Balcılar
Encyclopedia
Geography
Balcılar is in the rural area of TaşkentTaskent
Taşkent, formerly Pirlerkondu, is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. According to 2000 census, population of the district is 46,396 of which 10,779 live in the town of Taşkent.-External links:* *...
district which is a part of Konya Province. It is on the northern slopes of Toros Mountains at 1400 m (4,593.2 ft). The town is far from the main highways; the distance to Taşkent is 27 km (16.8 mi) and to Konya
Konya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
is 173 km (107.5 mi). The coordinates are36°54′N 32°41′E The population is 2555 as of 2009
History
The earliest settlers in the 16th century were TurkmensOghuz Turks
The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....
from the village of Alata (modern Erdemli
Erdemli
Erdemli is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, west of the city of Mersin.-Geography:The district extends from the Mediterranean coastal plain, the largest agricultural area in Mersin Province, to high in the Taurus Mountains where there is forest, and...
district of Mersin Province
Mersin Province
The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...
) and they named the village after their former home, i.e., Alata. In 1964, Alata was decleared township and renamed Balcılar, meaning beekeepers. . Balcılar made news in 2008 when bottled gas in a girls’ dormitory building exploded killing 16 students and two teachers.