Honaz

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Honaz (known in antiquity as Colossae) is a town and a district of Denizli Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It covers an area of 504 km², and the population is about 25,000 (1990 census).

Honaz is about 20 km (12 mi) east of the city of Denizli on the side of Mount Honaz, the highest peak in the Aegean region (2517 m). Just north of Honaz is the River Lykos.

[edit] History

In 500 BC Colossae was founded by the Phrygians, and then passed into the hands of the Ancient Greeks. Herodotus and Xenophon both record the passage of Greek and Persian armies though here during the Persian Wars, at that time it was a large Phrygian city. A few ruins of the ancient city remain. Like many other ancient cities of the region, Colossae was destroyed by earthquakes, with little surviving.

The city and a bishopric of Khonae was established at the location of the present Honaz township by the Byzantines during the Arab invasions of the 7th century AD. Being further up the mountain the location was easier to defend.

Following centuries of Byzantine rule the town was captured by the Seljuk Turks in 1070, but then changed hands back and forth a few more times during the Crusades. There is a Seljuk fortress in Honaz, and the Murat Mosque which dates back to the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murat II (imperabat 1404-1451).

[edit] Honaz today

Today the economy of Honaz is centred on growing cherries, 80% of the crop being exported from Turkey, generating up to 35 million dollars of income per annum. There is an annual cherry festival in the town. Tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables are grown too including a local variety of oleaster.

Honaz is also the homeland of a number of well-known pehlivans (oil wrestlers) including 3-time national champion Hüseyin Çokal.

[edit] References

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Coordinates: 37°45′29″N, 29°16′15″E

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