Kolossai Attractions

Take a side road to reach the village of Honaz which lies a good 20km/12mi east of Denizli beneath the Honaz Dag. A short distance to the north, the River Lykos cuts through a limestone plateau partly in an underground channel and partly in a 4km/2.5mile long gorge (Bogaz Kesen). The scanty remains of the once great Phrygian city of Kolossai lie beyond the gorge. They are referred to by Herodotus (Bk 7: 30) and in the time of Xenophon (Anabasis Bk 1: 2,6) Kolossai was still a place of some consequence, but became increasingly overshadowed by Laodikeia and Hierapolis. Its name has remained familiar because of Paul's epistle to the Christian community here. 4km/2.5mi to the south the hillside town of Chinai (Honaz) with its patron saint Michael was of more importance in Byzantine times.