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Information about Usak, Turkey
Usak is a city in the inner Aegean region of Turkey
located at about 900 meters above sea level. The
history of Usak goes back to around 5000 BC and has
been occupied by the Lydians, Persians, Romans and
later Ottomans.
Usak rugs, woven in the 16th and 17 centuries,
represent the second golden age of Turkish rugs and
were exported extensively to the European countries,
decorating palaces, churches, cathedrals and houses
of the rich. We see Usak carpets features in
paintings of famous artists such as Holbein and
Lotto and some of the Usak patterns are named after
these painters. Usak is still a lively center of
carpet weaving with high quality cotton cloth, bed
sheets, carpets and kilims.
Visitors to Usak will want to visit the Usak
Archaeology museum to see the famous treasure of
Croesus (Karun) that were stolen during the 1960’s
and returned over 30 years later by the Metropolitan
Museum, . King Croesus was the king of Lydia around
560 BC until he was defeated by the Persians. Renown
for his wealth his name lives on today. Some items
from Lydian Hoard were spirited away again in 2006.
The Usak Museum features sculptures belonging to the
early Bronze Age, the beak - mouthed ewers and stone
- made axes, earthenware pots and items made of
glass from the Hellenistic and Roman Periods, the
Lydian treasures and also silver works collected
from the Ikiztepe tumulus in 1966 and Toptepe
tumulus in 1965, also items from the Basmacı tumulus
are exhibited.
Famous Treasure of Croesus
While in Usak you may also want to visit the Ataturk
and Ethnography Museum which is located in Hisarkapi
Uluyolu Bozkurt district of Usak. The building was
constructed around 1890 and belonged to the
Kaftancizadeler family. It was used as a military
headquarters during the War of Independence. This
was where Ataturk met and disarmed the the Greek
army commander Trikopis. There are also thermal spa
centers in the region of Usak, which makes it an
attractive area to visit.
The old houses of Usak are also of interest and we
can see the similarity to Aegean and west Anatolian
Turkish houses. Generally Usak houses have two
floors. The first floor is used for social and daily
life and usually has an exterior long room or hall
and an interior hall with an area for storing of
food in the winter. The upper floor is the living
area. Houses of Usak are usually rectangular in
shape with a small courtyard or garden and sometimes
have arched windows that are situated close to the
exterior of the thick walls. The entrance of the
house faces directly onto the street with stone
stairs. “Cikmalar” a kind of projection on the wall
face of a building have different shapes and the
eaves are generally simple and sometimes decorated
with hand painting. Usak Houses are commonly made of
stone, mud-brick, wood and tile. In addition, lime,
muddy plaster containing straw, gypsum plaster, iron
and iron plate are also employed. From the
foundation base to the wall base, exterior walls are
covered with rubble stones, which consist of broken
stone pieces and muddy plaster containing straw.
Wood is used mostly for interiors. The houses were
decorated under the last wave of Ottoman decorative
art, in the styles of Baroque, Empire and Eclectic.
Teyzinat (illuminated art) was also used, especially
for ceilings, stoves and the place for putting
flowers in main rooms. Teyzinat generally features
geometrical and plant motifs, as in other fields of
Ottoman Art.
Other sights of interest include: Cevrekoy-Akse and
Evrendede forest recreation areas, Blaundos and
Sebaste ancient ruins. St Mauas, Ballikaya and
Delikkaya Churches, the Usak Ulu Mosque, Burmali
Mosque and Cakaloz Mosque. Also fountains such as
Ali Aga, Cimcim and Cankis and old bridges such as
Cilandras, Beylerhan and Halipazara.
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