Carura or Karoura ( grc, Κάρουρα) was an ancient town of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

on the north-eastern border of

ancient Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined t ...

. Its position east of the range of Cadmus assigns it to Phrygia, under which country Strabo describes it. It was on the south side of the Maeander River, 20 miles west of Laodicea to Ephesus. The place is identified by hot springs approximately 12 miles northwest of Denizli, that have been described by the scholars Pococke and Chandler. Strabo observed that Carura contained many inns (), which is explained by the fact of its being on a line of great traffic, by which the wool and other products of the interior were transported to the coast. He added that it has hot springs, some in the Maeander, and some on the banks of the river. This tract of land is subject to earthquakes. In a story reported by Strabo, a brothel keeper was lodging in the inns with a great number of his women, they were all swallowed up one night by the earth opening. Henry William Chandler observed on the spot a jet of hot water, which sprung up several inches from the ground; and also the remains of an ancient bridge over the river. On the road between Carura and Laodicea was the temple of Men Carus, a

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined ...

n deity; and in the time of Strabo there was a noted Herophilean school of medicine here, under the presidency of Zeuxis, and then

Alexander Philalethes Alexander Philalethes (ancient Greek, Gr. ) was an Ancient Greek medicine, ancient Greek physician, whom Priscian called Alexander Amator Veri (Alexander Truth-Lover),Priscian, iv. p. 102, d. and who was probably the same person quoted by Caelius A ...

. Chandler discovered some remains on the road to Laodicea, which, he supposes, may be the traces of this temple; but he states nothing that confirms this conjecture.

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

mentions a place called "Cydrara", to which Xerxes came on his road from

Colossae Colossae (; grc-gre, Κολοσσαί) was an ancient city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, and one of the most celebrated cities of southern Anatolia (modern Turkey). The Epistle to the Colossians, an early Christian text which identifies its autho ...

Sardes Sardis () or Sardes (; Lydian: 𐤳𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣 ''Sfard''; el, Σάρδεις ''Sardeis''; peo, Sparda; hbo, ספרד ''Sfarad'') was an ancient city at the location of modern ''Sart'' (Sartmahmut before 19 October 2005), near Salihli, ...

. It was the border between Lydia and Phrygia, and the Lydian king Croesus fixed a stele there with an inscription on it, which declared the boundary. Classical scholar

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English military man, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British military, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

thought that the Cydrara of Herodotus may be Carura. It could not be far off; but the boundary between Lydia and Phrygia should perhaps not be located south of the Maeander in this region. Modern scholars locate Carura near Tekke, in Asiatic Turkey.

References

Populated places in ancient Caria Populated places in ancient Lydia Populated places in Phrygia Former populated places in Turkey History of Aydın Province {{Aydın-geo-stub