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Aydın Province ( tr, ) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the
Aegean Region The Aegean Region () is one of the 7 geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. Located in western Turkey, it is bordered b ...
. The provincial capital is the city of
Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of ...
which has a population of almost 200,000 (2012). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of
Didim Didim is a small town, popular seaside holiday resort, and district of Aydın Province on the Aegean coast of western Turkey, from the provincial capital city of Aydın. Didim is the site of the antique city of Didyma with its ruined Temple ...
and
Kuşadası Kuşadası () is a large resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast, and the center of the seaside district of the same name within Aydın Province. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about from Aydın. The municipality's primary industry is tour ...
.


Geography

Neighboring provinces are Manisa to the north east, İzmir to the north, Denizli to the east,
Muğla Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dis ...
to the south. The central and western parts of the province are fertile plains watered by the largest river in the Aegean region the
Büyük Menderes River The Büyük Menderes River (historically the Maeander or Meander, from Ancient Greek: Μαίανδρος, ''Maíandros''; tr, Büyük Menderes Irmağı), is a river in southwestern Turkey. It rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before fl ...
, with the Aydın Mountains to the north and the Menteşe Mountains to the south. The western end of the province is the Aegean coast with
Lake Bafa Lake Bafa ( tr, Bafa Gölü) also known as Lake Çamiçi ( tr, Çamiçi Gölü) and in earlier times the Vafi Sea ( tr, Vafi Denizi) is a lake situated in southwestern Turkey, part of it within the boundaries of Milas district of Muğla Province a ...
a major feature of the Menderes delta area. The climate is typical of the Aegean region, very hot in summer. The Germencik region contains a number of hot springs.


Districts

Aydın province is divided into 17
districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
:


Flora

Much of the countryside is a mix of fig, olive and citrus trees, especially figs.


Economy

The major sources of income are agriculture and tourism.


Tourism

The coastal towns of
Didim Didim is a small town, popular seaside holiday resort, and district of Aydın Province on the Aegean coast of western Turkey, from the provincial capital city of Aydın. Didim is the site of the antique city of Didyma with its ruined Temple ...
and
Kuşadası Kuşadası () is a large resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast, and the center of the seaside district of the same name within Aydın Province. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about from Aydın. The municipality's primary industry is tour ...
in particular are tourist resorts. Kuşadası is near to the Dilek Peninsula - Büyük Menderes Delta National Park, while Didim has a temple of Apollo, beaches, and the ancient ruins of
Miletos Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
nearby. The province contains
archeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes ...
sites, including the ancient Carian cities of
Alinda Alinda ( grc, Ἄλινδα) was an inland city and bishopric in ancient Caria, in Asia Minor (Anatolia). Modern scholars identify Alinda with the Hellenistic foundation of Alexandria ad Latmum (Ἀλεξάνδρεια πρὸς τῷ Λάτμ� ...
and
Alabanda Alabanda ( grc, Ἀλάβανδα) or Antiochia of the Chrysaorians was a city of ancient Caria, Anatolia, the site of which is near Doğanyurt, Çine, Aydın Province, Turkey. The city is located in the saddle between two heights. The area i ...
.


Agriculture

Aydın is Turkey's leading producer of figs and exports dried figs worldwide. The very name by which the fruit was called in the world markets was "Smyrna figs" until recently, due to the preponderance of figs exported from İzmir over other species of the genus. But İzmir got the name by being the center for the wholesale trade and exports, while in fact the fruit was traditionally cultivated in Aydın. The term used within Turkey is "Aydın figs" ( tr, Aydın inciri). Turkey's yearly production of roughly 50,000 tons of dried figs, is almost all from Aydın, Within Aydın province, the best figs are reputed to be grown in
Germencik Germencik is a town and a district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. Geography Germencik is located in the middle of the fertile Büyük Menderes (Meander) plain, inland from the Aegean coastal town of Kuşadası, on the Ayd ...
. Aydın produces olives from the varieties of Memecik, Manzanilla, and Gemlik, as well as chestnuts, cotton, citrus fruits, water melons and other fruits. Orange and tangerine cultivation has increased in Aydın in recent years.


Industry

Aydın has some light industry
Adnan Menderes University Adnan ( ar, عدنان, 'adnān) is the traditional ancestor of the Adnanite Arabs of Northern, Western, Eastern and Central Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtanite Arabs of Southern Arabia who descend from Qahtan. His ancestry can be traced back t ...
was built in the city of Aydın in 1990s and has branches throughout the province.


Places of interest

The city of Aydın has a number of antique ruins and Ottoman period mosques. The province's countryside and scenery include a stretch of the Aegean coast and a number of historic sites including: *
Didim Didim is a small town, popular seaside holiday resort, and district of Aydın Province on the Aegean coast of western Turkey, from the provincial capital city of Aydın. Didim is the site of the antique city of Didyma with its ruined Temple ...
coastal resort with large temple of
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
and nearby ** Miletus ruins of an Ancient Greek city *** Ilyas Bey Complex, a cultural heritage of Turkey built in 1403 *
Kuşadası Kuşadası () is a large resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast, and the center of the seaside district of the same name within Aydın Province. Kuşadası is south of İzmir, and about from Aydın. The municipality's primary industry is tour ...
coastal resort, near to the Dilek Peninsula - Büyük Menderes Delta National Park * Kirazli - a traditional Turkish village with old stone houses *
Alinda Alinda ( grc, Ἄλινδα) was an inland city and bishopric in ancient Caria, in Asia Minor (Anatolia). Modern scholars identify Alinda with the Hellenistic foundation of Alexandria ad Latmum (Ἀλεξάνδρεια πρὸς τῷ Λάτμ� ...
- ancient ruins *
Alabanda Alabanda ( grc, Ἀλάβανδα) or Antiochia of the Chrysaorians was a city of ancient Caria, Anatolia, the site of which is near Doğanyurt, Çine, Aydın Province, Turkey. The city is located in the saddle between two heights. The area i ...
- ancient ruins *
Magnesia ad Maeandrum Magnesia or Magnesia on the Maeander ( grc, Μαγνησία ἡ πρὸς Μαιάνδρῳ or ; la, Magnesia ad Maeandrum) was an ancient Greek city in Ionia, considerable in size, at an important location commercially and strategically in ...
- ancient ruins, on the Ortaklar-
Söke Söke is a town and the largest district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of western Turkey, 54 km (34 miles) south-west of the city of Aydın, near the Aegean coast. It had 121.940 population in 2020. It neighbours are Germencik fr ...
road in
Germencik Germencik is a town and a district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. Geography Germencik is located in the middle of the fertile Büyük Menderes (Meander) plain, inland from the Aegean coastal town of Kuşadası, on the Ayd ...
* Nysa - another ruined Carian city, in
Sultanhisar Sultanhisar is a town and a small district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of Turkey, 30 km east of the city of Aydın on the road to Denizli. History The first settlement here was the ancient city of Nysa in Asia (on the Maean ...
*
Aphrodisias Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from t ...
- more ancient ruins, including tombs, friezes and sculpture, in
Karacasu Karacasu is a town and a district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of Turkey, from the city of Aydın. Formerly known as "Yenişehir", Karacasu is reached by turning off the Aydın - Denizli road south-east at Kuyucak and following the ...
*
Priene Priene ( grc, Πριήνη, Priēnē; tr, Prien) was an ancient Greek city of Ionia (and member of the Ionian League) located at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about north of what was then the course of the Maeander River (now called t ...
- another ruin, near
Söke Söke is a town and the largest district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of western Turkey, 54 km (34 miles) south-west of the city of Aydın, near the Aegean coast. It had 121.940 population in 2020. It neighbours are Germencik fr ...
*
Mycale Mycale (). also Mykale and Mykali ( grc, Μυκάλη, ''Mykálē''), called Samsun Dağı and Dilek Dağı ( Dilek Peninsula) in modern Turkey, is a mountain on the west coast of central Anatolia in Turkey, north of the mouth of the Maeander a ...
Mountains


Culture

Aydın is the home of the Zeybek folk art. This involves a special type of war dance which is performed in a ring to resemble birds. The Zeybek is performed to sounds of the Kiteli and other Turkish folk instruments. The folk songs of Aydın are famously short, indeed a popular saying in the Aegean region to get someone to stop talking, is ''Keep it short, make it an Aydın tune''. The cuisine features the typical Turkish pastries,
köfte Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in Balkan, Middle Eastern, South Caucasian, South Asian and Central Asian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meatusually beef, chicken, pork, lamb or mutto ...
and
kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish that originates from cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the category are popular around the wor ...
.


Transport


Roads

Izmir to
Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of ...
motorway, Motorway O-31, was built in the 1990s and is the city's main thoroughfare. An extension of this motorway to Denizli is currently under construction, with longer-term plans to extend it to
Antalya Antalya () is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast outside the A ...
.


Railway

There is a passenger train service passing through Aydın, connecting the city to Izmir and Denizli. This passenger train runs five trains per day. Rail-Turkey TR - İzmir Denizli treni
/ref>


Notable people

* Mustafa Kemal Atatürk - the
Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
founder and the first President of Turkey * Atçalı Kel Mehmet Efe, folk hero, leader of a public revolt during the decline of the Ottoman Empire *
Yörük Ali Efe Yörük Ali Efe (1895 – 23 September 1951) was a Turkish guerilla leader in the Ottoman Empire, and an officer in the Turkish Army during the Turkish War of Independence. He was an important leader in Kuva-yi Milliye of the Aegean Region. Af ...
, hero of the
Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
* Demirci Mehmet Efe, the hero for Kuva-yi Milliye and
Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
*
Ali Rıza Efendi Ali Rıza Efendi (1839–1888) was an official, and the father of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the husband of Zübeyde Hanım. He was born in Selanik, (modern Thessaloniki in present-day Macedonia, Greece), back then the most important city ...
, the Ataturk's father *
Makbule Atadan Makbule Atadan (1885 – 18 January 1956Mürşit Balabanlılar, Şebnem Kandır, Mine Söğüt, ''Türkiye'nin Yetmiş Yılı: 1923-1993: Gün Gün Cumhuriyet Tarihi'', 1. cilt, Hürgüç Gazetecilik, 1994p. 142./ref>) was the sister of Mustafa Ke ...
, the Ataturk's sister *
Adnan Menderes Adnan Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He ...
, Turkish Prime Minister (1950-1960) * Gökhan Kırdar, musician, composer and producer * Fatih Portakal, journalist * Ümit Aktan, TV speaker * Şebnem Bursalı, journalist *
Aydın Menderes Aydın Menderes (5 May 1946 – 23 December 2011) was a Turkish politician. He was a deputy, who represented various parties from 1977 to 2002. He was the youngest son of former prime minister Adnan Menderes.
, politican and Adnan Menderes's son * Yüksel Yalova, politican * Melike Yalova, actress * Necati Çelim, MP for Aydın, doctor, founding Chairman of Aydın Tekstil Fabrikası, born in
Köşk Köşk is a district in Aydın Province, Aegean Region, Turkey. Köşk is a noun in Turkish and refers to an ornate wooden mansion, smaller than a palace. References External links the municipalitythe district governorate Populated places ...
* İlhan Selçuk, editor of the
Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: " Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Pr ...
newspaper *
İsmet Sezgin İsmet Sezgin (6 January 1928 – 7 December 2016) was a Turkish politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey and Minister of National Defense from 1997 to 1999, as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly in 1995, as the Mini ...
, former minister *
Atilla Koç Atilla Koç (born March 1, 1946) is a Turkish politician of the Justice and Development Party. He was the Minister of Culture and Tourism in the first cabinet of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After graduating from Ankara University, he worked in the M ...
, MP for Aydın, former minister of culture and tourism, born in
Köşk Köşk is a district in Aydın Province, Aegean Region, Turkey. Köşk is a noun in Turkish and refers to an ornate wooden mansion, smaller than a palace. References External links the municipalitythe district governorate Populated places ...
* Güven Önüt, former
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...
footballer *
Rıdvan Dilmen Rıdvan Dilmen (born 15 August 1962) is a former Turkish footballer who most notably played for Fenerbahçe and Turkey national football team. During his career Rıdvan established himself as one of the most skilled players of the Turkish Supe ...
, retired footballer, team manager and sports commentator


See also

* List of populated places in Aydın Province


References


External links

*
Aydın governor's official website
*
Aydın municipality's official website

Aydın weather forecast information
*
Local information
*
Aydın figs information
*
Aydın otelleri
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aydin Province Ancient Greek geography