Manisa City Map

 Manisa city is located western of Turkey. It lies in the valley of the Gediz River (ancient Hermus River), below Mount Sipylus (Manisa Dağı), 32 km northeast of Izmir. It was called Magnesia ad Sipylum in ancient times, and the Magnetes of Thessaly are thought to have been its first inhabitants in the 12th century BC. It was taken by Cyrus II the Great of Persia in the 6th century BC, and in 190 BC it was the scene of a Roman victory over Seleucid Antiochus III the Great. Under the Attalids of Pergamum in the 1st century AD, it became a flourishing commercial centre, known first as Magnesiopolis and later as Magnesia. Emperor John III Ducas made it the seat of government in 1222. In 1313 Saruhan, a Turkmen tribal chief, captured Magnesia, renamed it Manisa, and made it the capital of his principality until the town was taken over by the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I in 1390. The principality was restored by the central Asian ruler Timur (Tamerlane) following his victory over the Ottomans (1402), but it again fell to the Ottomans about 1410. In the 18th century Manisa was ruled by the virtually independent KaraosmanoÄŸlu governors until their power was broken in 1822.

 Much favoured by the medieval Ottoman princes and sultans, Manisa has several buildings dating from that period. The mosque Muradiye Cami (built 1583–86), decorated with exquisitely worked marble, glazed tiles, and gilding, is particularly noteworthy. The medrese (religious school) attached to the mosque now houses a local archaeological museum. An important agricultural and commercial centre, Manisa is linked by rail with Afyon and Ä°zmir.

 The surrounding region includes the vast plain of Gediz (ancient Hyracanian Plain), north of Manisa, and is especially suited to vine growing. Other crops include olives, tobacco, sesame, and cotton. Some magnesite, zinc, and mercury are mined.

 History Shortcut

 Manisa (also known Saruhan) has long history and its first settlement dates back to as early as 14th century B.C. In 12th century B.C., the city of Magnesia Ad Sipylum was founded. 600 years later the region was conquered by the great Persian king; Cyprus II. In the 1st century, the city passed under Roman rule and thus prospered as a rich and commercially active city. During this period it first acquired the name Magnesiopolis and later became Magnesia. After the Romans, for a century the kingdom was ruled by the Christians (John 3 Ducas) and then was conquered by the Turkmen’s who made it the capital of their district. They also changed the name to Manisa.

 In 1390, Manisa was conquered by the Ottomans who chose the city as the training ground for crown princes. After 12 years the city passed into the hands of Timur Lenk who restored the principality and later Manisa once again was incorporated into Ottoman Empire. In the 16th century, the Mesir Macunu festival was started in the honor of the cure of Ayse Sultan, mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. “Mesir Macunu” or spiced candy,  which cured her, is made by mixing various spices and is supposed to restore health, youth and potency.

 

 The 16th-century  Muradiye Mosque was designed by the great architect Mimar Sinan. Near by the medrese, or theological college, today houses the Archaeological Museum. The Annual Harvest Festival begins in September when the fruits of the vineyards are brought in amid great celebration. The region’s numerous vineyards produce grapes that are then dried for export. South of the city lies the Sipil Dağı National Park, home of the famous "crying rock" of Niobe (AÄŸlayan Kaya). If you travel to the northeast you come to Gordes, a pleasant town particularly known for its fine carpets.

 The most splendid city of Manisa Province is Sardis which has many other magnificent mosques coming from the Ottoman Period. Sardis, the capital city of the Lydian Kingdom, located at the starting point of the famous "King’s Road" which extends towards the east, was an important trade center. In fact, Sardis was where metal coins were used for the first time in the world as a commercial value. The Temple of Artemis, restored gymnasium and one of the oldest and largest synagogues in Anatolia dates from the third century A.D. are the places which are most frequently visited in Sardis today. On the south side of Sardis, Mt. Boz (ancient Mt. Tmolus) is good for hiking and other mountain sports.

 

 You Should see

 

 AÄŸlayan Kaya (Niobe)

 

 Niobe was the daughter of the Anatolian local ruler Tantalus, called the "Phrygian", and also was the sister of Pelops, who gave his name to the Peloponnese.

 

 Cybele (Mother Goddess of the Phrygians in Anatolia and later the Greeks and Romans.)

 

 Found 6 km east of Manisa (Midas Anıtı), 13th-century BC rock carving of Cybele, the ancient Mother of the Gods, is considered evidence of Phrygian or Hittite presence in the area.

 

 Aigai Antique City

 

 Aigai, city of the Aeolian Dodecapolis, which lies almost at the mid-point between the cities of Izmir, Manisa, Bergama. It is very close to center of Manisa in Köseler Village.

 

 Sardes

 

 Sardis, also Sardes (Lydian: Sfard, Persian: Sparda), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, one of the important city of the persian empire, the seat of a proconsul under the Roman Empire, and the metropolis of the province Lydia in later Roman and Byzantine times. As one of the Seven churches of Asia, it was addressed by the author of the Book of Revelation in terms which seem to imply that its population was notoriously soft and fainthearted. Its importance was due, first to its military strength, secondly to its situation on an important highway leading from the interior to the Aegean coast, and thirdly to its commanding the wide and fertile plain of the Hermus.