ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an introduction to the political histories of Konya and Eskisehir. It also presents the biographies of the six mayors researched and concludes with some first observations on similarities and differences. The chapter also explores the history of local elections in the two cities from the 1980s onwards shed light on the differences between them. Unlike Konya, Eskisehir has always maintained close ties to the state, not only because it was one of the first cities to be connected to the railway system, but also due to the fact that a number of state-owned companies were founded in Eskisehir. Although the majority of voters in Konya supported right-wing or Islamist parties, there is at the same time a strong believe in technical progress, in making things more comfortable, in economic development, dynamism and investment. Unlike Konya, Eskisehir was never an important Seljuk settlement thus it lacks a similar architectural heritage.
