Haymana

Haymana
District
Location of Haymana within Turkey.
Country	Turkey
Province	Ankara
Area
• Total	2,802 km2 (1,082 sq mi)
Elevation	1,241 m (4,072 ft)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	06xxx
Area code	0312
Licence plate	06
Website	www.haymana.gov.tr

Haymana is a town and district of Ankara Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, 72 km south of the capital, Ankara. Elevation 1241 m. Area 2,802 km². According to 2000 census, population of the district is 54,087 of which 11,313 live in the town of Haymana.

Etymology

Haymana is named after Hayme Ana the mother of Osman I the founder of the Ottoman Empire.

History

Excavations of the castle Gavur Kalesi show Hittite occupation, although archaeological research continues in an effort to support Atatürk's statement that "Anatolia has been the homeland of Turks for at least 5,000 years".

Haymana today

Once this was a thriving country market town, but in recent decades the middle classes have continuously migrated to Ankara in search of jobs and careers and Haymana has become populated by villagers from the surrounding countryside, an area with a substantial Kurdish population.

Haymana has an unsavoury reputation; this was brought to light in 2006 when a TV quiz show (the Turkish edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?) asked the question "Which of these is an old word for a herd of donkeys?" and had "Haymana" as one of the options. (the other options were a word for shoehorn which is a metaphor for pimp in Turkish; "haylaz" a rebuke for a badly behaved child; and the correct answer "hergele"). The people of Haymana were furious and the local MP made demands for an apology reminding the country that the people of Haymana had played a part in the Turkish War of Independence and had supported the Republic of Turkey at the very beginning.

Haymana is famous for its Turkish Baths, the waters are volcanically heated and are said to contain many healing properties, particularly for those suffering from arthritic ailments. There are hotels for weekend vistors to the springs. haymanam güzeldir birlik beraberlilikle öndedir

Prominent residents

• Kurd Ahmet (Ahmet Turgut) - businessman; bookmaker, nightclub owner and leader of the Ankara underworld.
• Haymana prison has had a fair share of politicians as inmates over the years including historian Fikret Başkaya; professor of foreign relations Haluk Gerger; Workers' Party (Turkey) leader, Doğu Perinçek; political scientist Yalçın Küçük and playwright Bilgesu Erenus (these last two jointly published their Haymana memoirs).

References

• Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. "Geographical information on Haymana, Turkey". Retrieved 2008-03-27.

External links

• District governor's official website Template:Tr icon
• District municipality's official website Template:Tr icon