Acıpayam is a town and a rural 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 high country between the Aegean and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

regions 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 ...

. A plain, watered by two reservoirs, known for growing melons and watermelons, on the road between the city 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. ...

and

Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...

. It covers an area of 1700 km², and the altitude is 895 m. The district has a population of 57,533 of which 13,700 live in the city of Acipayam.

Etymology

The name Acıpayam means ''bitter almond'' (''payam'' being a loanword from Persian) in the local dialect, the town was formerly named ''Garbipayam'' and ''Garbikaraağaç''.

History

The plain has been settled since 2000 BC, and

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...

were here in 1500 BC, followed by the

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cultu ...

and more civilizations up to the Byzantines and then the arrival of the

Turkish peoples The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose memb ...

. From 1097 the area was in the hands of 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 ...

. Turkish rule was interrupted by the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

but afterwards was settled by the

Oghuz Turks The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family. In th ...

and eventually was absorbed into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Climate

Acıpayam today

As well as agriculture some of Denizli's textile industry has spread to Acıpayam too, where there is a cellulose factory. In the past the people would migrate seasonally to pick tobacco or cotton in other parts of Turkey, today this is not necessary.

Places of interest

* Keloğlan Cave - a 145m long cave, open to visitors.

Towns

* Alaattin *

Dedebağı Dedebağı (former Derasül) is a town in Acıpayam district of Denizli Province, Turkey. It is situated at , to the west of Dalaman creek. The distance to Acıpayam is and to Denizli is . The population of Dedebağı was 2145 as of 2012. The o ...

Yeşilyuva Yeşilyuva (former Kayser) is a belde (town) in Denizli Province, Turkey Geography Yeşilyuva is a town in Acıpayam district of Denizli Province. It is situated in a basin at , the main river being Honaz which is a tributary of Büyükmen ...

Neighbourhoods

* Akalan * Akşar * Alcı * Aliveren * Apa * Bademli * Bedirbey * Benlik * Boğazdere * Corum * Darıveren * Dodurgalar * Eskiköy * Gölcük * Gümüş * Güney * Hacıkurtlar * Hisar * Karahüyük * Karahüyükafşarı * Karaismailler * Kelekçi * Kumavşarı * Kurtlar * Kuyucak * Kuzören * Köke * Kırca * Mevlütler * Olukbaşı * Ovayurt * Oğuzköy * Pınarbaşı * Pınaryazı * Sandalcık * Suçatı * Sırçalık * Ucarı * Yassıhüyük * Yazır * Yeniköy * Yeşildere * Yolçatı * Yumrutaş * Çakır * Çiftlikköy * Çubukçular * Ören

References

External links

A local news web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acipayam Populated places in Denizli Province Districts of Denizli Province