Vezirhan


Vezirhan is a belde in Bilecik Province, Turkey. The name of the town refers to a caravansarai in the town.

Geography

Vezirhan is a town in the central district of Bilecik Province. It is situated at, north east of Bilecik. The population of village was 3101 as of 2013.

History

The town is very near to Söğüt where the Ottoman Empire was founded, but earliest reliable documents about the town go back to the 17th century. According to these documents, the settlement was a part of Köprülü Mehmet Pasha’s possessions in 1661. The Pasha commissioned a complex in the town which constituted a caravansarai, a mosque, a Turkish bath, a drinking water well and a bridge over the river. These were dedicated to travellers from İstanbul to Central Anatolia. There was also a church, a sign of Greek presence. But during the compulsory population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1920s, they left the town.

Economy

The main economic activities are agriculture and animal husbandry. But there are also some factories around the town such as paper, ceramics and moulding.