Emirdağ
—  City  —
Location of Emirdağ within Turkey.
Provinces of Afyonkarahisar
Coordinates: 39°01′N 31°09′E / 39.017°N 31.15°E / 39.017; 31.15
Country	Turkey
Province	Afyonkarahisar
Government
- Mayor	Cengiz Pala (AKP)
Area
- City	2,048 km2 (790.7 sq mi)
Elevation	1,100 m (3,609 ft)
Population (2010)
- City	19,991
- Density	20.56/km2 (53.3/sq mi)
- Urban	22,120
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	03600
Area code(s)	0272
Licence plate	03
Website	www.emirdag.gov.tr

Emirdağ is a town and district of Afyonkarahisar Province in Turkey, between the city of Afyon and Eskişehir. It covers an area of 2,009 km², and the population (2010) is 42,111 of which 19,991 live in the town of Emirdağ itself. The mayor is Cengiz Pala (AKP).

The Emirdağ Mountains (Emir Mountains) rise steeply behind the town. The region is vulnerable to earthquakes. The weather is very cold in winter.

History

The area has been occupied since at least 1437 BC by a succession of peoples beginning with Hittites, Lydians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. The ruins of the ancient Phrygian and Byzantine city of Amorium (fr) lie about 12 km away from Emirdağ.

Emirdağ used to be one of the four main Byzantine cities in Anatolia, hometown of the Byzantine Amorian dynasty (Michael II, Theophilus and Michael III), but was completely destroyed and its inhabitants massacred in 838-845 by the Abbassid Caliph Al-Mu'tasim.

The area was settled by Turkmen from 1068 onwards and particularly following the battle of nearby Bolvadin, between the Byzantines and the Seljuk Turks. Later further waves of Turkmen followed including the Dulkadirids and Yörük nomads were settled here by the Ottoman Empire. Until the foundation of the Turkish Republic the town was named Aziziye in honour of Sultan Abdülâziz.

Emirdağ today

Many Turkish migrants in Belgium and the Netherlands originally came from Emirdağ and the surrounding villages, including Karacalar where there is a strong Alevi minority. People originally went abroad to work as miners in the 1950s and nowadays are typically occupied with running restaurants, cafes, and bars.

This emigration helps to explain why the population growth in Emirdağ in recent decades has been less than most Anatolian towns (the population of the town in 1960 was 10,069). It also means that in summer the district is swollen with local families returning on vacation.

Many of these families have invested their savings in apartment buildings, offices and shops (and smart cars) in Emirdağ. This is still a typical Turkish country town and quite conservative; the tea-gardens are segregated into areas for families and single men. There are some basic restaurants and internet cafes. There is a jandarma training camp in Emirdağ and the army is important for the economy of the town in winter.

The local cuisine includes arabaşı, a soup with dumplings.

Politics

Cengiz Pala (AK Party) is elected as new mayor in 2009 with only 133 vote difference. Until 2004 Emirdağ municipality was controlled by the centre-right social-democratic (CHP) under mayor, Ismet Güler. However in 2004 the mayorship was won by comservative (AK Party), Lütfi Ihsan Dag, leading a right-wing coalition (AK Party, MHP, DYP, ANAP). The council has an alderman for external affairs, currently Metin Edeer (MHP), who has been living in Brussels since 1978, where he runs two restaurants and presides over an association of people from Emirdağ (EYAD); he visits Emirdağ during the summer holidays.

Previous mayors:

• Lütfi Ihsan Dag, AK Party (2004-2009)
• Ismet Güler, CHP (1994-2004)
• Ali Kocaman, DYP (1989-1994)
• Ömer Faruk Pala, SHP (1985-1989)
• Erol Sarıer, ANAP (1984-1985)
• Hacı Ali Kılıçalp

Mayors and electoral results in the district

There are 6 municipalities (belediye) in the district, and 57 villages (köy)

• Emirdağ: Cengiz Pala (AK Party)
• Adayazı: Cema Güçlü (CHP)
• Aşağı Piribeyli: Recep Çelik (MHP)
• Bademli: Musa Karamanlı (MHP)
• Davulga: Salih Gündoğan (AK Party)
• Gömü: Hakkı Tekin (AK Party)

Population Statistics

The statistics of the population of Emirdağ since 2007 according to TUIK (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu) are as follows:

Emirdağ Folk Songs

Emirdağ Folk Songs are very famous.

Some Emirdağ Folk Songs:

• Al Fadimem,
• Emirdağ'ı Birbirine Ulalı,
• Harmana Sererler,
• Suvermez Diyorlar,
• Zalım Poyraz,
• Dabandan,
• Düz Oyun,
• Pancar Ektim Emirdağ'ın Düzüne
• Ağıl Ören,
• Yoğurt Çaldım Kazana,

• Yalanmıydı Yaşar
• Ekizce Üstünde Bir Karabulut
• Emirdağ'ın Güzelleri
• Kuşburnu Pürlenirmi
• Ta Yaylanın Yükseğinde Evleri
• Erzurumdan Çevirdiler Yolumu
• Eylülde Gel(Fakı Edeer)
• Emirdağına Vardım Sabaha Karşı (Fakı Edeer)

Settlements

Notable natives

Emirdağ has long had a rich folk culture and has given us many folk songs (türkü) and singers including in the 20th century...

• Aşık Yoksul Derviş - poet and folk singer, and his nephew....
• Kubat - popular singer specialising in a hybrid of Turkish folk music with electronic instruments. He was brought up in Belgium of an Emirdağ family.

Other famous Emirdağ people include...

• Azra Akın - Miss World 2002, brought up in the Netherlands of an Emirdağ family.
• Tevfik Başer - film director
• Fikret Akin - Retired teacher, researcher of local folkloric culture, poet. He has 7 poem books of himself and he is working on writing a book about local Emirdag's foods.
• Bülent Akın - Footballer who has played for Turkish giants Galatasaray and English club Bolton Wanderers
• Yüksel Önaçan - Retired school principal, Journalist-Author-Poet
• Fuat Çapa - Belgian-Turkish football manager.
• Cemal Çavdarlı - Former Belgian member of Parliament

Emirdağ in Afyonkarahisar Province (in the Aegean region) of Turkey Urban districts Afyonkarahisar Rural districts Başmakçı - Bayat - Bolvadin - Çay - Çobanlar - Dazkırı - Dinar - Emirdağ - Evciler - Hocalar - İhsaniye - İscehisar - Kızılören - Sandıklı - Sinanpaşa - Sultandağı - Şuhut Regions Provinces Aegean Afyonkarahisar - Aydın - Denizli - İzmir - Kütahya - Manisa - Muğla - Uşak Black Sea Amasya - Artvin - Bartın - Bayburt - Bolu - Çorum - Düzce - Giresun - Gümüşhane - Karabük - Kastamonu - Ordu - Rize - Samsun - Sinop - Tokat - Trabzon - Zonguldak Central Anatolia Aksaray - Ankara - Çankırı - Eskişehir - Karaman - Kayseri - Kırıkkale - Kırşehir - Konya - Nevşehir - Niğde - Sivas - Yozgat Eastern Anatolia Ağrı - Ardahan -Bingöl - Bitlis - Elâzığ - Erzincan - Erzurum - Hakkâri - Iğdır - Kars - Malatya - Muş - Siirt - Tunceli - Van Marmara Balıkesir - Bilecik - Bursa - Çanakkale - Edirne - Istanbul - Kırklareli - Kocaeli - Sakarya - Tekirdağ - Yalova Mediterranean Adana - Antalya- Burdur - Hatay - Isparta - Kahramanmaraş - Kilis - Mersin - Osmaniye Southeastern Anatolia Adıyaman - Batman - Diyarbakır - Gaziantep - Mardin - Şanlıurfa - Şırnak

Coordinates: 39°01′N 31°09′E / 39.017°N 31.15°E / 39.017; 31.15