Denizli, city, southwestern Turkey. It lies near a tributary of the Menderes River.

Set among the gardens at the foot of Mount Gökbel (7,572 feet [2,308 metres]), Denizli inherited the economic position of ancient Laodicea ad Lycum, 4 miles (6 km) away, when that town was deserted during wars between the Byzantines and the Seljuq Turks in the 12th century. By the 14th century, as Lâdik (Lādīq), Denizli had emerged as an important Turkish town noted for its woven and embroidered products and its luxuriant gardens. It was ravaged by earthquakes in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In the surrounding agricultural area the cultivation of cotton, cereals, figs, and tobacco, along with livestock raising, are the principal activities. North of Denizli is Pamukkale (ancient Hierapolis), a resort around which limestone deposits from the hot springs have formed beautiful cascades and basins. Denizli is linked by a branchline to the railway between Dinar and İzmir. Pop. (2000) 275,480; (2013 est.) 525,497.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
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Modern:
Pamukkale
Key People:
Epictetus
Philoxenus of Mabbug
Papias

Hierapolis, ancient Phrygian city in southwestern Turkey, about 6 miles (10 km) north of the ruins of Laodicea. Situated on the Coruh River, a tributary of the Buyuk Menderes (Maeander) River, it was probably established by Eumenes II of Pergamum in 190 bce. It became a sacred city (hieron), its chief religious festival being the Letoia, named after the goddess Leto, a local variant of the Great Mother of the Gods, who was honoured with orgiastic rites. There was also a worship of Apollo Lairbenos. Hierapolis was rebuilt during the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius in approximately 14–37 ceand survived until 1334, when it was abandoned after an earthquake. Extensive ruins, excavated since the 19th century, include baths, a gymnasium, an agora, and a Byzantine church. Hierapolis was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Mic Anderson.
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