserais of Alayhan (1192), Sultan Han (1229) and Ağzıkarahan (1231 – 1237), Eğri Minare (13th C), Zinciriye Medrese (14th C) and Ulu Mosque (1413). Apart from this historic monuments, the districts of Yaprakhisar, Selime, Belisirma, Güzelyurt and the valley of Ihlara have become rather popular destinations with their natural beauties and historic heritage.
Being located on the intersection of the Kayseri – Konya and Ankara .- Adana roads and not far away from the capital, the city of Aksaray has been developing and prospering rather quickly
