Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς Arhelays, Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια Koloneya, Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα Garsaura) is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Aksaray Province and Aksaray District. Its population is 247,147 (2021). In 2021 the province had an estimated population of 429,069 distributed over about . The average elevation is , with the highest point being Mt. Hasan (Turkish: Hasan Dağı) at . The city of Aksaray has a long history and was an important stopover point on the Silk Road that transited Anatolia for centuries. It is a pleasant mid-sized city with the Melendiz river running through it and several monuments dating back to the pre-Ottoman era as well as some impressive examples of government buildings from the early Turkish Republic that are gathered around the main square. The nearest airport is Kapadokya Nevşehir Airport (NAV) which is 62.1 km away from the city. Etymology In antiquity the area was named Archelais Garsaura, which was mutated to Taksara during the Seljuk Turkish era, and then to Aksaray. Aksaray means "White Palace" in Turkish. History First mentioned as Nenessa (Nenossos) in ancient Hittite texts, The town of Garsaura was named Archelaïs () by Archelaus of Cappadocia, the last Cappadocian king. In Roman times, the town was known as Colonia (Κολώνεια) and was a bishopric and an important military centre, holding an imperial aplekton. Of its bishops, Euphrasius was at the First Council of Nicaea in 325; Bosporus (who is mentioned in the correspondence of Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus) at the First Council of Constantinople in 381; Daniel at the Council of Ephesus in 431; Aristomachus (who was also a signatory of the letter of the bishops of the Roman province of Cappadocia Tertia, to which Colonia belonged, to Byzantine Emperor Leo I the Thracian about the killing of Proterius of Alexandria in 458) at the Council of Chalcedon in 451; Alexander at a council in Constantinople called by Patriarch Menas of Constantinople in 536; and Conon at the Trullan Council of 692. No longer a residential bishopric, Colonia in Cappadocia is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see. Colonia is also a titular Turkish metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. During Ottoman times, the town was prosperous in part because of its proximity to Tuz Gölü (Lake Tuz), which was a primary source of salt for