Egirdir
Encyclopedia
Isparta Province
Isparta Province is a province in southwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Afyon to the northwest, Burdur to the southwest, Antalya to the south, and Konya to the east. It has an area of 8,993 km² and a population of 448,298 up from 434,771...
in the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Region, Turkey
The Mediterranean Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Aegean Region to the west, the Central Anatolia Region to the north, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the northeast, the Southeastern Anatolia Region to the east, Syria to the southeast, and...
region 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...
.
Features
Eğirdir lies between Lake EğirdirLake Egirdir
Eğirdir is the name of a lake and of the town situated on the shore of that lake in Turkey. The lake lies in the Turkish Lakes Region and is 186 kilometers north of Antalya...
and the Mount Sivri, and contains a castle said to have been built by Croesus
Croesus
Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
, king of Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
—though additions were built by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and Seljuks.
The name of the town was changed from Eğridir to Eğirdir years ago due to the perceived negative meaning of Eğridir (crooked). Many of the local people still pronounce the name as Eğridir out of habit or for sentimental reasons.
The population of Eğirdir is about 19,417 (as of 2010), but swells in the Summer months as part-time residents return for the holidays. Eğirdir is a fishing community and local residents fish in Lake Eğirdir
Lake Egirdir
Eğirdir is the name of a lake and of the town situated on the shore of that lake in Turkey. The lake lies in the Turkish Lakes Region and is 186 kilometers north of Antalya...
year round.
Yeşıl ada (Green island) is a small island connected to Eğirdir by a short causeway. Restaurants, hotels, pensions (pansyons or hostels), and a few private residences fill the island. Known for its past as a Greek village, Yeşıl ada still has quite a few stone homes remaining from the Greek era.
Locals claim that Eğirdir is home to the world's only walk through minaret.