Afyonkarahisar Province
Afyonkarahisar Province (), often shortened to Afyon Province, is a Provinces of Turkey, province in western Turkey. Its area is 14,016 km2, and its population is 747,555 (2022). The provincial capital is Afyonkarahisar.
Adjacent provinces a ...
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, 106 km from the city of
Afyon
Afyonkarahisar (, 'poppy, opium', ''kara'' 'black', ''hisar'' 'fortress') is a major city in western Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Afyonkarahisar Province and Afyonkarahisar District. Its population is 251,799 (2021). Afyon is in the ...
. It is the seat of
Dinar District
Dinar District is a district of Afyonkarahisar Province of Turkey. Its seat is the town Dinar.İlçe Belediyesi Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 January 2023. Its population is 26,300 (2021). The mayor was Saffet Acar ( MHP) between 2019 and 2024. Veysel Topçu of CHP became the mayor of the town in the
local election
In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...
held on 31 March 2024.
The town is built amidst the ruins of
Celaenae
Celaenae (Celænæ) or Kelainai () was an ancient city of Phrygia and capital of the Persian satrapy of Greater Phrygia, near the source of the Maeander River in what is today west central Turkey (Dinar of Afyonkarahisar Province), and was situ ...
-
Apamea
Apamea or Apameia () is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the Sogdian wife of Seleucus I Nicator, several of which are also former bishoprics and Catholic titular see.
Places called Apamea include:
Asia Minor ...
, near the sources of the
Büyük Menderes
Büyük means "big" in Turkic languages and may refer to:
People
Given name
* Büyük Jeddikar (1929–2013), Iranian retired footballer
* Büyük Vatankhah (born 1943), Iranian retired footballer
Surname
* Adem Büyük (born 1987), Turkish ...
( Maeander) river. In ancient mythology this was the site of the musical duel between
Apollo
Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
and
Marsyas
In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; ) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe (''aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged Apollo to a contest of ...
.
Dinar today is a small town in a rural area, with limited amenities, particularly since there was a large earthquake here in 1995, which caused many people to migrate away from the town. Dinar is a crossroads on journeys from
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
or
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
to
Antalya
Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...
, motorists wouldn't stop here but many trucks do need to.
The folk culture of Dinar is rich, the town granted many well-known folk-songs (
türkü
Turkish folk music () is the traditional music of Turkish people living in Turkey influenced by the cultures of Anatolia and former territories in Europe and Asia. Its unique structure includes regional differences under one umbrella. It includ ...
in Turkish).
History
From 1867 until 1922, Dinar was part of the
Hüdavendigâr vilayet
The Hüdavendigâr Vilayet () or Bursa Vilayet after its administrative centre, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century it reportedly had an area of .Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
.
Climate
Dinar has a
hot-summer Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Csa''), with hot, dry summers, and chilly, frequently snowy winters.