Baklan is a town and a district of Denizli Province

Denizli Province

Denizli Province is a province of Turkey in Western Anatolia, on high ground above the Aegean coast. Neighbouring provinces are Uşak to the north, Burdur, Isparta, Afyon to the east, Aydın, Manisa to the west and Muğla to the south. It is located between the coordinates 28° 30’ and 29° 30’ E and...

, in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

's Aegean Region. The town is at a distance of about an hour from the city of Denizli

Denizli

Denizli is a growing industrial city in the Southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about a hundred meters. Denizli is located in southwestern Turkey, in the country's Aegean Region.The city...

, neighboring the town of Çivril

Çivril

Çivril is a town and district of Denizli Province in the inner Aegean region of Turkey. Çivril district area neighbors those of two districts of Uşak Province to its north, namely Sivaslı and Karahallı, and four districts of Afyonkarahisar Province from the north-east to the south which are,...

, and it is situated on the road to Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

.

Name

For the pre-Turkish period, it is deduced that the plain of Baklan corresponded to the settlements named Lounda and Lakerion . The plain and the region was the scene of the final great efforts made after the 1176 Battle of Myriokephalon

Battle of Myriokephalon

The Battle of Myriokephalon, also known as the ', or in Turkish, was a battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks in Phrygia on September 17, 1176. The battle was a strategic reverse for the Byzantine forces, who were ambushed when moving through a mountain pass...

 by the Byzantine Emperor

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

  Manuel I Komnenos

Manuel I Komnenos

Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....

 in person to drive out and to hold territory against the victorious Seljuk Turks. However, it is inferred that the nomad Turks had already esteblished themselves in Lounda and Lakerion (Baklan).

The subsequent Turkish town was alternatively called Dedeköy, a name which was its official appellation in some periods in the past. The name dede makes reference to the 13th century Seljuk warrior Alp Eren Hüsamettin Gazi Bey, whose tomb is within the town.

Administration, geography, economy

A township depending Çal

Çal

Çal is a town and a district of Denizli Province in the inner Aegean region of Turkey. Çal district area occupies a central position in the northern part of its province and neighbors the central district of Denizli to the south-west and the district areas of Güney to the west and Honaz to the south...

district until 1990, it was made into a district at that time.

A large part of the district is covered by the high plain that carries the same name as the town, Baklan Plain, and the town itself is situated on the slopes of the district's only mountain, Beşparmak, 1307 m. high.

The economy is largely based on agriculture.