Kale

When the first name of the district, "Tabas", is examined, it is understood that the word Taba means rock and it got this name because it was built on a rocky hill. On the other hand, another name of Tabae has been spoken with the Turks as Davas or Tavas until today. The district was first established on the ruins of the ancient city of Tabas. This city is a fortress with two walls. It is called Kale Davaz because of the castle. After 1950, it started to be referred to only as the Castle.

Located on the 78th kilometer of the Denizli-Muğla highway, Tabae looks like a natural castle. Tabae is one of the city-states established in Anatolia after Alexander the Great and has been the scene of an uninterrupted settlement since the Hellenistic period. In ancient times, he minted gold coins in his own name. The Roman Bath and the Ottoman Cevherpaşa Mosque are the ruins that have survived to the present day.

The conquest of Tabea Plain is considered to be a continuation of Karaağaç Plain, and after the conquest of Karaağaç Plain, other extremist principalities such as Osman Bey, Abdi Bey Sultan and Bedir Bey Han continued their conquests. The conquest of the castle took place between 1200 and 1250. Mirza Bey, one of the Menteşe Sons, besieged the castle but could not take it. During this long siege, Mirza Bey made a big move and conquered the castle after learning from where to attack the weak points of the castle. After the conquest of Mirza Bey at the beginning of the 12th century, the Castle became a Turkish homeland. In the Travelogue of the famous Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi; Mirza Bey, one of the Menteşe Sons, said "Adem Az", which means few people in the Castle, after he conquered the Castle. This word by the people turned into the form of Davaz over time.

During the Ottoman period, the castle was attached to the Menteşe Revenue Office. While the castle was originally "Has" land, it was later changed to "Timar". Over time, this III. It was given in the name of Mihrişah Sultan, the mother of Selim, and its lands were turned into a foundation. XX. At the beginning of the century, the foundation was donated to Ali Cevdet Bey, one of the Mabeyn clerks. With the arrangement made in the administrative organization in 1811, Menteşe Sanjak was connected to Aydın Province. Between the years of 1867-1883, Tavas and Denizli were two districts of Aydın, but Denizli was transformed into the governorship of İzmir with the arrangement made on March 10, 1883. This situation continued until 1959; on this date, it was completely separated from Tavas District and became an independent district.

Kale-Tavas, which was founded on the ancient city of Tabae, became one of the important cities of the Menteşe Principality and preserved its importance during the Ottoman period. Ibn Battuta, who saw the city in the 1330s, only mentions its castle; Evliya Çelebi states that in the 1670s, the city consisted of an inner castle of 50 houses and a mosque, an outer castle of 300 houses, 5 neighborhoods, 5 mosques, 1 inn, 1 bath, 3 schools, 3 public fountains, 2 mosques. tekke and 6 lodges. . The city, which started to be abandoned due to landslides since the 1950s in the Republican era, was moved to its current settlement 3 km to the north. Only two mosques, a hammam, a public fountain and a public fountain have survived from the city to the present day. The Old Castle was declared a "Site" by the High Council of Monuments in 1985.