Kuyucak is a town and a district of

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 re ...

in the Aegean region of Turkey, from the city of

Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of B ...

on the E24 highway that connects İzmir and

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. ...

, east of İzmir. Kuyucak is near the larger town of Nazilli.

Etymology

The word of Kuyucak probably comes from ''kuyuçok'' (means "many wells").

Geography

In the foothills of the Aydın mountains, the economy of Kuyucak is based on agriculture. The mountain districts produce olive oil, while the lowland plain of the

Büyük Menderes Büyük means "big" in Turkic languages and may refer to: People Given name * Büyük Jeddikar (born 1929), Iranian retired footballer * Büyük Vatankhah (born 1943), Iranian retired footballer Surname * Adem Büyük (born 1987), Turkish fo ...

River produces high quality oranges, figs and cotton. Kuyucak itself is a small town of 7,200 people. Kuyucak has a typical Aegean climate, with hot summers, rainy autumns, chilly winters and sunny springs.

Transportation

There are regular buses from İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, Nazilli and

(70 km to the west). The town is also on the Izmir-

railway line and there is a daily train service.

History

A few km southeast of Kuyucak lie the ruins of

Antioch on the Maeander Antioch on the Maeander or Antiochia on the Maeander ( el, Ἀντιόχεια τοῦ Μαιάνδρου; la, Antiochia ad Maeandrum), earlier Pythopolis, was a city of ancient Caria, in Anatolia. The city was situated between the Maeander an ...

, an ancient Byzantine city. Independence day is celebrated on 5 September, the date that Kuyucak was liberated at the end of the Turkish War of Independence.

Places of interest

There are a great many places of historical interest in the Aegean region, including many in the province of Aydın, although not in Kuyucak itself.

Kuyucak in popular culture

* "Kuyucaklı Yusuf" (''Yusuf of Kuyucak'') is the title of a major novel published in 1937 by Sabahattin Ali about the small-town life in Turkey. The story was made into a film in 1985 by

Feyzi Tuna Feyzi (Persian: فیضی) is a Turkish-language masculine given name and Persian-language surname derived from the Persian noun of Arabic origin فیض (fayz) with the meaning "grace". Notable people with the name include: Given name * Feyzi Me ...

References

External links

the municipality

the district governorate
Populated places in Aydın Province Districts of Aydın Province Kuyucak District {{Aydın-geo-stub