Manisa Province
Encyclopedia
Manisa Province is a province
in western Turkey
. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir
to the west, Aydın
to the south, Denizli
to the south east, Uşak
to the east, Kütahya
to the north east, and Balıkesir
to the north. The seat of the province is the city of Manisa
.
(capital district in bold):
national park
(Spil Dağı Milli Parkı) near the city of Manisa covers a richly forested area, hot spring
s, and the famous "crying rock" of Niobe
, and a Hittite
carving of the Goddess Cybele
(Mother Goddess). The park boasts of having within its boundaries about 120 varieties of native plants, especially wild tulips. The park provides opportunities for mountaineering
and camping.
Sardis
, in Salihli, was the ancient capital of Lydia
, once ruled by King Croesus
, who was renowned for his wealth. Due to numerous earthquakes, most of the visible remains date back only to Roman
times. There are the remains of the temple of Artemis
and a restored gymnasium, exhibiting of the past splendor of this ancient city. The splendid synagogue
from the 3rd century is worth visiting, with its elaborate mosaics and artfully carved colored-stone panels.
Akhisar
, the ancient city of Thyatira
, was one of the seven churches of the Book of Revelation and the remains of the ancient city is found in part of the city called Tepe Mezarlığı (hill cemetery). More recently, it became an important commercial center in the province and is its second largest after Manisa.
The city of Alaşehir
is where the remains of the ancient city of Philadelphia, another of the Seven Churches
, is found. There is little left of the ancient city, except some ruins of a Byzantine church
.
Kula
houses provide beautiful examples of Ottoman
architecture.
The villages of the Mount Yunt (Yunt Dağı), the towns of Gördes
, Kula
and Demirci
are famous for their precious carpets and kilim
s.
In addition there are many thermal springs throughout the area.
The province is highly developed in terms of industrial activities which are concentrated especially in the largest four centers of Manisa
, Turgutlu
, Akhisar
and Salihli
.
Provinces of Turkey
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, called il in Turkish .A province is administered by an appointed governor , and was formerly termed a "governorate" ....
in western Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir
Izmir Province
İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...
to the west, Aydın
Aydin Province
Aydın Province is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of approx. 150,000 . Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.-History:Aydın was founded by the ancient...
to the south, Denizli
Denizli Province
Denizli Province is a province of Turkey in Western Anatolia, on high ground above the Aegean coast. Neighbouring provinces are Uşak to the north, Burdur, Isparta, Afyon to the east, Aydın, Manisa to the west and Muğla to the south. It is located between the coordinates 28° 30’ and 29° 30’ E and...
to the south east, Uşak
Usak Province
Uşak is a province in western Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Manisa to the west, Denizli to the south, Afyon to the east, and Kütahya to the north. The provincial capital is Uşak, and its traffic code is 64. The province covers an area of 5,341 km² and has a population of 335,860...
to the east, Kütahya
Kütahya Province
Kütahya Province is a province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is 11,889 km² in size, and the population is 590,496 . In 1990, Kütahya had a population of 578,020.-Districts:...
to the north east, and Balıkesir
Balikesir Province
Balıkesir Province is a province in midwestern Turkey, having coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. Its adjacent provinces are Çanakkale to the west, İzmir to the southwest, Manisa to the south, Kütahya to the southeast, and Bursa to the east. The provincial capital is Balıkesir City...
to the north. The seat of the province is the city of Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
.
Districts
Manisa province is divided into 16 districtsDistricts of Turkey
The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 957 districts . In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the kaza....
(capital district in bold):
- AhmetliAhmetliAhmetli is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 18,852 of which 11,011 live in the town of Ahmetli. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .-External links:* * *...
- AkhisarAkhisarAkhisar is a county district and its town center in Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Western Turkey...
- AlaşehirAlasehirAlaşehir, in Antiquity and the Middle Ages known as Philadelphia , i.e. " brotherly love" is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is situated in the valley of the Kuzuçay , at the foot of the Bozdağ...
- DemirciDemirciDemirci is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 59,314 of which 21,230 live in the town of Demirci. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .-Economy:Demirci is one of the...
- GölmarmaraGölmarmaraGölmarmara is a town and district of Manisa Province in Turkey's Aegean at a distance of from the province center of Manisa. The town owes its name to the nearby Lake Marmara, called under various names throughout history. The town of Gölmarmara itself was a mere village in Ottoman times cited...
- GördesGördesGördes is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 38,110 of which 10,809 live in the town of Gördes. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .-Economy:Gördes is one of the...
- KırkağaçKirkagaçKırkağaç is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 48,303 of which 25,093 live in the town of Kırkağaç...
- Köprübaşı
- KulaKula, ManisaKula is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 52,986 of which 24,217 live in the town of Kula...
- ManisaManisaManisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
- SalihliSalihliSalihli is a large town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.-Geography:The city of Salihli, the seat of the district, is located on İzmir-Ankara highway and the parallel railway connections. The urban zone is situated on the slopes of Bozdağ mountain chain along the...
- SarıgölSarigölSarıgöl is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 35,621 of which 12,043 live in the town of Sarıgöl...
- SaruhanlıSaruhanliSaruhanlı is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 68,134 of which 13,025 live in the town of Saruhanlı. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .-External links:* *...
- SelendiSelendiSelendi is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 26,061 of which 8,095 live in the town of Selendi. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .-External links:* * * *...
- SomaSoma, ManisaSoma is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2009 census, population of the district is 101,011 of which 74,158 live in the town of Soma...
- TurgutluTurgutluTurgutlu is a very large town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2009 census, population of the district is 140,753 of which 115930 live in the city of Turgutlu.The district covers an area of and the city lies at an elevation of...
Sites of interest
The Mount SipylusMount Sipylus
Mount Spil , the ancient Mount Sipylus , is a mountain rich in legends and history in Manisa Province, Turkey, in what used to be the heartland of the Lydians and what is now Turkey's Aegean Region....
national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
(Spil Dağı Milli Parkı) near the city of Manisa covers a richly forested area, hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s, and the famous "crying rock" of Niobe
Niobe
Niobe was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, and she was the sister of Pelops and Broteas, all of whom figure in Greek mythology....
, and a Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
carving of the Goddess Cybele
Cybele
Cybele , was a Phrygian form of the Earth Mother or Great Mother. As with Greek Gaia , her Minoan equivalent Rhea and some aspects of Demeter, Cybele embodies the fertile Earth...
(Mother Goddess). The park boasts of having within its boundaries about 120 varieties of native plants, especially wild tulips. The park provides opportunities for mountaineering
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
and camping.
Sardis
Sardis
Sardis or Sardes was an ancient city at the location of modern Sart in Turkey's Manisa Province...
, in Salihli, was the ancient capital of Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
, once ruled by King Croesus
Croesus
Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
, who was renowned for his wealth. Due to numerous earthquakes, most of the visible remains date back only to Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times. There are the remains of the temple of Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
and a restored gymnasium, exhibiting of the past splendor of this ancient city. The splendid synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
from the 3rd century is worth visiting, with its elaborate mosaics and artfully carved colored-stone panels.
Akhisar
Akhisar
Akhisar is a county district and its town center in Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Western Turkey...
, the ancient city of Thyatira
Thyatira
Thyateira is the name of the modern Turkish city of Akhisar . The name comes from Koine Greek "Θυάτειρα" . The Turkish equivalent of Thyateira is Tepe Mezarligi. It lies in the far west of Turkey, south of Istanbul and almost due east of Athens...
, was one of the seven churches of the Book of Revelation and the remains of the ancient city is found in part of the city called Tepe Mezarlığı (hill cemetery). More recently, it became an important commercial center in the province and is its second largest after Manisa.
The city of Alaşehir
Alasehir
Alaşehir, in Antiquity and the Middle Ages known as Philadelphia , i.e. " brotherly love" is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is situated in the valley of the Kuzuçay , at the foot of the Bozdağ...
is where the remains of the ancient city of Philadelphia, another of the Seven Churches
Seven churches of Asia
The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as The Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and The Seven Churches of Asia , are seven major churches of Early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation and written to by Ignatius of Antioch...
, is found. There is little left of the ancient city, except some ruins of a Byzantine church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Kula
Kula, Manisa
Kula is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 52,986 of which 24,217 live in the town of Kula...
houses provide beautiful examples of Ottoman
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
architecture.
The villages of the Mount Yunt (Yunt Dağı), the towns of Gördes
Gördes
Gördes is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 38,110 of which 10,809 live in the town of Gördes. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .-Economy:Gördes is one of the...
, Kula
Kula, Manisa
Kula is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 52,986 of which 24,217 live in the town of Kula...
and Demirci
Demirci
Demirci is a town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 59,314 of which 21,230 live in the town of Demirci. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .-Economy:Demirci is one of the...
are famous for their precious carpets and kilim
Kilim
Kilims are flat tapestry-woven carpets or rugs produced from the Balkans to Pakistan. Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. Recently-made kilims are popular floor-coverings in Western households.-Etymology:...
s.
In addition there are many thermal springs throughout the area.
The province is highly developed in terms of industrial activities which are concentrated especially in the largest four centers of Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
, Turgutlu
Turgutlu
Turgutlu is a very large town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to the 2009 census, population of the district is 140,753 of which 115930 live in the city of Turgutlu.The district covers an area of and the city lies at an elevation of...
, Akhisar
Akhisar
Akhisar is a county district and its town center in Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Western Turkey...
and Salihli
Salihli
Salihli is a large town and district of Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.-Geography:The city of Salihli, the seat of the district, is located on İzmir-Ankara highway and the parallel railway connections. The urban zone is situated on the slopes of Bozdağ mountain chain along the...
.