Gümüşhacıköy

Gümüşhacıköy is located in the westernmost district of Amasya Province of Turkey, 20 km from the larger town of Merzifon. It covers an area of 653 km², and the population (2010 census) is 24,806 of which 14,525 live in the town of Gümüşhacıköy, with the remainder spread throughout the surrounding mountainous countryside. The mayor is Zehra Özyol (CHP).

The name Gümüşhacıköy is an amalgamation of two separate villages Gümüş (silver) and Hacıköy (the village of pilgrims).

Climate

Gümüşhacıköy has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb).

History

The town achieved some prosperity during the 13th and 14th centuries due to the nearby silver mines. Both the Seljuks and the Ilkhans minted coins in the town, then known as Gümüşbazar (Arabic: كمشبازار‎).

The town grew and continued to thrive under Ottoman rule. The population shrank as the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and many men of Gümüşhacıköy were lost in the Balkan Wars and the First World War.

Today Gümüşhacıköy is a small town in attractive countryside. Successive generations migrate to larger cities in search of careers leaving an aging and shrinking population behind.