Çayırhan

Çayırhan is in Nallıhan district of Ankara Province. It is situated to the north of Sarıyar Dam reservoir and on Turkish state highway D.140 at 40°06′N 31°41′E. The distance to Nallıhan is 35 kilometres (22 mi) and to Ankara is 126 kilometres (78 mi). The population of the town is 9039 as of 2011.[1]

The earliest document about the origin of the town is dated in early 1600s. While Nasuh Pasha (later grandvizier) of the Ottoman Empire was travelling from Aleppo (now in Syria) to İstanbul he commissioned three hans (inn, a type of caravanserai) . The settlements around these hans were named after the hans; namely Nallıhan, Çayırhan and Uluhan. The town flourished after 1954, when lignite fields were found around the town. On the other hand, during the construction of Sarıyer Dam the settlement was moved 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to east.[2] In 1976 it was declared a seat of township.

Cattle rising and agriculture are the traditional economic activities of the town.[2] But nowadays lignite mining and 3.6 billion kw-hr thermal power plant are the main revenues to town.