Kırşehir

Districts

• Akçakent
• Akpınar
• Boztepe
• Çiçekdağı
• Kaman
• Merkez
• Mucur

Tourist experience

Resonating with the poetic traditions of Ahilik guilds and Anatolian bards, Kırşehir welcomes visitors into a quiet sanctuary of UNESCO-recognized musical culture. The spiritual and cultural heart of the province is the Ahi Evran Mosque and Tomb, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List as the birthplace of Ahilik trade culture. Visitors can explore the 13th-century Cacabey Astronomical Observatory Mosque (famed for its rocket-shaped minaret and celestial observation well), Aşık Paşa Tomb, and the world-famous Kaman-Kalehöyük Archaeological Site and Japanese Garden. Culinary and music enthusiasts flock to Kırşehir—a UNESCO Creative City of Music—to experience the living Bozlak folk minstrel heritage of Neşet Ertaş and thermal spas at Terme.

Key points of interest

Ahi Evran Mosque and Tomb

The 13th-century spiritual shrine and complex dedicated to Ahi Evran-ı Veli, founder of the medieval Anatolian Ahi trade guild brotherhood.

Cacabey Astronomical Observatory Mosque

A landmark 1272 Seljuk complex constructed by Caca Bey as an astronomical observatory, featuring a rocket-shaped minaret and interior sky observation well.

Kaman-Kalehöyük Archaeological Site & Japanese Garden

A major 4,000-year-old Bronze Age excavation site managed by the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan, featuring an authentic Japanese botanical garden and museum.

Neşet Ertaş Cultural Center & Museum

A modern museum and cultural center celebrating the life, saz music, and Bozlak heritage of the legendary 'Voice of the Steppe' Neşet Ertaş.

Terme Geothermal Health Springs

Natural therapeutic warm mineral springs operating in central Kırşehir, famous for treating musculoskeletal and dermatological conditions.

Investment outlook

Kırşehir is a thriving industrial, agricultural, and geothermal power in Central Anatolia. The province hosts the expanding Kırşehir Organized Industrial Zone, housing major manufacturing plants in automotive tires (Petlas Tire Corporation—one of Türkiye's largest industrial exporters), agricultural machinery, food processing, and marble extraction. Positioned on the main Ankara-Kayseri transit corridor, Kırşehir offers high-return investments in geothermal health spa hotels, commercial walnut farming (Kaman Walnuts), seed breeding, and solar energy parks across its sunny plains.

Living here

Life in Kırşehir is safe, peaceful, and culturally rich, characterized by deep-rooted Ahi hospitality, modern urban planning, and affordable living costs. Home to Kırşehir Ahi Evran University, the city boasts a dynamic student population, spacious public parks, thermal bath amenities, and rich musical heritage. Residents enjoy a high quality of life nurtured by clean air, accessible public services, and Bozlak folk arts.

History & cultural identity

Kırşehir holds an illustrious place in Anatolian political, spiritual, and social history as a 5,000-year-old sanctuary of scholarship, trade ethics, and astronomy. Known in antiquity as Mokissos and Justinianopolis under Byzantine rule, the city reached its historical and cultural zenith during the Seljuk and Karamanoğlu golden ages in the 13th and 14th centuries. Kırşehir became the world capital of the Ahi Order (Ahilik Teşkilatı)—the medieval Anatolian guild system founded by Ahi Evran-ı Veli that governed trade ethics, craftsmanship, and civic solidarity. Furthermore, the city produced world-renowned scholars, including Caca Bey, who built the first dedicated astronomical observatory madrasa in Anatolia, and Sufi poets like Aşık Paşa and Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli's early contemporaries.