Seyitgazi 4.86

Seyitgazi is a town and district of Eskişehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The central town of Seyitgazi lies at a distance of 43km towards the south from the province capital of Eskişehir. According to 2010 census, population of the district is 16,222 of which 2,890 live in the town of Seyitgazi. The district covers an area of 1502km2, and the average elevation is 1040m.Apart from the central town of Seyitgazi, the district has two dependant townships with own municipalities. These are Kırka and Doğançayır. The district also has 46 villages.Places of interestThe town occupies the site of the Byzantine city of Nakoleia, and was named after the 8th-century Muslim saint and warrior Battal Gazi who fell in a battle nearby in 740. A complex (külliye) dedicated to Battal Gazi and containing his tomb, a mosque, a medrese, cells and ceremonial rooms for dervishes as well as charitable services for the community such as kitchens and a bakery was built in 1208 on a hill overlooking the town by Ümmühan Hatun, wife of the Anatolian Seljuk sultan Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev I and further extended in 1511 by the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II. The shrine and the adjoining complex remain popular with local as well as foreign visitors.