Although Denizli is not by the coast, Denizli means "a locality by the sea". The name must have referred to the abundance of underground water sources.

Denizli is a rapidly growing industrial (especially textile) and touristic town with numerous beauties.

Being a fertile region, the city has always been a center of cradle of civilizations succeeding one another. Luvians, Phrygians, Persians, Greeks and Romans are counted among the early civilizations; the later ones include the Byzantines, Seljuk and the Ottomans.

Denizli’s popular site Pamukkale is a must-see natural thermal water source and a unique in the world with its calcareous white steps. The ancient sites Laodicea, Tripolis, Hierapolis, Colossae, Eumania, Heraklia Salbace, Tabae, Dionysopolis, Apollon Lermenos Temple, Sebatopolis, Anava, Trapezopolis, Attuda, and Apollonia Salbace are also inside the borders of Denizli city.