Honaz

Honaz is a municipality and administrative district in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The district lies approximately 20 kilometres east of Denizli city, on the slopes and northern approaches of Mount Honaz, or Honaz Dağı. The mountain reaches 2,517 metres and is the highest summit in Turkey’s Aegean Region. Honaz covers about 449 square kilometres and had a population of 34,074 in 2022. The modern district occupies an area with a long and layered history. In classical antiquity, the settlement was known as Colossae, one of the important cities of ancient Phrygia. Traditional accounts place the founding of Colossae around 500 BC, after which the city came under Greek influence. Ancient writers including Herodotus and Xenophon associated the area with the movement of Greek and Persian armies during the Persian Wars. Earthquakes and subsequent political changes left the ancient city largely in ruins, although remnants of Colossae remain. During the Byzantine period, the settlement was known as Chonae. It became a metropolitan see in the ninth century and may have served as an administrative centre of the Thracesian Theme. Chonae was also an important religious location because of the Church of the Archangel Michael, regarded as one of the notable churches of Anatolia. Arab raids reduced the settlement’s importance for a time, but it later recovered as a commercial, frontier, and pilgrimage centre. The town was associated with the Byzantine intellectual and religious figures Niketas Choniates and Saint Michael Choniates, who were natives of Chonae. The region experienced repeated conflict in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Seljuk forces sacked Chonae in 1070, and the settlement was later contested by Byzantine rulers, local warlords, and Turkish powers. During the Second Crusade, forces travelling under Louis VII of France were attacked near Mount Cadmus in 1148. Chonae was plundered again in the late twelfth century, and the Church of the Archangel Michael was eventually destroyed. The city subsequently came under Seljuk and Turcoman control through a sequence of political arrangements involving the Seljuk sultans, the Empire of Nicaea, and regional rulers. Later landmarks include a Seljuk fortress and the Murat Mosque, built during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murad II. In the twentieth century, Honaz received Vallahades, or Valaades, ethnic Greek Muslims from southwestern Greek Macedonia who were resettled in Turkey during the 1922–23 population exchange between Greece and Turkey. The contemporary economy is strongly agricultural. Honaz is particularly associated with cherry production, with a substantial share of its crop exported from Turkey. The cherry industry is reported to generate as much as 35 million US dollars in annual income, although the relevant figure varies by season and requires current statistical verification. Tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables are also cultivated, including a locally associated variety of oleaster. The district holds an annual cherry festival that reflects the importance of this crop to local identity and commerce. Honaz also has cultural and tourism assets. It is associated with several pehlivans, or traditional Turkish oil wrestlers, including the three-time national champion Hüseyin Çokal. In the nearby township of Kaklık, Kaklık Cave is a notable natural attraction. A surface spring passes through cascading limestone and travertine formations before disappearing underground, giving the cave an appearance that has drawn comparisons with Pamukkale. Honaz therefore combines administrative, agricultural, historical, religious, sporting, and natural-tourism roles rather than functioning as a commercial consumer brand or airline business.

Honaz is located in a historically strategic part of southwestern Anatolia, close to Denizli and the routes linking the interior plateau with the Aegean coast. The settlement’s ancient predecessor was Colossae, a Phrygian city traditionally dated to around 500 BC. Colossae later came under Greek influence and was known to ancient authors. Herodotus and Xenophon both recorded the movement of Greek and Persian forces through the wider region during the Persian Wars. The ancient city was repeatedly affected by earthquakes, and only limited ruins survive today. In the Byzantine era, Colossae was known as Chonae. The town became a metropolitan see in 858 and may have been connected with the administration of the Thracesian Theme between the seventh and eleventh centuries. Its religious importance was reflected in the Church of the Archangel Michael, a major ecclesiastical building in Anatolia. Although Arab raids caused decline, Chonae recovered and functioned as a trading and pilgrimage centre. The town was the birthplace of the Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates and his brother, Saint Michael Choniates. Chonae was captured and plundered by the Seljuk commander Afshin in 1070. The Church of the Archangel Michael was looted and reportedly converted temporarily into a stable. The city later returned to Byzantine control during the Komnenian period and developed as a frontier settlement. In 1148, during the Second Crusade, forces associated with Louis VII of France were attacked near Mount Cadmus. Further attacks occurred in the late twelfth century, including campaigns associated with Theodoros Mankaphas and the figure known as Pseudo-Alexios. These conflicts damaged the church and the settlement’s remaining Byzantine institutions. After the collapse of effective Byzantine authority in the region, Chonae entered a complex period of Seljuk and local rule. Kaykhusraw I initially promised to restore the settlement to the Byzantines but instead granted it to Manuel Maurozomes, a Byzantine renegade and his father-in-law. Maurozomes controlled Chonae and nearby Laodikeia as an autonomous lordship from approximately 1205 until around 1230. In 1206, Theodore I Laskaris accepted this arrangement in an agreement with Kaykhusraw I. In 1257, Sultan Kaykaus II transferred Chonae, Laodikeia, and nearby fortresses to the Empire of Nicaea in return for military assistance. The city was nevertheless lost to Turcoman forces a few years later. The later settlement contains material traces of Seljuk and Ottoman rule, including a Seljuk fortress and the Murat Mosque, associated with the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murad II. In the twentieth century, Honaz was affected by the population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Vallahades, ethnic Greek Muslims from southwestern Greek Macedonia, were resettled in the area during the 1922–23 exchange. Modern Honaz is primarily an agricultural district. Cherry growing is its best-known economic activity, and the district is described as producing fruit for domestic consumption and export. The reported share of Turkey’s cherry crop exported from Honaz and the associated annual income indicate the importance of international agricultural trade, although those figures should be checked against current official statistics before being used for financial analysis. Tomatoes and other fruit and vegetable crops are also grown, including a local oleaster variety. The annual cherry festival provides a public expression of the district’s agricultural identity. Honaz’s cultural profile also includes traditional oil wrestling. Several pehlivans have connections with the district, including Hüseyin Çokal, identified as a three-time national champion. Tourism is supported by Mount Honaz, the remains of ancient Colossae, historic buildings, and Kaklık Cave in the nearby township of Kaklık. The cave contains a spring and layered limestone and travertine formations, creating a distinctive subterranean landscape sometimes compared with Pamukkale. Today, Honaz is best understood as a Turkish district and municipality with historical, agricultural, and tourism significance, not as a low-cost airline or conventional commercial brand.

1. 2022Reported district population

   Honaz was reported to have a population of 34,074 and an area of approximately 449 square kilometres.

   Source
2. 1922Population exchange resettlement

   Vallahades from southwestern Greek Macedonia were resettled in Honaz during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey.

   Source
3. Foundation of Colossae

   The ancient city associated with modern Honaz was traditionally founded by the Phrygians around this period and later came under Greek influence.

   Source
4. Chonae becomes a metropolitan see

   In the Byzantine period, Chonae was distinguished as a metropolitan see and became an important religious and administrative centre.

   Source
5. Seljuk sack of Chonae

   The Seljuk commander Afshin sacked Chonae and plundered the Church of the Archangel Michael.

   Source
6. Battle of Mount Cadmus

   Crusader forces travelling under Louis VII of France were attacked near Mount Cadmus during the Second Crusade.

   Source
7. Maurozomes lordship

   Manuel Maurozomes held Chonae and nearby Laodikeia as an autonomous lordship during the political fragmentation that followed the Fourth Crusade.

   Source
8. Transfer to the Empire of Nicaea

   Sultan Kaykaus II transferred Chonae and nearby fortresses to the Empire of Nicaea in exchange for military support.

   Source

A historic agricultural district of Denizli Province known for cherry cultivation, Mount Honaz, ancient Colossae and Chonae heritage, and nearby natural attractions.

• CherriesAgricultural produce

  Cherries are Honaz’s signature agricultural product and a major part of the district economy. The crop is marketed within Turkey and exported internationally. Public descriptions of the district attribute a large export share and substantial annual income to cherry production, though current production and revenue figures require confirmation from agricultural statistics.

• Tomatoes and other fruits and vegetablesAgricultural produce

  Honaz cultivates tomatoes together with a range of other fruits and vegetables. The district’s agricultural output reflects its favourable location near Mount Honaz and its role in the wider Denizli regional economy.

• OleasterAgricultural produce

  A locally associated variety of oleaster is among the plants and crops mentioned in descriptions of Honaz agriculture. Detailed production volumes and commercial distribution are not established in the available reference material.

• Honaz Cherry Festival

  Honaz · Turkey

  The annual cherry festival celebrates the crop most closely associated with Honaz and promotes the district’s agricultural identity and local community culture.

  Outcome. The festival remains an annual local event; specific attendance, sponsorship, and commercial results are not provided.

  Source

• 2022Honaz population reported at 34,074

  The district’s population was reported as 34,074 in 2022.

  Other
  Source
• Honaz remains associated with Turkey’s cherry-export economy

  Cherry cultivation is described as the central pillar of Honaz’s present-day economy, with much of the crop exported and an annual cherry festival held in the district.

  Other
  Source

1. Honaz