Birgi is a small town located in the Ödemiş

Ödemis

Ödemiş is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey. North of Ödemiş, which is 113 km southeast of İzmir, are the ruins of Hypaiapa...

 district of İzmir province

Izmir Province

İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...

 in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. Its current name is a distortion of its ancient Greek name: Pyrgion (Greek: Πυργιον).

The town rose to prominence when it was made the capital of the beylik of Aydin in 1308, and subsequently incorporated into the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 in 1390. Birgi is well known for its classic Seljuk

Seljuq dynasty

The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...

 and Ottoman architecture and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 since 1994.

Notable Historic Structures

• Çakırağa Mansion — built in 19th century Ottoman style by the wealthy Çakırağa family.
• Aydınoğlu Mehmet Bey Mosque — commissioned in 1313 by Mehmet Bey, the founder of the Aydinids.
• Tomb of Birgivi Mehmet Efendi — built in 1335 in the courtyard of the Aydınoğlu Mehmet Bey Mosque.
• Sultanşah Mausoleum
• Fortress Madrasa, where Sultan Mehmet II "The Conqueror" (March 30, 1432 – May 3, 1481) was educated.