Çal is a town and a district of Denizli Province in the inner Aegean region of Turkey. 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 Güney is a town and district of Denizli Province in the inner Aegean region of Turkey. Güney district area neighbors those of four other districts of the same province from east to west, clockwise Buldan, Akköy, Denizli central district and � ...

to the west and Honaz to the south. To the east of Çal district lies clockwise the districts of

Bekilli Bekilli is a town and a district of Denizli Province in the inner Aegean region of Turkey. Bekilli district area neighbors the district areas of Çal and Çivril, both also depending Denizli to the west, south and east, and those of two districts ...

, Çivril and Baklan. 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 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 remains have been found in the area. Hançalar Bridge over Menderes River, at the level of the township of the same name, situated between Çal and

, is reminiscent of Roman 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 in 1072, who settled in all parts of the present-day Denizli Province, 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 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 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 Menderes River 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 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 in Manisa and associated with Niobe.

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 was born here, as his name indicates. The award-winning author and poet

Mahmut Alptekin Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud * Mahmood (singer) (born 1 ...

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 Erol is a Turkish given name or surname meaning "brave". This name is shared by the following people: Given name * Erol Alkan (born 1974), Turkish Cypriot DJ, artist and record producer * Erol Erdal Alkan (born 1994), Turkish footballer * Erol Be ...

is from Çal. The award-winning author and poet Hasan Ali Toptaş 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