Geyre is a small town in the
District of Karacasu,
Aydın Province
Aydın Province ( tr, ) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of almost 200,000 (2012). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside reso ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. Also known as ''Yeni koy'' (the "new village"), it was relocated around 1960, from over the
ancient Greek city of
Aphrodisias
Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the ...
archeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...
to a new location nearby.
[National Geographic Magazine; "Ancient Aphrodisias and Its Marble Treasures;" Kenan T. Erim, Ph.D.; August 1967 issue.]
It is about 230 km (140 mi) south-east of
İzmir, and about 100 km (62 mi) inland/east from the coast. of the
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
As of 2010, it had a population of 956 people.
History
Previously called Ninoé, Aphrodisias, and Stravopolis in the ancient
Caria region, the Turkish village of "Old Geyre" emerged by the late 18th century CE when settlers were attracted to the area due to fertile soil and plentiful water.
[ It is a settlement which was developed over the ruins of the ancient Greek city of ]Aphrodisias
Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the ...
. Aphrodisias was established in the 4th century BCE.
Relocation
The new village of Geyre was relocated from the "Old Geyre" location, and built by the Turkish government c. 1960, due to earthquake threats to its stone dwellings, and to protect the rediscovered (1957) archeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...
and antiquities of a Bronze Age (3,000-2200 BCE) settlement, ancient Greek and Roman Aphrodisias
Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the ...
, and Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...
Stravopolis (c.3rd−c.12th centuries).[
The village was relocated when excavations began again on the ruins of Aphrodisias.][
]
See also
*Carians
The Carians (; grc, Κᾶρες, ''Kares'', plural of , ''Kar'') were the ancient inhabitants of Caria in southwest Anatolia.
Historical accounts Karkisa
It is not clear when the Carians enter into history. The definition is dependent on c ...
— ''Pre-Hellenic ''
References
Populated places in Aydın Province
Karacasu District
Towns in Turkey
Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region
{{Aydın-geo-stub