Söke is a town and the largest district of
Aydın Province
Aydın Province ( tr, ) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of almost 200,000 (2012). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside res ...
in the
Aegean region of western
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 ...
, 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
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 ...
from north-east,
Koçarlı from east,
Milas from south-east,
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 ...
from south-west,
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
from west 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 ...
from northwest. The mayor of Söke is Levent Tuncel.
Etymology
Modern Söke is identified with the ancient Greek city of
Anaia ( grc, Ἄνναια, Ἄναια, Ἀναία) (also referred to as Anea, Anaea, Annaea or Annaia), which named after the
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
Anaea (Ἀναία). Later, it was also called ''Sokia'' ( el, Σώκια). As of 1920, the
British were calling it Sokia.
Anaia is also the name of a
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...
(
Anaea) of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. From 1833 to 1922, it was the seat of the Diocese of Anea of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
. After that date, the demographics of the population changed and Orthodox Christians declined in number in the area.
Geography
The district lies between the
Aegean coast and the edge of the fertile
alluvial plain of the
Büyük Menderes River.
Lake Bafa is to the south of the district. The plain contains much rich agricultural land; it is one of Turkey's largest cotton-growing areas and is also important for the commodities of wheat and flour. Other income comes from handicrafts, forestry, and fishing. Söke is Turkey's only exporter of culinary snails.
Söke is a large town in the centre of the Aegean region, and the market town is at the heart of an agricultural district. Although secondary to the nearby centres of tourism on the coast,
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 ...
,
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
Bodrum
Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...
, Söke does catch passing trade from the tourist visitors to the area, including visitors to the nearby historical site of
Priene. There are a number of amenities on the highway for tourists passing through from
Izmir airport to the coast, including restaurants, service stations, and outlet stores. The local cuisine includes ''
çöp şiş'' (a
shish kebab of small pieces of lamb) and
pide (a flat bread pizza).
History
Settled for centuries before the
Common Era
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
, the region was called ''Aneon'' ( el, Ανέων) and was inhabited by Greeks.
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethn ...
, quoting
Ephorus, mention that the tomb of the amazon Anaea was at the city.
During the
Peloponnesian War, some
Samian exiles migrated there. In addition,
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...
mentioned that there was a naval station, and it was near enough to annoy
Samos
Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a sepa ...
.
In 1426 the city was captured by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
under
Murad II as the remaining capital of the
Sanjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
of Menteşe. After the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
, many Muslim refugees from the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
settled around this area.
According to the
1914 Ottoman population statistics, the district of Karaburun had a total population of 36.976, consisting of 20.028 Muslims, 16.720
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...
, 133
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
, and 95
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
In 18 May 1919, Italian troops landed at Söke. The
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
were afraid that the Italian landing might provoke trouble with the Greek troops, who were near
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prom ...
. Although Italy and Greece were allies during
WWI, their relations were not good.
After the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, fighting continued in a power struggle after the break-up of the Ottoman Empire. In 1920, large
Turkish and
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
forces were fighting against the occupying Italian forces.
In April 1922 Italian troops were withdrawn and Greek troops entered the area. After the defeat of the Greek army in the
Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), Greek troops was withdrawn, and Turkish troops entered in September 1922. Greek inhabitants of the area evacuated to Greece together with the Greek army or they were killed by the advancing Turkish troops.
The Turkish resistance in the area was led by one Cafer
Efe (''Djafer Efe''); a statue was erected later here to commemorate him.
During the
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...
in the 1920s, the Greek Christian population migrated to the Greek island of Crete and the
Cretan Muslims
The Cretan Muslims ( el, Τουρκοκρητικοί or , or ; tr, Giritli, , or ; ar, أتراك كريت) or Cretan Turks were the Muslim inhabitants of the island of Crete. Their descendants settled principally in Turkey, the Dodecanese ...
moved here.
Economy
Söke has a history of
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
lignite
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, it was producing large amounts of lignite. The
British described the quality as being "very poor." It was exported to
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prom ...
via train and used in factories.
Places of interest
*
Priene - ancient ruins, from Söke
See also
*
Lake Bafa
References
External links
Official websiteSoke – A Town On The Aegean Coast of TurkeyAbout the famous Cop Sis kebab restaurants of Soke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soke
Populated places in Aydın Province
Districts of Aydın Province
Söke District