Kırşehir

▪ Turkey

also spelled  Kirshehr,  

      city, central Turkey. It lies along a tributary of the Kızıl River at an elevation of 3,248 feet (990 metres). It may have been Justinianopolis (Mocissus), which, under the 6th-century Byzantine emperor Justinian, was a major town in the ancient district of Cappadocia. From the 14th to 18th century, Kırşehir was the stronghold of the influential Ahi brotherhood, a religious fraternity developed by the 14th-century leader Ahi Avran out of a medieval craftsmen's guild. The Cacabey Cami, a 12th-century Seljuq observatory converted into a mosque, the Alâeddin Cami (13th century), and the mausoleum of the poet Aşık Paşa are all standing. Kırşehir is linked by road with Ankara (90 miles [145 km] northwest) and Nevşehir (46 miles [74 km] southeast). Pop. (2000) 88,105.

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