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Beyşehir

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Overview

Beyşehir (pronounced [ˈbejʃeˌhiɾ]) is a municipality and district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,054 km2, and its population is 77,690 (2022). The town is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Beyşehir and is marked to the west and the southwest by the steep lines and forests of the Taurus Mountains, while a fertile plain, an extension of the lake area, extends in the southeastern direction.

Facts

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Source

WBP almanac

External sources

Wikivoyage Wikipedia

Media

From Wikipedia883 words

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Beyond the lake: day‑tripping the highland rim

While most visitors focus on the waterside promenade, the surrounding Taurus foothills reward a short drive with a change of scenery. The winding road from Beyşehir to the village of Çıralı offers a series of ancient stone dry‑stone walls that outline terraced fields dating back to Byzantine agrarian reforms. Stop at a roadside tea stall and ask the owner about the seasonal harvest of wild oregano, a herb that locals dry and sell to nearby markets. The higher altitude yields a cooler micro‑climate, making the area ideal for late‑summer picnics when the lake shoreline can become crowded. A brief detour to the modest stone bridge at Çamlıköy gives a glimpse of the region’s modest engineering heritage, rarely highlighted in guidebooks.

Culinary crossroads: tasting Central Anatolia’s lesser‑known fare

Beyşehir’s position between the Konya plateau and the Taurus woodlands creates a subtle culinary blend that differs from the more familiar kebab‑centric fare of larger Turkish cities. Seek out a family‑run lokanta that serves “kavurma” prepared with locally reared lamb and wild mushrooms gathered from the nearby forest. The dish is finished with a splash of pomegranate molasses, a nod to the historic trade routes that once linked the town to the silk road. Pair it with a glass of “şarap” produced in the vineyards of the lower lake basin – a modest, fruit‑forward wine that seldom appears on export lists but showcases the region’s emerging viticulture.

When the festivals roll: timing your visit for cultural immersion

The town’s calendar is punctuated by a spring ceremony celebrating the ancient spring water source at Eflatun Pınar, where locals perform a series of folk dances accompanied by the distinctive sound of the “saz” and the rhythmic clacking of wooden spoons. Attending this event provides an unfiltered view of how communal identity is tied to the surrounding water bodies. Unlike the larger festival circuits in nearby Konya, the Beyşehir gathering remains intimate, allowing visitors to engage directly with participants, learn a few steps, and understand the symbolic significance of water in Anatolian mythic narratives.

Introduction

District and municipality in Konya, TurkeyBeyşehirDistrict and municipalityTaşköprü ("Stone Bridge"), a historical regulator dam and bridge in BeyşehirMap showing Beyşehir District in Konya ProvinceBeyşehirLocation in TurkeyShow map of TurkeyBeyşehirBeyşehir (Turkey Central Anatolia)Show map of Turkey Central AnatoliaCoordinates: 37°40′35″N 31°43′34″E / 37.67639°N 31.72611°E / 37.67639; 31.72611CountryTurkeyProvinceKonyaGovernment • MayorAdil BayındırArea2,054 km2 (793 sq mi)Elevation1,150 m (3,770 ft)Population (2024)79,629 • Density38.77/km2 (100.4/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)Area code0332ClimateCsaWebsiteBeyşehir MunicipalityBeyşehir District Governorate Hittite monument at Eflatun Pınar inside the national park. Beyşehir (pronounced [ˈbejʃeˌhiɾ]) is a municipality and district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,054 km2, and its population is 77,690 (2022). The town is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Beyşehir and is marked to the west and the southwest by the steep lines and forests of the Taurus Mountains, while a fertile plain, an extension of the lake area, extends in the southeastern direction.

History

[edit] Main article: Mistea The Hittite monument situated in Beyşehir's depending locality of Eflatunpınar, at a short distance to the northeast from the town, proves that the Hittite Empire had reached as far as the region, marking in fact, in the light of present knowledge, the limits of their extension to the southwest. Evidence points out that an earlier settlement, perhaps dating back to the Neolithic Age, was also located in Eflatunpınar. Another important early settlement was located in Erbaba Höyük, situated 10 km (6 mi) to the southwest of Beyşehir, and which was explored by the Canadian archaeologists Jacques and Louise Alpes Bordaz in the 1970s, leading to finds from three neolithic building layers. The Beyşehir region corresponds to classical antiquity's Pisidia. At the location of the town itself there was in all likelihood a Greek city, which in one view was probably named Karallia, which was one of the two urban centers that surrounded the lake at the time, and in Roman times was known as Claudiocaesarea (Greek: Κλαυδιοκαισάρεια, Klaudiokaisareia), and Mistheia (Greek: Μίσθεια) in Byzantine times. Another theory is that Beyşehir's site corresponds to that of Casae (Κἀσαι), the seat of a Christian diocese of the Roman province of Pamphylia, which under Roman rule included large parts of Pisidia. The names of some of its bishops are given in documents concerning church councils held from 381 to 879. No longer a residential bishopric, Casae in Pamphylia is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see. The state of desolation into which the ancient city, whatever it was called, had fallen by the first decades of the 13th century is suggested by the name "Viranşehir" that the Seljuk Turks had given to the town, meaning "the desolate city". The Seljuk Sultans of Rum based in Konya nevertheless built their summer residence nearby, in an agglomeration situated on the southwestern lake shore at a distance of 80 km (50 mi) from Beyşehir city, and which came to be known as Kubadabad Palace. While the most precious finds of Kubadabad site date from the reign of Alaeddin Keykubad (1220–1237), it was a seasonal settlement area chosen by and for the sultans already in the late 12th century. After the fall of the Seljuks, Viranşehir was renamed for a time as Süleymanşehir in honor of one of the beys of the region's ruling dynasty, the Eshrefids, who made the town into his capital. Since the beys of Eshrefids resided here, the present name of Beyşehir was gradually adopted for the town. The Great Mosque of Beyşehir built by the dynasty between 1296 and 1299, also called Eşrefoğlu Mosque, is considered one of the masterpieces of the intermediate period of Anatolian beyliks between the Seljuk and Ottoman architecture styles.

Composition

[edit] There are 67 neighbourhoods in Beyşehir District: Adaköy Ağılönü Akburun Avdancık Avşar Bademli Bahçelievler Başgöze Bayat Bayavşar Bayındır Bektemir Beytepe Çetmi Çiçekler Çiftlikköy Çivril Çukurağıl Dalyan Damlapınar Doğanbey Doğancık Dumanlı Eğirler Eğlikler Emen Esence Esentepe Evsat Fasıllar Göçü Gökçekuyu Gökçimen Gölkaşı Gölyaka Gönen Gündoğdu Hacıakif Hacıarmağan Hamidiye Huğlu Hüseyinler İçerişehir İsaköy Karaali Karabayat Karadiken Karahisar Kayabaşı Küçükafşar Kurucaova Kuşluca Mesutlar Müftü Sadıkhacı Şamlar Sarıköy Sevindik Üçpınar Üstünler Üzümlü Yazyurdu Yeni Yenidoğan Yeşildağ Yukarıesence Yunuslar

Climate

[edit] Beyşehir has a dry-summer humid continental climate (Köppen: Dsa), bordering on a mediterranean climate (Csa), with very warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Climate data for Beyşehir (1991–2020) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4.2(39.6) 6.4(43.5) 11.2(52.2) 16.3(61.3) 21.3(70.3) 25.9(78.6) 29.6(85.3) 29.9(85.8) 25.7(78.3) 19.6(67.3) 12.3(54.1) 6.4(43.5) 17.4(63.3) Daily mean °C (°F) −0.3(31.5) 1.1(34.0) 5.3(41.5) 9.9(49.8) 14.6(58.3) 18.8(65.8) 22.3(72.1) 22.3(72.1) 18.0(64.4) 12.4(54.3) 6.0(42.8) 1.8(35.2) 11.1(52.0) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −4.1(24.6) −3.4(25.9) 0.0(32.0) 3.8(38.8) 7.7(45.9) 11.4(52.5) 14.5(58.1) 14.6(58.3) 10.3(50.5) 6.0(42.8) 0.8(33.4) −2.0(28.4) 5.0(41.0) Average precipitation mm (inches) 73.35(2.89) 47.12(1.86) 50.18(1.98) 44.33(1.75) 43.65(1.72) 31.87(1.25) 9.21(0.36) 10.1(0.40) 19.73(0.78) 45.63(1.80) 55.11(2.17) 81.18(3.20) 511.46(20.14) Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 7.3 6.2 6.6 6.3 6.3 4.2 2.1 2.0 3.1 5.2 4.7 7.5 61.5 Average relative humidity (%) 77.7 72.9 66.1 62.0 61.1 57.2 49.3 50.0 54.0 64.5 72.4 78.3 63.8 Source: NOAA