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Kütahya
is a small province in the midst of hill country, clustering about the
walls of an impressive hilltop fortress. It is the hometown of the world
famous Yagolbedir Carpets, and Kütahya tiles
which you can see everywhere in the country. But the best and the cheapest
are in Kütahya, where you may visit the workshops and see these tiles
produced with designs from the 16th- and 17th-centuries. They are especially
famous for their cobalt blue on a milky white background.
The old wood and stucco houses of Kütahya are picturesque. The Hungarian
House (Kossouth Museum) and those on the Germian Street
are the most interesting ones. Kütahya is a thermal springs center
with Harlek-lilca, Muratdagi-Gediz and Eynal-Simav, among the most famous
.
To the southwest of Kütahya an ancient
city awaits you for an eccentric archaeological excursion, Cavdarhisar
(Aizanoi) has one of the best preserved Roman temples in Anatolia; the
Temple of Jupiter. Dating back to the time of Hadrian,
it was built for the worship of Zeus and also the Anatolian fertility
goddess Kybele. A Byzantine fortress, the Seljuk Hidirilk Mosque and Balikil
Bath and the Ottoman Bedesten, Saadettin Mosque, Sengui Bath are just
some of the important historical remains in Kütahya.
At Murat Mountain there are camping facilities
including hot springs in the midst of delightful scenery.
Kutahya lies along the Porsuk River, at the
foot of a hill crowned by a ruined medieval castle. Kütahya, known
as Cotyaeum in antiquity, lay on the great road from the Marmara region
to the Mesopotamian plains; the town flourished and declined according
to the changing importance of the trade routes. As a medieval Byzantine
town, it was taken by the Seljuk Turks toward the end of the 11th century.
It functioned as the capital of the Germiyan Turkmen principality from
1302 to 1429 before its absorption into the Ottoman Empire. Its importance
was eclipsed by the growth of neighboring Eskisehir at the end of the
19th century, but the development of industries at Kütahya in the
mid-20th century restored some of the town's former importance. Its industries
now include sugar refining, tanning, nitrate processing, pottery and carpet
making, and the manufacture of smoking pipes and other articles from meerschaum
(silicate of magnesium), which is extracted in the vicinity.
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