Besni is a district of Adıyaman Province

Adiyaman Province

Adıyaman Province is a province in south-central Turkey. The province was created in 1954 out of part of Malatya Province. Area 7,614 km². Population 590,935 , up from 513,131 in 1990. The capital is Adıyaman....

 of Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, 44 km west of the city of Adıyaman

Adiyaman

Adıyaman is city in southeastern Turkey, capital of the Adıyaman Province. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Turkey...

. Altitude 1050m. Population of the district center is 29,102 aas of 2010). Area 133 km². The mayor is Fahri Serter (CHP

Republican People's Party (Turkey)

The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...

).

The town was brought into the Islamic world by the Ummayads and brought into the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 by Sultan Selim I

Selim I

Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...

.

Besni is an agricultural region best-known for its high quality pale-coloured raisins and for a tasty meat and vegetable casserole called Besni Tavası. This is an impoverished rural area and many families have migrated to the cities of western Turkey.

There is an institute of the University of Adıyaman here.