Ereğli, Konya

This article is about Ereğli district in Konya Province. For other, see Ereğli (disambiguation).

Ereğli is a municipality and district of Konya Province, Turkey.^[2] Its area is 2,214 km²,^[3] and its population is 150,978 (2022).^[1] Its elevation is 1,038 m (3,406 ft).^[4]

Ereğli
District and municipality
Kwangjin Park in Ereğli
Map showing Ereğli District in Konya Province
Ereğli Location in Turkey Show map of Turkey Ereğli Ereğli (Turkey Central Anatolia) Show map of Turkey Central Anatolia
Coordinates: 37°30′46″N 34°02′54″E
Country	Turkey
Province	Konya
Government
• Mayor	Ümit Akpınar (CHP)
• Kaymakam	Oğuz Cem Murat
Area	2,214 km2 (855 sq mi)
Elevation	1,038 m (3,406 ft)
Population  (2024)[1]	156,253
• Density	71/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (TRT)
Area code	0332
Website	www.eregli.bel.tr

History

The ancient town of Heraclea Cybistra (Ηράκλεια Κυβίστρα in Ancient Greek) was located here, and gave its name (Heracles) to the modern town. The town had some importance in Hellenistic times owing to its position near the point where the road to the Gülek Pass (Cilician Gates) enters the hills. It lay in the way of armies and was more than once sacked by the Arab invaders of Asia Minor (AD 805 and 832). During the Crusade of 1101 it was the scene of a failed battle of 15,000 men led by William II, Count of Nevers against the Seljuks, which left the Crusaders weak en route to Antioch.^[5] It became Turkish (Seljuk) in the 11th century.

İvriz relief, near Ereğli. It depicts the late 8th-century BC king Warpalawas and the storm-god Tarhunzas, with a hieroglyphic Luwian inscription.

Ereğli is also known for being the first capital of the Karaman Beylik founded by Nur Sufi Bey. The Karaman state was renowned for being a consistent nuisance to Ottoman dominance in Anatolia, being one of the few Anatolian beyliks to retain sovereignty well past Mehmed the Conqueror's conquest of Constantinople. It was also the first political entity and beylik in Anatolia to proclaim Turkish as an official language alongside Arabic and Persian. In 1553, upon return from a campaign in Persia, Suleiman the Magnificent had his son, Şehzade Mustafa, killed in the Ereğli valley where the Ottoman Army was stationed. Modern Ereğli had grown from a large village to a town since the railway reached it from Konya and Karaman in 1904; and it has now hotels and thriving businesses.

Archaeology

Three hours’ ride south is the famous "Hittite" rock relief of a lynx, representing a king (probably of neighbouring Tyana) adoring a god. This was the first "Hittite" monument discovered in modern times (early 18th century, by the Swede Otter, an emissary of Louis XIV).

Ereğli may be the location of the Hittite town of Hupisna (Ḫupišna), where the goddess Ḫuwaššanna was worshipped. She was linked with Gazbaba, a Mesopotamian love goddess also connected with Inanna.

In the early Iron Age, Hupisna also was a neo-Hittite polity in the land of Tabal. Two kings of Hupisna are known from the Assyrian sources: Puḫamme (c. 837 BC) and Urimme (c. 738 BC).^[6][7]

Composition

There are 87 neighbourhoods in Ereğli District:^[8]

• 500 Evler
• Acıkuyu
• Acıpınar
• Adabağ
• Akhüyük
• Alhan
• Alpaslan
• Aşağıgöndelen
• Aşıklar
• Atakent
• Aydınlar
• Aziziye
• Bahçeli
• Barbaros
• Batıalagözü
• Belceağaç
• Belkaya
• Beyköy
• Beyören
• Boyacıali
• Bulgurluk
• Burhaniye
• Büyükdede
• Cahı
• Çakmak
• Camikebir
• Çayhan
• Çiller
• Çimencik
• Cinler
• Çömlekçi
• Dalmaz
• Doğualagözlü
• Eti
• Fatih
• Gaybi
• Gökçeyazı
• Göktöme
• Gülbahçe
• Hacımemiş
• Hacımustafa
• Hacımutahir
• Hamidiye
• Hıdırlı
• Hortu
• Kamışlıkuyu
• Karaburun
• Kargacı
• Kazancı
• Kızılgedik
• Kuskuncuk
• Kutören
• Kuzukuyu
• Mehmet Akif
• Mellicek
• Mimar Sinan
• Namık Kemal
• Orhangazi
• Orhaniye
• Özgürler
• Pınarözü
• Pirömer
• Sarıca
• Sarıtopallı
• Selçuklu
• Servili
• Şinasi
• Sümer
• Talatpaşa
• Taşağıl
• Taşbudak
• Tatlıkuyu
• Toros
• Türbe
• Türkmen
• Üçgöz
• Ulumeşe
• Yazlık
• Yellice
• Yenibağlar
• Yeniköy
• Yıldırımbeyazıt
• Yıldızlı
• Yukarıgöndelen
• Yunuslu
• Zengen
• Ziya Gökalp

Climate

Ereğli has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk),^[9] with hot, dry summers, and cold winters.

Climate data for Ereğli, Konya (1991–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	5.9 (42.6)	8.1 (46.6)	13.4 (56.1)	18.7 (65.7)	23.9 (75.0)	28.6 (83.5)	32.3 (90.1)	32.2 (90.0)	28.0 (82.4)	21.6 (70.9)	13.7 (56.7)	7.6 (45.7)	19.6 (67.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	0.3 (32.5)	2.0 (35.6)	6.9 (44.4)	11.8 (53.2)	16.6 (61.9)	20.9 (69.6)	24.2 (75.6)	23.8 (74.8)	19.4 (66.9)	13.7 (56.7)	6.7 (44.1)	2.1 (35.8)	12.4 (54.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−4.0 (24.8)	−3.1 (26.4)	0.8 (33.4)	5.1 (41.2)	9.4 (48.9)	13.2 (55.8)	15.7 (60.3)	15.3 (59.5)	11.0 (51.8)	6.4 (43.5)	0.8 (33.4)	−2.2 (28.0)	5.7 (42.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	33.11 (1.30)	28.31 (1.11)	33.91 (1.34)	37.02 (1.46)	34.15 (1.34)	26.1 (1.03)	6.46 (0.25)	5.1 (0.20)	10.36 (0.41)	22.11 (0.87)	29.26 (1.15)	39.58 (1.56)	305.47 (12.03)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	5.8	5.4	6.1	6.7	6.0	3.9	1.9	1.6	2.5	3.6	4.7	6.4	54.6
Average relative humidity (%)	77.0	71.4	62.4	58.3	57.0	52.0	45.2	47.1	51.9	61.0	70.1	77.4	60.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours	98.8	128.5	183.9	224.4	278.1	325.4	361.4	343.3	282.2	209.1	144.2	91.4	2,670.7
Source: NOAA[10]

Transportation

Railway station

Ereğli Gar is the railway station of the town. Once served by several train lines that have destinations to Istanbul, İzmir and Konya, the station is currently served by Mainline / Toros Ekspresi only, which connects Ereğli to Adana and Karaman.^{[citation needed]}

Notable residents

• Nimet Çubukçu, former Minister of National Education of Turkey.
• Ali Talip Özdemir, former head of the Motherland Party (ANAP)
• Şehzade Mustafa, heir to the Ottoman throne who was killed in the Ereğli valley
• Volkan Ş. Ediger (born 1953), is a scientist, writer and bureaucrat.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Turkey

Ereğli is twinned with:

• Hydra, Greece (since 1996)^[11]
• Gwangjin (Seoul), South Korea

See also

• Kwangjin Park, a park in Ereğli.