Mugla
Encyclopedia
Muğla is a city in south-western Turkey
. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province
, which stretches along Turkey
´s Aegean
coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about 30 km (19 mi) from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of Gökova
to its south-west. Muğla district area neighbors the district areas of Milas
, Yatağan
and Kavaklıdere
to its north by north-west and those of Ula
and Köyceğiz
, all of whom are depending districts. Muğla is the administrative capital of a province that incorporates internationally well-known and popular tourist resorts such as Bodrum
, Marmaris
and Fethiye
.
The district area's physical features are determined by several pot-shaped high plains abbreviated by mountains, of which the largest is the one where the city of Muğla is located and which is called under the same name (Muğla Plain). It is surrounded by slopes denuded of soil, paved with calcerous formations and a scrub cover which gives the immediate vicinity of Muğla a barren look uncharacteristic for its region. Arable land is restricted to valley bottoms.
A relatively small city of 61,550 (2009 estimates) and often overlooked by visitors to near-by coastal resorts, Muğla has received a new boost with the foundation of Muğla University
in the 1990s. Today, the university brings together a student community of 16,000 and, added by its academia and staff, it played a key role in bringing movement to the city and in opening it to the outside world. Its former profile of a predominantly rural, difficult to access, isolated and underpopulated region enclosed with a rugged mountainous complex is now coming to an end. Also in recent years, a major program of restoration of the city's architectural heritage has enhanced local tourism. The city remains an orderly, compact and leafy provincial center which could keep its old neighborhoods without surrendering to a boom in concrete constructions and displays a progressist mind as exemplified by the pride still expressed on having had Turkey's first female provincial governor in the 1990s, Ms. Lale Aytaman
. Nevertheless, Muğla still lacks sizeable manufacturing and processing centers and relies on trades, crafts, services, tourism and agriculture in its economy.
In ancient times, Muğla was apparently a rather insignificant settlement halfway on the passage between the Caria
n cities of Idrias (later Stratonicea
) to the north and Idyma (modern Akyaka
) to the southwest on the coast. The indigenous name Mobolla, which survives with little change, appears for the first time in the beginning of the 2nd century BC at the time of its region's passage from what was apparently an eastern Carian
federation linked with Taba
(modern Tavas
) and other cities to Rhodian
domination. Mobolla was part of the Rhodian Peraea on a firm basis as of 167 BC until at least the 2nd century AD. The Rhodian territory started here and while region was subject to Rhodes
, it was not incorporated in the Rhodian state.
There are almost no ruins to reveal the history of the settlement of Mobolla. On the high hill to the north of the city, a few ancient remains indicate that it was the site of an acropolis
. A handful of inscriptions were unearthed within the city itself and they date back to the 2nd century BC..
Turkish-era Muğla also remained a minor site in the beginning despite having been captured relatively early for western Anatolia in the course of the 13th century. The local ruling dynasty of Menteşe had their capital in Milas
. Muğla acquired regional importance after it replaced Milas
as the seat of the subprovince (sanjak
) under the Ottoman Empire
in 1420. The sanjak kept the name Menteşe until the Republican Era, when it was renamed Muğla after its seat of government.
. It is characterised by long, hot and dry summers with cool and wet winters.
The old quarter of Muğla - on the slopes and around Saburhane Square (Meydanı), consisting of about four hundred registered old houses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, many of which are restored. These houses are mainly in the Turkish/Ottoman style, characterized by hayat ("courtyard") sections accessed through double-shuttered doors called kuzulu kapı ("lamb doors") and dotted with chimneys typical of Muğla. But there are also a number of "Greek" houses. The differences between the two types of houses may have as much to do with the extent to which wood or stone were used in their architecture, and whether they were arranged in intraverted or extraverted styles, as with who inhabited them previously.
Local students tend to hang out in open air cafés along the İzmir highway or in the caravanserai or in Sanat Evi ("Art House"), an Ottoman style residence that has been turned into a café/art gallery exhibiting principally wood carvings.
's 2004 local elections, Dr. Osman Gürün (CHP
) was re-elected, increasing his votes to 43,28 %, aided in this by the abrupt virtual collapse of the other center-left party the DSP
. The 2004 elections were the seventh successive victory for the center-left candidates in the Muğla municipality. Turkey's incumbent AKP
and the traditional center-right DYP have each obtained (24,5-24.75 %). In 2009 communal elections, MHP
made a significant leap in votes and reached %24,2 of casts. CHP
had collected almost half of the votes at %46.
currently apply their trade in the third tier of the Turkish football pyramid.
Due to the particularity of its location, commanding a large part of Anatolia's southwestern coast and a number of busy district centers, Muğla is also notable by the large number of people who, short of being natives in the strict sense, had associations of one sort or another with the city, including among its small Greek minority until the 1923 Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
. Among these can be cited;
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province
Mugla Province
Muğla Province is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, are on the coast in Muğla....
, which stretches along 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...
´s Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about 30 km (19 mi) from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of Gökova
Gulf of Gökova
Gulf of Gökova or Gulf of Kerme , is a long , narrow gulf of the Aegean Sea between Bodrum Peninsula and Datça Peninsula in south-west Turkey.Administratively, Gulf of Gökova coastline includes portions of the districts of, clockwise, Bodrum, Milas,...
to its south-west. Muğla district area neighbors the district areas of Milas
Milas
Milas is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy, and the region is very rich in history and its remains, the whole territory of Milas district containing a remarkable twenty-seven...
, Yatağan
Yatagan
The yatagan or yataghan is a type of Ottomanknife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th centuries....
and Kavaklıdere
Kavaklidere
Kavaklıdere may refer to:* Kavaklıdere, Ankara: A metropolitan district of Turkey's capital city, Ankara.* Kavaklıdere, Muğla: A district of Muğla Province of Turkey.* Kavaklıdere : A famous Turkish wine brand, found in Ankara...
to its north by north-west and those of Ula
Ula, Turkey
Ula is a district as well as the center town of the same district in Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey in south-west Anatolia.The town of Ula is situated at a distance of only from the province seat of Muğla, a mile after a bifurcation on the road to Marmaris...
and Köyceğiz
Köycegiz
Köyceğiz is a town and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.The town of Köyceğiz lies at the northern end of a lake of the same name which is joined to the Mediterranean Sea by a natural channel called Dalyan. Its unique environment is being preserved as a nature and wildlife...
, all of whom are depending districts. Muğla is the administrative capital of a province that incorporates internationally well-known and popular tourist resorts such as Bodrum
Bodrum
Bodrum is a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova. The site was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the...
, Marmaris
Marmaris
Marmaris is a port city and a tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in Muğla Province.Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. Little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was just a few decades ago after a construction boom in the 1980s...
and Fethiye
Fethiye
Fethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
.
The district area's physical features are determined by several pot-shaped high plains abbreviated by mountains, of which the largest is the one where the city of Muğla is located and which is called under the same name (Muğla Plain). It is surrounded by slopes denuded of soil, paved with calcerous formations and a scrub cover which gives the immediate vicinity of Muğla a barren look uncharacteristic for its region. Arable land is restricted to valley bottoms.
A relatively small city of 61,550 (2009 estimates) and often overlooked by visitors to near-by coastal resorts, Muğla has received a new boost with the foundation of Muğla University
Mugla University
Muğla University is a university built in 1992 in Muğla in southwestern Turkey, which registered growth in the fifteen years since its foundation, advantaged by a number of factors, to reach a current total student number of 16,000 and an academic corpus of 700 teaching under 122 different...
in the 1990s. Today, the university brings together a student community of 16,000 and, added by its academia and staff, it played a key role in bringing movement to the city and in opening it to the outside world. Its former profile of a predominantly rural, difficult to access, isolated and underpopulated region enclosed with a rugged mountainous complex is now coming to an end. Also in recent years, a major program of restoration of the city's architectural heritage has enhanced local tourism. The city remains an orderly, compact and leafy provincial center which could keep its old neighborhoods without surrendering to a boom in concrete constructions and displays a progressist mind as exemplified by the pride still expressed on having had Turkey's first female provincial governor in the 1990s, Ms. Lale Aytaman
Lale Aytaman
Dr. Lale Aytaman was the governor of Muğla province in Turkey from 1991 to 1995 and the first female governor of Turkey.-Education:Lale Aytaman finished St. George's Austrian High School in Istanbul. She was an AFS-exchage student in 1962 in Phoenix, Arizona...
. Nevertheless, Muğla still lacks sizeable manufacturing and processing centers and relies on trades, crafts, services, tourism and agriculture in its economy.
History
- See Muğla ProvinceMugla ProvinceMuğla Province is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, are on the coast in Muğla....
and CariaCariaCaria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
for more information on the history of the area as a whole
In ancient times, Muğla was apparently a rather insignificant settlement halfway on the passage between the Caria
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
n cities of Idrias (later Stratonicea
Stratonicea
Stratonicea, Stratoniceia or Stratonikeia , also found as Stratonice, Stratoniki, Stratonike , can refer to any of several Hellenistic cities, including:...
) to the north and Idyma (modern Akyaka
Akyaka, Mugla
Akyaka is a coastal township with its own municipality in the Ula district of Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The town is situated at the far end of the Gulf of Gökova, at the start of the fertile Gökova plain, and is a rising centre for international tourism due to its advantageous...
) to the southwest on the coast. The indigenous name Mobolla, which survives with little change, appears for the first time in the beginning of the 2nd century BC at the time of its region's passage from what was apparently an eastern Carian
Carians
The Carians were the ancient inhabitants of Caria in southwest Anatolia.-Historical accounts:It is not clear when the Carians enter into history. The definition is dependent on corresponding Caria and the Carians to the "Karkiya" or "Karkisa" mentioned in the Hittite records...
federation linked with Taba
Taba
- Places :Egypt:* Taba, Egypt, a town in Egypt near the Gulf of Aqaba.** Taba Border Crossing, a border crossing between Taba in Egypt and Eilat in Israel...
(modern Tavas
Tavas
Tavas is a town and a district of Denizli Province of Turkey, on a wide plain on the road to Muğla, near to the district of Kale...
) and other cities to Rhodian
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
domination. Mobolla was part of the Rhodian Peraea on a firm basis as of 167 BC until at least the 2nd century AD. The Rhodian territory started here and while region was subject to Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, it was not incorporated in the Rhodian state.
There are almost no ruins to reveal the history of the settlement of Mobolla. On the high hill to the north of the city, a few ancient remains indicate that it was the site of an acropolis
Acropolis
Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...
. A handful of inscriptions were unearthed within the city itself and they date back to the 2nd century BC..
Turkish-era Muğla also remained a minor site in the beginning despite having been captured relatively early for western Anatolia in the course of the 13th century. The local ruling dynasty of Menteşe had their capital in Milas
Milas
Milas is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy, and the region is very rich in history and its remains, the whole territory of Milas district containing a remarkable twenty-seven...
. Muğla acquired regional importance after it replaced Milas
Milas
Milas is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy, and the region is very rich in history and its remains, the whole territory of Milas district containing a remarkable twenty-seven...
as the seat of the subprovince (sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
) under the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1420. The sanjak kept the name Menteşe until the Republican Era, when it was renamed Muğla after its seat of government.
Climate
Muğla has a Mediterranean ClimateMediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
. It is characterised by long, hot and dry summers with cool and wet winters.
Places of interest
Although it is close to major resorts, Muğla has only recently begun to attract visitors. Sights of interest in the city include:- Vakıflar HamamHamamHamam may refer to:* Turkish bath in Turkish* Hamam , a 1997 European film directed by Ferzan Özpetek* Hamam , brand of soap in India* Sam Hammam , Lebanese businessman and football club owner...
- a still operating Turkish bath which dates back to 1258. - Great Mosque of Muğla (Ulu Cami) - large mosque built in 1344 by the BeyBeyBey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
s of Menteşe. - Kurşunlu Cami - large mosque built in 1495
- Konakaltı Han and Yağcılar Han - restored 18th century caravanseraiCaravanseraiA caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...
s, the first used as an art gallery and facing Muğla Museum, and the second used for more commercial purposes. - the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
-era bazaar (Arasta) - marked by a clock tower built by a Greek craftsman named Filivari Usta in 1895, - Muğla City Museum has a good collection of archaeological and ethnographical artefacts, as well as 9 million years old animal and plant fossiles recently discovered in Kaklıcatepe nearby.
The old quarter of Muğla - on the slopes and around Saburhane Square (Meydanı), consisting of about four hundred registered old houses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, many of which are restored. These houses are mainly in the Turkish/Ottoman style, characterized by hayat ("courtyard") sections accessed through double-shuttered doors called kuzulu kapı ("lamb doors") and dotted with chimneys typical of Muğla. But there are also a number of "Greek" houses. The differences between the two types of houses may have as much to do with the extent to which wood or stone were used in their architecture, and whether they were arranged in intraverted or extraverted styles, as with who inhabited them previously.
Local students tend to hang out in open air cafés along the İzmir highway or in the caravanserai or in Sanat Evi ("Art House"), an Ottoman style residence that has been turned into a café/art gallery exhibiting principally wood carvings.
Politics
Muğla's political color has traditionally been center-left. In TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
's 2004 local elections, Dr. Osman Gürün (CHP
CHP
-Healthcare:* Oporto Hospital Centre* Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh* Community Health Partnerships* Certified Health Physicist-Politics:* Christian Heritage Party * Christian Historical Party...
) was re-elected, increasing his votes to 43,28 %, aided in this by the abrupt virtual collapse of the other center-left party the DSP
Democratic Left Party (Turkey)
The Democratic Left Party is a Turkish political party founded on November 14, 1985, by Rahşan Ecevit.-1985-1999:The DSP, a social democratic oriented party, was registered on November 14, 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of Bülent Ecevit, as he was banned from political life after the 1980 coup...
. The 2004 elections were the seventh successive victory for the center-left candidates in the Muğla municipality. Turkey's incumbent AKP
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
and the traditional center-right DYP have each obtained (24,5-24.75 %). In 2009 communal elections, MHP
MHP
MHP may stand for:*Minsk-1 Airport*Montana Highway Patrol*Monty Hall problem*A mental health professional*Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi - a Turkish nationalist political party*Multimedia Home Platform...
made a significant leap in votes and reached %24,2 of casts. CHP
CHP
-Healthcare:* Oporto Hospital Centre* Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh* Community Health Partnerships* Certified Health Physicist-Politics:* Christian Heritage Party * Christian Historical Party...
had collected almost half of the votes at %46.
Sports
The local football club, MuğlasporMuglaspor
Between the years 1966-1970 in Muğla Governor's leadership on 16 June 1967 Hasan Orhan do it and live on the Association of Installation Muğlaspor way by creating the first step was taken to be established...
currently apply their trade in the third tier of the Turkish football pyramid.
Notable people from Muğla
- Şahidi İbrahim Dede - 15th-16th century Sufi poet.
- Zihni DerinZihni DerinZihni Derin was a Turkish agronomist and agriculturalist noted primarily for his pioneering role in tea production in Turkey's eastern Black Sea Region.-External links:...
- 20th century agronomistAgronomistAn agronomist is a scientist who specializes in agronomy, which is the science of utilizing plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. An agronomist is an expert in agricultural and allied sciences, with the exception veterinary sciences.Agronomists deal with interactions between plants, soils, and...
and agriculturalist who pioneered teaTeaTea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
production in Turkey - Nail ÇakırhanNail ÇakırhanNail Çakırhan was a Turkish poet and journalist in his career in the beginning, and later a self-taught and award-winning architect and restorer who left his print particularly in the architecture of the coastal township of Akyaka in southwestern Turkey through old houses he had had repaired and...
- 20th century poet and architect
Due to the particularity of its location, commanding a large part of Anatolia's southwestern coast and a number of busy district centers, Muğla is also notable by the large number of people who, short of being natives in the strict sense, had associations of one sort or another with the city, including among its small Greek minority until the 1923 Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
. Among these can be cited;
- Arms trading tycoon Basil ZaharoffBasil ZaharoffBasil Zaharoff, GCB, GBE , born Zacharias Basileios Zacharoff, was an arms dealer and financier...
, whose family were actually Greeks of the Ottomnan capital but who was born in Muğla in 1849. - Mining and poultry magnate Yavuz Sıtkı Koçman (d. 2002) who contributed an important part of his fortune to building the university in the 1990s.
- The French actress of Greek descent Anna MouglalisAnna Mouglalis-Biography:Anna Mouglalis was born in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, to her Greek father and French mother. She spent her youth in the Var département, before moving back to Nantes with her family. Her father is a doctor and her mother is a masseuse. Until 2001 she studied at the Conservatoire National...
, as attested by her name, can trace her roots to the city.