Simav

Simav is located 93 km west-southwest of Kütahya, the province capital. It is located on the south side of the Simav valley.{{rp|395}} To the south, a steep escarpment separates the plain from Simav Mountain, which rises to 1,780 m above sea level. This escarpment follows the Simav Fault, which runs east and west for about 80 km.{{cite journal |last1=Palabiyik |first1=Yildiray |last2=Serpen |first2=Umran |title=Geochemical assessment of Simav geothermal field, Turkey |journal=Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas |date=2008 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=408–25 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28256440 |access-date=26 January 2024}}{{rp|409-11}}

About 4 km north of Simav, on the northeastern edge of the plain, is the Simav geothermal field. This field has hot springs at Eynal, Çitgöl, and Naşa. Geothermal energy from this field is used to heat some 6,000 residences in the district (as of 2008) as well as numerous greenhouses. The geothermal system is ultimately caused by the Simav Fault, which penetrates deep into the earth's crust and enables heat to rise up and heat the meteoric water in the area. This water is ultimately derived from a cold spring at Nadarçam, near Simav.{{rp|409, 411, 419-20}}

Simav was historically called Synaus or Synaos ({{langx|grc|Σύναος}}), also spelled Synnaus or Synnaos (Σύνναος). In ancient times, it was the main town in Abbaitis, a district in Mysia, and a city in the Roman province of Phrygia Pacatiana.{{Cite DGRG|title=Synnaus}} It was also listed as one of the cities in the 6th-century Synekdemos of Hierocles.{{rp|396}}

The 2013 edition of the Annuario Pontificio puts Synaus in the late Roman province of Phrygia Pacatiana Secumda whose civil capital and metropolitan see was Hierapolis.Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 971 In the early 20th century, Sophrone Pétridès placed it in Phrygia Pacatiana Prima, whose capital and metropolitan see was Laodicea on the Lycus.[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14382a.htm Sophrone Pétridès, "Synaus" in Catholic Encyclopedia (New York 1912)]

Little is known of the early history of this city, which PtolemyV, ii, 22. locates in Great Phrygia, and 6th-century Hierocles,668, 13. in Phrygia Pacatiana, whose capital was Laodicea. It has a few inscriptions but no ruins.

According to Pétridès, in 1394 the see of Synaus was united to that of Philadelphia (Roman province of Lydia); in the 7th century it was a suffragan of Laodicea on the Lycus (in Phrygia Pacatiana Prima); it seems also that at this time it was united to the see of Ancyra Ferrea (in Phrygia Pacatiana Secunda). In the 9th century it was attached to the metropolis of Hierapolis (capital of Phrygia Pacatiana Secunda) and remained so till its disappearance, as appears from the Greek Notitiae episcopatuum.

Synaos was historically the seat of a Christian bishop, which was subordinate to Laodikeia until sometime around the 9th century, when it was transferred to Hierapolis. A document from 1394 says that the diocese of Synaos was transferred from Hierapolis to the Exarchate of Philadelphia. The diocese of Synaos was almost always mentioned along with neighboring Ankyra, indicating that the two were closely connected.{{rp|396}}

In 1112, a Turkish force passed through Simav on its way to the west, but it was defeated by Byzantine forces under Konstantinos Gabras at Kelbianon.{{rp|396}}

The Babuk Bey Külliye was built in Simav in the first half of the 1300s by Babuk Bey, the vizier of the Germiyan beylik. It originally consisted of a mosque, hamam, and han, although only the mosque remains. As of 2019, a restoration project was planned for the hamam. The Dokuzgöz Köprü (Dokuzgöz Bridge) was also built in the 14th century under Germiyan rule. It still stands, although the location of the stream it originally crossed has shifted, so it is no longer functional.

In 1381, a marriage was conducted between the Germiyanid princess Devletşah Hatun and the Ottoman prince (and future sultan) Bayezid I. As part of Devletşah Hatun's dowry, her father, the bey Süleyman Şah, ceded several towns to the Ottomans; Simav was one of them.{{cite book |last1=Varlık |first1=Mustafa Çetin |title=Germiyan-oğulları tarihi (1300-1429) |date=1974 |location=Ankara |url=https://archive.org/details/m.-c.-varlik-germiyan-ogullari-tarihi-1300-1429-1974./mode/2up |access-date=30 January 2024 |lang=tr}}{{rp|60}}

The Tapu Defter #438, from the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent, listed Simav as a kazâ in the Sanjak of Kütahya.{{rp|61}}

From 1867 until 1922, Simav was part of Hüdavendigâr vilayet.

There are two main hills in Simav. The eastern hill is where the ancient acropolis was located, while on the western one are the ruins of a Byzantine-era castle.{{rp|396}} This castle, today known as Hisar Kalesi, was subsequently used in the Germiyan and Ottoman periods. In the mid-1800s, two towers were still visible along with parts of the walls, but by the turn of the 20th century only some of the walls remained. Today, only a short section of the walls, just over 1 m tall, are still visible on the east side of the hill. The castle may have been shaped like a trapezoid, with the south side about 45 m long and the other three sides about 60 m long.{{cite book |last1=Belke |first1=Klaus |last2=Mersich |first2=Norbert |title=Tabula Imperii Byzantini Bd. 7. Phrygien und Pisidien |date=1990 |publisher=Österreichicshe Akademie der Wissenschaften |location=Wien |isbn=3-7001-1698-5 |url=https://tib.oeaw.ac.at/static/reader/TIB/tib7.html#mode/2up |access-date=19 December 2023}}{{rp|396}} In 2017, an old abandoned tea garden on the site was renovated and turned into a restaurant.

The first school to open in Simav in republican Turkey was the Osmanbey Ilkokulu, which opened in 1926. It is now used as a museum.{{cite web |title=Simav'ın Tarihi Birikimi Gün Yüzüne Çıkıyor |url=https://www.cekulvakfi.org.tr/haber/simavin-tarihi-birikimi-gun-yuzune-cikiyor |website=ÇEKÜL |publisher=ÇEKÜL |access-date=30 January 2024 |language=Turkish |date=16 December 2019}}

On 19 May 2011, Simav was hit by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake. 2 people died, around 100 were injured, and about 2,000 households were either severely damaged or collapsed altogether.{{cite journal |last1=Karasözen |first1=Ezgi |last2=Nissen |first2=Edwin |last3=Bergman |first3=Eric A. |last4=Johnson |first4=Kendra L. |last5=Walters |first5=Richard J. |title=Normal faulting in the Simav graben of western Turkey reassessed with calibrated earthquake relocations |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |date=2016 |volume=121 |issue=6 |pages=4553–4574 |doi=10.1002/2016JB012828 |bibcode=2016JGRB..121.4553K |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2016JB012828 |access-date=30 January 2024}}

Le QuienOriens christianus, I, 813. mentions the following bishops:

• Arabius, represented by his metropolitan at Chalcedon (451);
• Pronimus, at Constantinople (553);
• Stephanus, at Nicæa (787);
• Constantine at Constantinople (869);
• Sisinnius and Eusebius, supporters respectively of St. Ignatius and Photius, at the Council of Constantinople (879-880);
• Isaac, at the Council of Constantinople (1351), which approved the doctrines of Palamas.

To these may be added Stephanus, whose name occurs in the inscription (8th century?) "Corp. inser. græc.", 8666 perhaps the Stephanus mentioned in 787.

Simav has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa),{{Cite journal |title=Table 1 Overview of the Köppen-Geiger climate classes including the defining criteria. |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-023-02549-6/tables/1 |journal=Nature: Scientific Data |language=en}} with hot, dry summers, and very cool, wet winters. The coldest month (-2, 6 degree) is january in Simav.

{{Weather box

| width = auto

| collapsed = yes

| metric first = yes

| single line = yes

| location = Simav (1991–2020)

| Jan high C = 7.5

| Feb high C = 9.1

| Mar high C = 12.7

| Apr high C = 17.4

| May high C = 22.8

| Jun high C = 27.2

| Jul high C = 30.6

| Aug high C = 30.9

| Sep high C = 26.6

| Oct high C = 21.1

| Nov high C = 15.0

| Dec high C = 9.3

| year high C = 19.2

| Jan mean C = 2.7

| Feb mean C = 3.9

| Mar mean C = 6.8

| Apr mean C = 10.9

| May mean C = 15.6

| Jun mean C = 19.6

| Jul mean C = 22.5

| Aug mean C = 22.4

| Sep mean C = 18.1

| Oct mean C = 13.3

| Nov mean C = 8.1

| Dec mean C = 4.4

| year mean C = 12.4

| Jan low C = -1.2

| Feb low C = -0.3

| Mar low C = 1.8

| Apr low C = 5.0

| May low C = 8.7

| Jun low C = 11.9

| Jul low C = 14.1

| Aug low C = 14.0

| Sep low C = 10.3

| Oct low C = 7.1

| Nov low C = 2.9

| Dec low C = 0.6

| year low C = 6.3

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation mm = 96.16

| Feb precipitation mm = 92.91

| Mar precipitation mm = 76.52

| Apr precipitation mm = 63.93

| May precipitation mm = 49.87

| Jun precipitation mm = 31.05

| Jul precipitation mm = 12.31

| Aug precipitation mm = 14.13

| Sep precipitation mm = 23.65

| Oct precipitation mm = 54.46

| Nov precipitation mm = 78.8

| Dec precipitation mm = 103.6

| year precipitation mm = 697.39

| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 9.4

| Feb precipitation days = 8.4

| Mar precipitation days = 8.5

| Apr precipitation days = 7.9

| May precipitation days = 7.3

| Jun precipitation days = 4.9

| Jul precipitation days = 2.2

| Aug precipitation days = 2.4

| Sep precipitation days = 3.4

| Oct precipitation days = 5.7

| Nov precipitation days = 6.8

| Dec precipitation days = 9.5

| year precipitation days = 76.4

| Jan humidity = 76.2

| Feb humidity = 73.5

| Mar humidity = 68.6

| Apr humidity = 66.8

| May humidity = 64.0

| Jun humidity = 60.7

| Jul humidity = 56.6

| Aug humidity = 58.5

| Sep humidity = 62.8

| Oct humidity = 70.3

| Nov humidity = 71.5

| Dec humidity = 76.0

| year humidity = 67.1

| source = NOAA{{cite web

|url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Turkiye/CSV/Simav_17748.csv

|title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Simav

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|access-date = January 15, 2024}}

}}

{{reflist}}

{{commonscat}}

• [http://www.simav.bel.tr Municipality's official website] {{in lang|tr}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120224050214/http://www.simavlilar.com/foto-galeri/ Some Pictures of Simav] {{in lang|tr}}
• [https://www.panoramio.com/user/286180/tags/Simav/ Ercüment ÇALI ]{{in lang|tr}}

{{Simav District}}

Category:Populated places in Simav District

Category:District municipalities in Turkey