Birgi

Birgi is a small town located in the Ödemiş district of İzmir province in Turkey. Its current name is a distortion of its medieval Greek name, Pyrgion (Greek: Πυργίον, meaning "Little Tower").

In antiquity, the town was known as Dios Hieron (Διός Ἱερόν, "Sanctuary of Zeus"). It was renamed to Christoupolis (Χριστούπολις) in the 7th century and was known as Pyrgion from the 12th century on. It is attested as an episcopal see since 451, as a suffragan of Ephesus, which it remained until the late 12th century when it became a separate metropolis. Pyrgion fell to the Turks in 1307, and became the capital of the beylik of Aydin. It was subsequently incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1390. Birgi is well known for its classic Seljuk and Ottoman architecture and has been listed as a World Cultural Heritage by ÇEKÜL (Protection and Promotion of the Environment and Cultural Heritage) since 1994.