Tavas is a municipality and district of Denizli Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,432 km2, and its population is 41,712 (2022). It is on a wide plain on the road to Muğla, near to the district of Kale.
Tavas is a municipality and district of Denizli Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,432 km2, and its population is 41,712 (2022). It is on a wide plain on the road to Muğla, near to the district of Kale (and often the two are linked in one breath Kale-Tavas).
History
The area has been occupied for a long time, proven by the presence of the mound of Medet Höyük, which appears to date back to the Bronze Age (but which has not been thoroughly excavated or researched). Many civilizations have settled here including the Hittites, Phrygians, Persians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines.
In antiquity this land south of the Menderes River was part of the region of Caria and was controlled from the nearby castle of Kale (known as Tabae in antiquity).
In the 18th century emigrants from Circassia settled in Garipköy and Sarıabat villages.