Denizli Province is a province of Turkey in Western Anatolia, on high ground above the Aegean coast. Neighbouring provinces are Uşak to the north, Burdur, Isparta, Afyon to the east, Aydın, Manisa to the west and Muğla to the south. It is located between the coordinates 28° 30’ and 29° 30’ E and 37° 12’ and 38° 12’ N. It covers an area of 11,868 km2, and the population is 931,823. The population was 750,882 in 1990. The provincial capital is the city of Denizli.
Districts
Geography
Approximately 28-30% of the land is plain, 25% is high plateau and tableland, and 47% is mountainous. At 2571m Mount Honaz is the highest in the province, and indeed in Western Anatolia. Babadag in the Mentes range has a height of 2308 meters. The biggest lake in Denizli is Acıgöl, which means bitter lake and indeed industrial salts are extracted from this lake which is highly alkaline. There is a thermal spring to the west of Sarayköy, at the source of the Great Menderes River, which contains bicarbonates and sulfates. There is another hot spring in Kızıldere which reaches 200˚C. A geothermal steam source was first found in the region in 1965 during drilling work. Today there is a power plant producing electricity from the geothermal steam. Only 11% of the geothermal energy source is used to produce electricity and 89% of it, which flows into the Great Menderes, is 150˚C at source.
Climate
In general the Aegean region has a mild climate. However, it becomes harsher at altitude. Temperatures can rise to 55 °C during summer and fall to -5 °C in winter. There are about 80 days with precipitation, mainly during winter.
History
Antiquity
There are traces of prehistoric cultures throughout the province, including evidence of pre-Hittite cultures and the Hittites themselves. The Hittites were followed by Phrygians, Lydians and Persians, and then cities founded by the ancient Greeks and Alexander the Great. The first real settlement was the city of Laodicea on the Lycus which was established by King Antiochus II for his wife Laodice. Laodicea is located 6 km north of the city of Denizli. The city of Hierapolis was established around 190 BC by the Pergamene Kingdom, one of the Hellenistic states of Anatolia. The calcified terraces and pools of Pamukkale now stand below the ruins of Hierapolis. The two cities, Laodicea and Hierapolis later came under Roman rule, and with the division of the Empire in 395 were left within the boundaries of the East Roman Empire.
Turks were first seen in Denizli in 1070 when Afşın Bey, under the control of the Seljuk Sultan Alp Arslan, raided the area. The second and third Crusades fought here against Kazıkbeli, who managed to flee with a small force to Antalya. Later, after the Turks had established control of the ancient cities, they moved south to the site of the present city of Denizli, where drinking water was brought through stone pipes. The name Laodicea slowly changed into “Ladik” then since the 17th century other names were given “Tonguzlu”, ”Tonuzlu”, ”Tenguzlug”, ”Donuzlu” and finally “Denizli”. After World War I, when the Greek army arrived in İzmir on May 15, 1919, one of the first centres of Turkish resistance formed at an open-air meeting in Denizli. A Turkish militia formed lines on the Menderes organized by Yörük Ali and Demirci Efe, involving large numbers of volunteers from the local peasantry. Stiffened by the Turkish regular army, Greek forces were repelled, and Denizli remained in Turkish hands throughout the Greco-Turkish War.
Places of interest
see the article on Denizli and other districts for more details.... near Denizli...
a few remains of the ancient city of Colossae, in Honaz.
Beycehöyük in Çivril, where several antiquities of the Copper Age dating back to 3000 BC were found.
The Hanabat Caravanserai in Çardak is a typical Seljuk caravanserai.
The Ahmetli Bridge over the Great Menderes river, 15 km from Sarayköy dates back to the Roman era.
Denizli rooster
Denizli is renowned in Turkey for having a famous breed of cock, renowned for its appearance and colour, along with its prolonged and melodious crows. Great effort is taken by the state and local farmers to preserve the breed. In appearance the Denizli cock has black eyes, dark grey legs, a long neck, and a red crown. It weighs 3-3.5 kg, and has a distinctive crow.
