Uşak Province
Uşak () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in western Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Manisa Province, Manisa to the west, Denizli Province, Denizli to the south, Afyon Province, Afyon to the east, and Kütahya Province, Kütahya to the north. ...
in the inner
Aegean region
The Aegean region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya.
Located in w ...
of
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 ...
. It is the seat of Karahallı District.İlçe Belediyesi , Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 May 2023. Its population is 5,672 (2022). Karahallı is at a distance of from the province center of
bey
Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...
Kara Halil. The township was made into a district in 1953, simultaneous to the separation of Uşak Province from
Kütahya Province
Kütahya Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the Aegean Region, Aegean region of Turkey. Its area is 11,634 km2, and its population is 580,701 (2022). In 1990, Kütahya had a population of 578,000.
The neighboring provinces a ...
, and
Uşak
Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Uşak Province and Uşak District.Lydians
The Lydians (Greek language, Greek: Λυδοί; known as ''Sparda'' to the Achaemenids, Old Persian cuneiform Wikt:𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭, 𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭) were an Anatolians, Anatolian people living in Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spo ...
and the
Persians
Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...
, and the
Royal Road
The Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt for trade by Darius the Great, the Achaemenid emperor, in the 5th century BC. Darius I built the road to facilitate rapid communication on the western part of his large empire from ...
, although research specific to the bridge is yet to be made. It is built over Banaz Stream (''Banaz Çayı'') which later joins
Büyük Menderes River
The Büyük Menderes River ("Great Meander", historically the Maeander or Meander, from Ancient Greek: Μαίανδρος, ''Maíandros''; ), is a river in southwestern Turkey. It rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before flowing west thr ...
and the locality is called Clandras or Klandras.
The ancient site of Pepuza, proclaimed as new
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
in the traditions of
Montanism
Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Revelation, was an History of Christianity#Early Christianity (c. 31/33–324), early Christian movement of the Christianity in the 2nd century, mid-to-late 2nd century, later referred to by the n ...
, sometimes referred to as the lost
sect
A sect is a subgroup of a religion, religious, politics, political, or philosophy, philosophical belief system, typically emerging as an offshoot of a larger organization. Originally, the term referred specifically to religious groups that had s ...
of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
(mid-2nd century) is located within the boundaries of Karahallı district, and is an important visitor's attraction.
Another important ancient construction is Cılandıras Bridge over Banaz Stream.
In Ottoman times, the township was an important center for
textile
Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
products, made especially of
wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
woven following Turkish traditions. Weaving activity is still pursued in an intensive manner with the presence of more than a thousand electric
power loom
A power loom is a mechanized loom.
Shuttle looms
The main components of the loom are the warp beam, heddles, harnesses, shuttle, reed, and takeup roll. In the loom, yarn processing includes shedding, picking, battening and taking-up operations ...
s across the district.
Cultivation of grapes intended for production of wine in the nearby center of Bekilli is also an important economic activity.
The region of Karahallı experienced considerable levels of outside immigration in recent decades, both towards other centers of its region and towards
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. People who originate in Karahallı and live outside the district now outnumber those living in Karahallı.
Among notable natives is Azra Akın,
Miss World
Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...
in 2002, herself born in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, but whose father, the former
Eskişehirspor
Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish football club located in Eskişehir. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top division of Turkish football for 16 years until they were relegated. After being out of the Süper Lig for 12 years the ...