Çal is a town and a district of

Denizli Province Denizli Province ( tr, ) 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. ...

in the inner Aegean region of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Çal district area occupies a central position in the northern part of its province and neighbors the central district of

Denizli Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...

to the south-west and the district areas of Güney to the west and

Honaz Honaz is a town and a district of Denizli Province in the Aegean Region, also known as Khonaz or Cadmus. It covers an area of . The population (as of 2010) was 9,830 (the central town) and 30,530 (including rural area). Honaz is about 20 km ...

to the south. To the east of Çal district lies clockwise the districts of Bekilli,

Çivril Çivril is a town and district of Denizli Province in the inner Aegean region of Turkey. Çivril district area neighbors those of two districts of Uşak Province to its north, namely Sivaslı and Karahallı, and four districts of Afyonkarahisar P ...

and

Baklan Baklan is a town and a district of Denizli Province, in Turkey's Aegean Region. The town is at a distance of about an hour from the city of Denizli, neighboring the town of Çivril, and it is situated on the road to Ankara. Name For the pre-Turki ...

. The town of Çal is located north-east of the provincial seat of

and is situated on a rocky hilltop overlooking a plain traced by

Büyük Menderes River The Büyük Menderes River (historically the Maeander or Meander, from Ancient Greek: Μαίανδρος, ''Maíandros''; tr, Büyük Menderes Irmağı), is a river in southwestern Turkey. It rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before fl ...

. The town lies at an altitude of 850 m. The population of the town is 3946 and the whole district is 22,249.

General features

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

remains have been found in the area. Hançalar Bridge over

Menderes River Menderes may refer to: Geography and places in Turkey * Menderes (Istanbul Metro), an underground rapid transit station * Menderes, İzmir, a district of İzmir Province * Büyük Menderes River, a river in southwestern Turkey, known in ancient ti ...

, at the level of the township of the same name, situated between Çal and Bekilli, is reminiscent of

bridges by its style, while the builder remains unknown. It was repaired and restored several times during the Ottoman era. The first Turks in the area were the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

in 1072, who settled in all parts of the present-day

, including Çal. The area is largely agricultural and is known especially for its

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

. The local grape variety

Çalkarası Çal Karası is a variety of red wine grape from the Çal district of the Denizli Province of western Turkey. It also gives its name to a wine produced from the grape, which is sweet with berry fruit flavours. History A local selection in an area ...

and grown intensively and takes its name from the district. Çal also has an annual wine festival. There is also a cement factory, a fruit-juice factory and various cold-stores for fruit.

Sakızcılar Falls and the "Weeping Stone"

A notable sight of interest are the

waterfalls A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several w ...

near the depending village of Sakızcılar, on the slopes of the Mount Çal (''Çaldağı'') and at a distance of about when coming from

Pamukkale Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The area is famous for a carbonate mineral left by the flowing of thermal spring water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, i ...

. Water of a stream that later joins

fall from 50 meters high at this locality and the whole area is covered with forests, making it a notable natural site. It is also a large

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

farm. The falls are alternatively called "Yeşildere Falls" or "Ağlayan Kaya" (''the weeping stone'').Not to be confused with the famous rock of the same name in

Mount Sipylus Mount Spil ( tr, Spil Dağı), the ancient Mount Sipylus ( grc, Σίπυλος) (elevation ), is a mountain rich in legends and history in Manisa Province, Turkey, in what used to be the heartland of the Lydians and what is now Turkey's Aegean R ...

Manisa Manisa (), historically known as Magnesia, is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province. Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port ci ...

and associated with

Niobe In Greek mythology, Niobe (; grc-gre, Νιόβη ) was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Her father was the ru ...

Notable natives

The people of Çal acquired a fame for their astuteness and alertness in the region. They are hard-working and stubborn, and also raised crafty horsethieves in the past. There is an old regional saying that goes, ''if you put a snake in a sack with a man from Çal, the snake will beg to be taken out''. The renowned painter

İbrahim Çallı İbrahim Çallı (13 July 1882 in Çal – 22 May 1960 in İstanbul) was a Turkish painter. He is popularly known as Çallı İbrahim. Biography İbrahim Çallı was born in Çal, Denizli. He showed early interest in painting during his primary ...

was born here, as his name indicates. The award-winning author and poet Mahmut Alptekin is from Çal. He was born there and spent some of his childhood in Çal. The award-winning academic, psychiatrist and author Dr. Erol Göka is from Çal. The award-winning author and poet

Hasan Ali Toptaş Hasan Ali Toptaş (born 15 October 1958) is a prominent Turkish novelist and short story writer. His first short story book ''Bir Gülüşün Kimliği'' (The Identity of A Laugh) was published in 1987. An important Turkish scholar, Yıldız Ecevi ...

is from Çal.

Footnotes

Image gallery

Image:Adiguzel Dam Reservoir Usak-Denizli Turkey.jpg, Adıgüzel Dam Reservoir at Çal district border Image:Sakizcilar Waterfalls1 Cal Denizli Turkey.jpg, Sakızcılar Image:Sakizcilar Waterfalls2 Cal Denizli Turkey.jpg, Waterfalls

External links