Kütahya

Kütahya
Kütahya Clock Tower
Location of Kütahya within Turkey.
Kütahya Location of Kütahya within Turkey.
Coordinates: 39°25′N 29°59′E / 39.417°N 29.983°E / 39.417; 29.983Coordinates: 39°25′N 29°59′E / 39.417°N 29.983°E / 39.417; 29.983
Country	Turkey
Region	Aegean
Province	Kütahya
Population (2009)
– Urban	212,444
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Website	www.kutahya.bel.tr

Kütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants (2009 estimate), lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people (2009 estimate). The region of Kütahya has large areas of gentle slopes with agricultural land culminating in high mountain ridges to the north and west. The city's Greek name was Kotyaion, latinized in Roman times as Cotyaeum, a name it retains as a titular Catholic see.^[1]

History

• 3rd millennium BCE: Settled, and known as Kotiaion or Cotyaeum, "the city of the goddess Kotys". It was an important stopover on the road from the Marmara region to Mesopotamia.
• 12th century BC: Incorporated into the Phrygian kingdom, becoming one of the country's most important cities.
• Its Greek name was Kotyaion according to its coins, commonly Latinized as Cotyaion or Cotyaeum, still meaning the city of Kotys.
• The ancient city became part of the Roman province of Phrygia Salutaris.
• It was a centre of heresy from the 2nd century onwards. Socrates (IV, xxviii) speaks of its Novatian bishop. At first a simple suffragan of Synnada, it became an autocephalous archbishopric, probably in the 8th century, and about the tenth appears as a metropolis with three suffragan sees, which were later increased to thirteen (?).

Lequien (I, 851) mentions ten bishops, the last in the 14th century. The first is Cyrus, sent thither by Theodosius II, after four bishops had been slain by the inhabitants.

• Around 700 BC: Phrygia collapses, but Kotiaion position as a strong city survives.
• 1071 CE: Conquered by the Seljuks.
• Around 1095: Conquered by the Crusaders.
• 1182: Reconquered by the Seljuks.
• 1302: Becomes capital of the Germiyanid Turkmen principality.
• It was taken and plundered by Timur-Leng (Tamerlane) in 1402.
• 1428: Becomes part of the Ottoman Empire.
• 1514: Sultan Selim I resettles tile-workers from Tabriz in Kütahya and İznik after defeating the Persians. With this Kütahya emerges as a centre for the Ottoman ceramic industry, producing tiles and faience for mosques, churches and official buildings in places all over the Middle East.
• 19th century: With the fast growth of Eskişehir 70 km away, Kütahya has lost much of its regional and economic importance.

Economy

The industries of Kütahya have long traditions, going back to ancient times. Kütahya is famous for its kiln products, such as tiles and pottery, which are glazed and multicoloured.^[2] Modern industries are sugar refining, tanning, nitrate processing and different products of meerschaum, which is extracted nearby. The local agricultural industry produces cereals, fruits and sugar beet. In addition stock raising is of much importance. Not far from Kütahya there are important mines extracting lignite.

Kütahya is linked by rail and road with Balıkesir 250 km (155 mi) to the west, Konya 450 km (280 mi) to the southeast, Eskişehir 70 km (43 mi) northeast and Ankara 300 km (186 mi) east.

Climate

Kütahya has a continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dsa), with cold and snowy winters and hot and dry summers. Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn.

Climate data for Kütahya
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	17.2 (63.0)	20.6 (69.1)	27.0 (80.6)	30.2 (86.4)	32.5 (90.5)	36.2 (97.2)	39.9 (103.8)	39.2 (102.6)	36.1 (97.0)	31.0 (87.8)	25.4 (77.7)	21.7 (71.1)	39.9 (103.8)
Average high °C (°F)	4.6 (40.3)	6.5 (43.7)	11.1 (52.0)	16.2 (61.2)	21.3 (70.3)	25.4 (77.7)	28.5 (83.3)	28.8 (83.8)	24.8 (76.6)	19.0 (66.2)	12.4 (54.3)	6.2 (43.2)	17.07 (62.72)
Average low °C (°F)	−3 (26.6)	−2.4 (27.7)	0.2 (32.4)	4.2 (39.6)	7.9 (46.2)	11.2 (52.2)	13.6 (56.5)	13.5 (56.3)	9.4 (48.9)	5.9 (42.6)	1.7 (35.1)	−0.9 (30.4)	5.11 (41.19)
Record low °C (°F)	−20 (−4.0)	−21.5 (−6.7)	−15.7 (3.7)	−7.8 (18.0)	−2.8 (27.0)	3.1 (37.6)	4.0 (39.2)	4.6 (40.3)	0.4 (32.7)	−5.6 (21.9)	−11 (12.2)	−17.6 (0.3)	−21.5 (−6.7)
Precipitation mm (inches)	66.4 (2.614)	54.0 (2.126)	51.3 (2.02)	56.1 (2.209)	49.5 (1.949)	29.6 (1.165)	19.6 (0.772)	18.0 (0.709)	23.4 (0.921)	41.5 (1.634)	57.2 (2.252)	78.1 (3.075)	544.7 (21.445)
Avg. rainy days	14.3	12.8	12.9	13.0	11.8	7.1	4.4	3.9	4.8	8.8	10.7	14.2	118.7
Sunshine hours	62	86.8	142.6	174	229.4	279	310	291.4	225	151.9	102	58.9	2,113
Source: Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü [3]

Culture

Kütahya's old neighbourhoods are dominated by traditional Ottoman houses made of wood and stucco, some of the best examples being found along Germiyan Caddesi. It has many historical mosques such as Ulu Camii, Cinili Camii, Balikli Camii and Donenler Camii. The Şengül Hamamı is a famous Turkish bath located in the city

The town preserves some ancient ruins, a Byzantine castle and church. During late centuries Kütahya has been renowned for its Turkish earthenware, of which fine specimens may be seen at the national capital. The Kütahya Museum has a fine collection of arts and cultural artifacts from the area.

The house where Hungarian statesman Lajos Kossuth lived in exile between 1850-1851 is preserved as a museum.[1]

Education

The Main Campus and the Germiyan Campus of the Kütahya Dumlupınar University are located in the city.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Turkey

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kütahya is twinned with:

• Bavly, Tatarstan, Russia
• Pécs, Hungary
• Anqing, China

Notable people

• Abdullah Aymaz, writer and journalist
• Ahmet İhsan Gürsoy, politician
• Ali Mesut Erez, politician
• Aydilge Sarp, singer.
• Ayla Dikmen, singer
• Eralp Özgen, lawyer and legal expert.
• Evliya Çelebi, Turkish globe traveler and author.
• Halil Akkaş, middle distance runner
• Kadri Pasha, Ottoman Grand Vizier (1880)
• Mustafa Kalemli, politician
• Osman Albayrak, politician and former state minister
• Ömer Rüştü Paşa, military commander
• Özge Kırdar, volleyball player
• Rauf Onursal, politician and governor
• Refik Tulga, politician and governor
• Seda Akman, actress
• Tunçalp Özgen, academician
• Veli Kızılkaya, football player

See also

• Anatolian Tigers
• Evliya Çelebi Way
• Ancient city Aizanoi

References

1. ^ www.newadvent.org/cathen/04422a.htm Catholic Encyclopaedia: Cotiaeum.
2. ^ Henry Glassie, Turkish Traditional Art Today (Indiana University Press 1993), 435 ff.
3. ^ http://www.dmi.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?m=KUTAHYA

Source and external links

• The Government of Kütahya
• Province Culture And Tourism Drectorate
• City of Tiles
• Pictures from Kütahya
• Kütahya weather forecast information
• Photos of ancient Roman city of Aizanoi in Kütahya
• Photos from another source of ancient Roman city of Aizanoi in Kütahya province
• A website about a nitrate processing factory in Kütahya
• A website about the sugar refinery facility in Kütahya
• Official website of Kütahya Ceramic Company
• Kütahya Photo Forum

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.