- Şiran
Şiran is a town and district of
Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region ofTurkey . It is one of the points of passage between Eastern Anatolia and Black Sea regions ofTurkey , in the sense that the western road departing fromErzincan towards theZigana Pass (the key pass between the two geographies) has its last urban stop in Şiran.Name
The name means "the lions" in Persian, although it is most likely to be an adaptation of the former Greek name of "Khairena" adopted after the Turkish settlement in the region after and possibly even slightly before the
Battle of Manzikert . It is also possible that "Khairena" was an adaptation of a Persian name in this region that had remained under Persian influence for millennia.History
Many of the northern villages of the district was home to minority populations of
Pontic Greeks till the 1922Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations , constituting the southern fringes of that community's extension. Some among the present population can also trace their roots to Greeks who had converted toIslam until as late as the end of the 19th century, as indicated by the Ottoman census and changed village names (for example, the present village of "Evren" was formerly called "Sefker").Places to see
*Tomara waterfalls
External links
* [http://www.siran.gov.tr/ District governor's official website]
* [http://www.siran.web.tr/ Siran Forum - www.siran.web.tr ]
* [http://www.siran.NET/ Siran Web Site - www.siran.net ]
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