Karaman

Karaman

Understand Karaman stands at an altitude of 1000 m on the fertile plateau of central Anatolia. Its livelihood has always depended on agriculture and today it's a major centre for durum wheat (which is ground up to make bulgur), for pulses and fruit, and for biscuits and other confectionery. In ancient times it was known as Laranda (Greek: Λάρανδα) and many invaders thought it was worth seizing, including the Roman / Byzantine Empire. But the fellow who most put his stamp on the city was Karamanoğlu Mehmet Bey, Mehmet the 1st, who in 1256 founded a Karamid dynasty and something of a buffer state in this turbulent region. He briefly held Konya and famously proclaimed Turkish as the official language, not Persian or Arabic. He was soon hunted down by his enemies but the Karamid state continued until 1468, when it was conquered by the Ottomans. The regional capital moved to Konya, and Karaman became a dusty neglected place, which meant that its medieval centre was left intact.

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0.