Western Taurus (Isaurian-Pisidian lake district)
Situation and Characteristics
The district town of Beysehir, attractively situated at the southeast corner of Beysehir Gölü at the point where the canalised Beysehir Çayi enters the lake, is a busy market town, the economic center of
a sizable agricultural basin. Lying at the junction of two ancient routes (Konya to Izmir and Konya to Antalya), it combines remnants of an old town (northwest on the lakeside) with a new town to the east. Stretching away northeast of the new town is the intensively cultivated Beysehir Ovasi, mainly given over to horticulture.
Beysehir (Princely Town) was established in the 13th century by a high official of the Seljuk imperial administration, the Emir Esref, who made it his feudal seat. It probably occupies the site of ancient Parlais.