Kırşehir Province (Turkey)

Last modified: 2022-11-19 by ian macdonald
Keywords: kırşehir |
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image by Tomislav Šipek, 13 March 2015

• Presentation of Kırşehir Province
• Flag of Kırşehir Province
• District municipalities | Municipalities
  • Kırşehir
  • Akçakent
  • Akpınar
  • Boztepe
  • Çiçekdağı
  • Kaman
  • Mucur

See also:

• Turkey

Presentation of Kırşehir Province

Kırşehir Province (222,707 inhabitants in 2015, more than 50% of them living in the town of Kırşehir; 6,570 sq. km) is located in central Anatolia.

Ivan Sache, 12 November 2017

Flag of Kırşehir Province

The flag of Kırşehir Province (photo, photo) is white with the province's emblem. "T.C." stands for "Türkiye Cumhuriyeti", "Republic of Turkey"; "Valiliği" means "Governorate".
The emblem features the Ahi Evran monument in Kırşehir (photo). Ahi Evran, founder of the Ahilik organization, is celebrated every month of September in Kırşehir during the Ahilik week.

Ahi ("my brother") Evran was born in Hoy (Nakhichevan) in 1171, as Sheikh Nasreddin Mahmut al-Hoyi; he is said to have lived for 90 years but there is no definite information on his death. The tradition, however, claims that Ahi Evran was killed in Kırşehir during the Mongol invasion of Anatolia. His mausoleum was erected in 1450 by a member of Ahilik.
When a noted Sufi-oriented scholar in Baghdad, Ahi Evran was invited to Anatolia by the new Seljuk sultan. He became famous in Kırşehir where he designed a medicine from the venom of snakes that infected the town at the time.
Ahi Evran established in Kayseri Ahilik, an organization considered as a medieval professional chamber for craftsmen and merchants. Such an organization, based on solidarity and moral values, was needed because of the lack of central state authorities that would regulate professional activities. Back to Kırşehir, Ahi Evran established in the town as a tanner; he became a familiar of Haji Bektash Veli (1209-1271), the founder of the Bektaşi organization. The Ahilik system was encouraged by the first Ottoman rulers, under the influence of Sheikh Edebalı (1206-1326), the mentor and father-in-law of Sultan Osman Gazi (1299-1323/24). The Republic of Turkey also recognized the Ahilik legacy.
TESVAK (Türkiye Esnaf ve Sanatkarları Ahilik Vakfı - Turkish Tradesmen and Artisans Ahilik Foundation) is the modern form of Ahilik.
[Kültür Gündemi, 24 September 2013]

Tomislav Šipek & Ivan Sache, 12 November 2017