Founded in ancient times Kirsehir became, in the Middle Ages, the center of the Ahi Brotherhood, a Moslem sect whose moral and social ideals played an important role in the spiritual and political life of Anatolian towns. Among Kirsehir’s many fine Seljuk buildings are the Cacabey Mosque of 1272 (a former astrological observatory), the Alaeddin Mosque of 1230, and the Ahi Evran Mosque beside which is the tomb of the founder of the Ahi sect. Out of town, on the road toward Kayseri, is the attractive Asik Pasa Mausoleum which was built during the period of Mongol rule, in 1333.