Weavers’ town Population: 16,000
Market day: Thursday
Around 45km north of Denizli on the Salihli road, Buldan is set into a steep hillside. Buses drop you off not far from the foot of it in the least exciting part of town. To find the older, more interesting Buldan you need to climb up some of the heart-stoppingly steep streets until the concrete falls away to be replaced by brick and stone and red pantiled roofs.
Around what must count as the middle level of Buldan you will see lots of textile shops including the eponymous Buldan’s which is now a small chain. To find the people who produce some of their wares you again need to brave the steep hill above them – cut by beside the 17th-century Çarşı Cami and you won’t go far wrong.
Almost immediately you’ll hear a sound rather like that of a train emanating from some of the houses. This will be your clue to the ones which house weaving machines, turning out textiles made mainly from cotton and flosh. The doors of some are likely to be open and it’s unlikely that you’ll be turned away if you want to take a look. 
Otherwise the pleasure of roaming the back streets lies mainly in inspecting the wooden details of the surviving old doors, windows and lattice balconies.
For a peek at what the interiors of the Ottoman houses might have looked like find the Buldan Evi (once the Evliyazadeler Konağı) whose upper floor has been converted into a cafe with two rooms nicely refurbished and a corridor that in summer is open to the small courtyard at the back. The ground floor is devoted to the manufacture and sale of textiles.
On your way back to the bus station you might also want to take a quick look at the huge school buliding on the main square. It’s an example of the First National architectural style albeit one with some unusal decorative twists.
Sleeping
Çelebiler Konağı. Tel: 0258-431 2288
Transport info
Three buses an hour connect Denizli otogar and Buldan during the main part of the day.
Day trip destinations
