Vezirhan

Vezirhan is a town and municipality in the Bilecik District, Bilecik Province, Turkey. Its population is 2,907. The name of the town refers to a caravansarai in the town.

Geography

Vezirhan is situated north east of Bilecik.

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 Istanbul 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.