Nazilli

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nazilli is the second largest town in the Aydin Province of western Turkey. The city center has a population of 105,665 (from the 2000 census) but its overall population including its counties have been well over 150,000 for decades.

1 History
2 Description
3 Economy
4 Culture and tourism

[edit] History

Nazilli, halfway between Kusadasi and Pamukkale, was probably founded in Seljuk times around 1176 by Emir Yazir the leader of an Ogusan tribe. In Ottoman times the village was first known as Cuma Yeri (Friday Square) or Pazarköy (Weekday Market). The town was only later referred to as Nazliköy.

According to legend, the son of Aydin's provincial governor fell in love with a young woman from Pazarköy but was rejected by the girl's father. The young man later named the town Nazli Ili (Nazli's Home) after his loved one. Evliya Celebi mentions the town as Nazlu. By the 19th century (around 1836) Nazilli consisted of two settlements: the larger one being Asagi Nazilli or Büyük. Nazilli (Lower or Great Nazilli) was the seat of an Aga and stood on the edge of the Maeander plain, while along today's main road on the slopes of the valley one and a half to two kilometers further north lay the smaller town of Nazilli Pazari or Yukari Nazilli (Nazilli Market or Upper Nazilli) which had a huge bazaar.

[edit] Description

The older and southern part of the city is established alongside the Menderes River, the biggest river in the Aegean region. It is in the middle of a valley full of citrus, olive and fig tree orchards. The streets of the old city center are decorated with bergamot trees. Anyone that passess through the city should taste "halep isi", the small round soft pizza dough prepared with special minced meat mixture served with lemon.

[edit] Economy

The city has a long standing entrepreunial history, the home of a number of midsize and large factories that export internationally. Nazilli has its own business and economics school and a number of colleges as well as a private school following an English curriculum.

[edit] Culture and tourism

Nazilli has always been a very progressive cultured, liberal and pro-west city. It is one and a half hours away from the large metropolitan Izmir on the Aegean coast and one hour away from Didim and Kusadasi, the shoreline where international tourist establishments are located. The real estate price in the city for a duplex villa ranges between 70 to 100,000 USD. A nice three bedroom apartment can be rented for $300 USD a month.

Nazilli's strategic location in the region allows a number of historical as well as natural beauty sites to be within the reach of a 1 to 2 hour drive (Aphrodisias, Pamukkale, Dalan which has an airport, Didim, Kusadasi, Soke, Aydin, Denizi and Izmir).

Traditionally Nazilli is a safe city where children can play on the streets without supervision and youth can hang out in the evening without worries.

	Districts of Aydın
Aydın \| Bozdoğan \| Buharkent \| Çine \| Didim \| Germencik \| İncirliova \| Karacasu \| Karpuzlu \| Koçarlı \| Köşk \| Kuşadası \| Kuyucak \| Nazilli \| Söke \| Sultanhisar \| Yenipazar