Uşak

Uşak (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈuʃak]) is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. The city has a population of 187.886 (2012 census) and is the capital of Uşak Province. The city was previously known by its Greek name of Ousakeion/Ουσάκειον.

Uşak city is situated at a distance of 210 km (130 mi) from İzmir, the region's principal metropolitan center and port city. Benefiting from its location at the crossroads of the Central Anatolian plateau and the coastalAegean Region, and from a climate and agricultural production incorporating elements of both of these zones, Uşak has also traditionally had a strong industrial base. Uşak was the first city in Turkey to have an urban electricity network, and the first city where a collective labor relations agreement was signed, during the Ottoman era, between leather industry employees and workers. It was here that the first factory of Republican Turkey, a sugar refinery, was set up through a private sector initiative among local businessmen. The tradition of industriousness continues today around two industrial zones.

The first known organized states to have ruled over the region of Uşak were the Phrygians in the eastern portion and the Lydians in the west during the 7th century BC. The Karun Treasure, discovered by clandestinetreasure hunters in Uşak in 1965, and whose smuggling outside Turkey and subsequent retrieval decades later from New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art made international headlines, gives an indication of the high degree of civilization attained by these Anatolian states. The region of Lydia was later taken over by the Persian Empire in the 6th century BC and by Alexander the Great and his successors as of the 4th century. Thereafter, Uşak was ruled successively by the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Germiyanids and finally the Ottoman Empire (as of 1429).

Throughout classical times, until the Byzantine period, the city was called Ousakeion (Ουσάκειον) in Greek. Later, following Turkish conquest and domination over the area, the city became known by it's Turkish name of Uşşak; which could mean "lovers" and "minstrels" simultaneously. Tradition privileges the second derivation, which could be a reference to the region's rich folk literature.

Uşak was occupied by the Greek army between 28 August 1920 and 1 September 1922. During the Greek retreat, Greek general Nikolaos Trikoupis was captured near Uşak at the village of Göğem, today buried under a dam reservoir.

Uşak was a district center within Kütahya Province until 1953, when Uşak Province was constituted and Uşak became its provincial capital.

USAK PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANY