Izbarta

Izbarta, or Sparta [anc. Baris], the chief town of the Hamid-abad sanjak of the Konia vilayet, in Asia Minor, well situated on the edge of a fertile plain at the foot of Aghlasun Dagh. It was once the capital of the Emirate of Hamid. It suffered severely from the earthquake of the 16th-17th of January 1889. It is a prosperous place with an enlightened Greek element in its population (hence the numerous families called “Spartali” in Levantine towns); and it is, in fact, the chief inland colony of Hellenism in Anatolia; Pop. 20,000 (Moslems 13,000, Christians 7000). The new Aidin railway extends from Dineir to Izbarta via Buldur.