Sultanhanı is a town in Aksaray Province

Aksaray Province

Aksaray Province is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Konya along the west and south, Niğde to the southeast, Nevşehir to the east, and Kırşehir to the north. It covers an area of 7,626 km²...

, 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...

. It is named after the famous han within the town.

Geography

Sultanhanı is at at 38°15′N 33°33′E. The distance to Aksaray

Aksaray

Aksaray is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital district of Aksaray Province. According to 2009 census, population of the province is 376 907 of which 171,423 live in the city of Aksaray. The district covers an area of , and the average elevation is , with the highest...

 is about 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) and to the south coast of Lake Tuz

Lake Tuz

Lake Tuz is the second largest lake in Turkey with its surface area and one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is located in the Central Anatolia Region, northeast of Konya, south-southeast of Ankara and northwest of Aksaray.-Geography:...

 is 20 kilometres (12.4 mi).The population of the town is 10330 as of 2010 making it one of the most populous towns of the province.

History

Presently Sultanhanı is not on one of the main highways of Turkey. But it was one of the most important stops in caravan

Camel train

A camel train is a series of camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points. Although they rarely travelled faster than the walking speed of a man, camels' ability to handle harsh conditions made camel trains a vital part of...

 routes during the middle ages. The 4866 square metres (5,819.7 sq yd) Seljuk han (caravansai) which was commisioned by Alaattin Keykubat is considered as one of the best preserved hans of Seljuk period. But after the age of discovery

Age of Discovery

The Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration and the Great Navigations , was a period in history starting in the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century during which Europeans engaged in intensive exploration of the world, establishing direct contacts with...

, like the rest of caravan routes the han was negleted. Another milestone in Sultanhanı history is the battle of Sultanhanı (also called battle of Aksaray) in 1256 where a Mongol

Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

 army under the command of Baiju

Baiju

Baiju was a Mongol commander in Persia appointed by Ögedei Khan to succeed Chormagan, and expand Mongol power further in that area....

defeated Seljuks.

Economy

Although the land around Sultanhanı is quite salty, town economy is flourishing. Main agricultural products are cereal and sugar cane, produced by mechanised agriculture. There is a sugar mill in the town Another profitable business is ancient rug and carper restoration. Some people are employed in stockbreeding.