Urla (, Vourlá) is a town and the center of the district of the same name in
İzmir Province
İzmir Province ( tr, İzmir ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 distri ...
, in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. The district center is located in the middle of the
isthmus of a small peninsula which protrudes northwards in the
Gulf of İzmir
The Gulf of İzmir ( tr, İzmir Körfezi), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent anchor ...
, but its urban tissue is comparatively loose and extends eastwards to touch the coast and to cover a wide area which also includes a large portion of the peninsula. Sizable parts in the municipal area, owned by absentee landlords, remain uninhabited or are very rural in aspect. The peninsular coastline present a number of compounds constituted by seasonal residences along the beaches and the coves and which are administratively divided between Urla center's municipal area or its depending villages.
Urla district area's eastern end neighbors the westernmost district of the Greater Metropolitan Area of
İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
,
Güzelbahçe
Güzelbahçe is a coastal district of İzmir Province in Turkey. Until 2009 Local Government Elections, Greater İzmir Municipality had 9 district (second-tier) municipalities and Güzelbahçe was one of the smallest district municipality in terms ...
, and urbanization is much denser across that part, contributing to the whole district's average urbanization rate of 75%. With İzmir center (
Konak) at a distance of only , an important part of Urla's population is composed of residents, often wealthy, who commute to the big city every day, access to and from İzmir and
Çeşme
Çeşme () is a coastal town and the administrative centre of the district of the same name in Turkey's westernmost end, on a promontory on the tip of the peninsula that also carries the same name and that extends inland to form a whole with the ...
, an international center of tourism at a distance of from Urla, having been greatly facilitated by the building of a six-lane highway. Urla district nevertheless manages to preserve an overall outlook of a pleasant suburb and resort, and as it extends to the west along
Karaburun Peninsula Karaburun Peninsula may refer to:
*Karaburun Peninsula, Albania, a peninsula in Albania
*Karaburun Peninsula, Turkey
Karaburun Peninsula is a peninsula in the extreme western end of Turkey, a component of the larger Urla-Karaburun-Çeşme Penin ...
, where it borders on the districts of Çeşme and
Karaburun, secondary residences built along the coast or large farms of the interior, as well as native villages, all bearing typical
Aegean characteristics, increase in number. To the south, Urla district neighbors that of
Seferihisar
Seferihisar is a coastal district and the center town of the same district in İzmir Province, in Turkey. Seferihisar district area borders on other İzmir districts of Urla to the west and Menderes ( Cumaovası) to the east, and touches İzmir's ...
and the settlement pattern is thinner in that section, with even some empty land, although
housing projects targeting İzmir's professional classes start to show a rising interest for that section as well. In economic terms, agricultural products, and especially the fresh produce for the vast nearby market of İzmir, occupy a prominent place in Urla's economy, with
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
,
poultry
Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...
and
flowers
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
standing out.
An internationa
Artichoke Festivalis celebrated since 2015.
The name "Urla" is derived from the
Greek ''Βουρλά'' (''"Vourla"'') meaning ''marshlands'' and the town was cited as such in western sources until the 20th century. Bryela (Byzantine name meaning Woman of God i.e. Holy Maria) whereas it has been suggested that due to the transposition of vowels Bryela has become Vourla, meaning marshlands. Urla is where the ancient city of
Klazomenai
Klazomenai ( grc, Κλαζομεναί) or Clazomenae was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia and a member of the Ionian League. It was one of the first cities to issue silver coinage. Its ruins are now located in the modern town Urla n ...
is located and its remains are much visited, while the name lives on in the unofficial appellation used in the region for part of the coastline of the district, ''"Kilizman"'' which is a still-used derivative of Klazomenai. (Former name of
Güzelbahçe
Güzelbahçe is a coastal district of İzmir Province in Turkey. Until 2009 Local Government Elections, Greater İzmir Municipality had 9 district (second-tier) municipalities and Güzelbahçe was one of the smallest district municipality in terms ...
). With literacy among the highest in Turkey at 97%, Urla is also home to
İzmir Institute of Technology
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
. Urla prides itself for having raised two important men of letters,
Giorgos Seferis
Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important G ...
and
Necati Cumalı
Necati Cumalı (13 January 1921 – 10 January 2001) was a Turkish writer of novels, short-stories, essays and poetry. He was born in Florina, Greece to a Turkish family and his family had settled in Urla near İzmir in the framework of the 1 ...
.
Administration
Urla town center is made up by 23 officially constituted and delimited quarters. Among these, the neighborhoods located on the coastline, such as ''İskele'' and ''Zeytinalanı'' quarters, play a key role in the town's pace, especially as places of gathering. The district counts 14 villages. Since the building of the highway, the population increases at a regular rate of 4 per cent a year, although the district is still placed in the lower end of ranking of İzmir's districts on the basis of their population.
Economy
Secondary and/or seasonal residences continue to play a key role in Urla's economy, as demonstrated by the high number of residences (26,000 in all for the district) as compared to its population. Although Urla is keen to upgrade its arguments as a tourism destination with a wider appeal, the number of beds available in its accommodation units remains rather modest at only 185.
Urla's fish restaurants and other local specialties, notably a layered
pastry
Pastry is baked food made with a dough of flour, water and shortening (solid fats, including butter or lard) that may be savoury or sweetened. Sweetened pastries are often described as '' bakers' confectionery''. The word "pastries" suggests ma ...
called ''"katmer"'' is famous. Urla's name is also associated in Turkey with a particular breed of "
okra", red in color, called ''"kınalı bamya"'' in
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
.
While there are no large
shopping malls in Urla, mid-size distributors and small commerces abound, especially in the coastal section of the district center. The total number of companies for the district as a whole was 1,812 in 2007. There are four banks operating through four branches in Urla.
In 2006, the district realized exports reaching 524,068 US Dollars, mostly agricultural products with added value. Some marble and lime is quarried but the contribution of mining activities to the general economy of the district is low. The same can be said for industrial activities in general, which are almost exclusively based on agriculture or livestock. The three small
industrial zones present in the district center since the 1990s, employing about 650 people, usually house enterprises focused on maintenance and reparation activities.
Agricultural production remains the determinant activity for much of the district. In the district's total agricultural area of 971.5
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...
, 21% of which is irrigable, 36% is accounted by olive orchards and 17% by vegetable gardens. There are about six hundred thousand olive trees across the district. Although fruits and vegetables in general, and citrus fruits, vineyards, decorative plants and flowers (''especially
chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...
,
hyacinth
Hyacinth or Hyacinthus may refer to:
Nature Plants
* Hyacinth (plant), genus ''Hyacinthus''
** ''Hyacinthus orientalis'', common hyacinth
* Grape hyacinth, ''Muscari'', a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia
* Hyacinth bean, ''Labl ...
,
narcissus
Narcissus may refer to:
Biology
* ''Narcissus'' (plant), a genus containing daffodils and others
People
* Narcissus (mythology), Greek mythological character
* Narcissus (wrestler) (2nd century), assassin of the Roman emperor Commodus
* Tiberiu ...
and
carnation'') in particular, correspond for each only to 1 or 2 per cent of the total area used for agriculture, their added value for the district economy as a whole is significant.
Agriculture based on
greenhouse
A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...
cultivation acquired an increasing importance in Urla in recent years, especially in the villages near the town center, as well in parts of the municipal area that are still open for agricultural production. Urla quarters of Zeytinalanı and İçmeler and the nearby village of Kuşçular stand out with their greenhouses focused on vegetable production, and those in the villages of Bademler and Özbek on flowers, the total number of households engaged in greenhouse cultivation (''both vegetables and decorative plants'') being around 400 according to İzmir Chamber of Commerce figures. The same source cites the figures for the number of commercial enterprises occupied with this branch of agricultural activity as 26, the total area reserved for greenhouse farming as being around 1,500
decares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a Non-SI units mentioned in the SI, non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one ...
, with 91 varieties cultivated. In Urla there are to date no certified enterprises engaged in
organic farming, a new form of agriculture in which a number of new ventures made a name in İzmir city's eastern neighboring district of
Kemalpaşa.
17 per cent of the district's land, although suitable for agriculture, is still unused currently.
In
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
breeding,
poultry
Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...
stands well above other livestock, a population of around 2 million
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
and perhaps up to eighty thousand
turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
having been estimated for the district. 25 poultry enterprises present in Urla operate as subcontractors on behalf of Turkey's national brands in the industry. The count for bovine and ovine animals in Urla range between 5 and 8 thousand and some small-scale
apiculture
Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...
is also done. 220 tonnes of fish was caught across Urla shoreline in 2007, principally
sea bass
Sea bass is a common name for a variety of different species of marine fish. Many fish species of various families have been called sea bass.
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the fish sold and consumed as sea bass is exclusively the European ba ...
,
gilthead bream and
red mullet, the fishing activities being organized around five cooperatives and catering Urla's fish restaurants or İzmir's fish markets. Eleven
fish farming
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
enterprises are present in the coastal areas of four villages (''Balıklıova, Gülbahçe, Uzunkuyu, Zeytinler'').
![Urla Deniz 2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Urla_Deniz_2021.png)
There are 6 stock farms (horse breeding and care) and two enterprises engaged in
dog breeding
Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected dogs with the intention of maintaining or producing specific qualities and characteristics. When dogs reproduce without such human intervention, their offspring's characteristics are determined by ...
and care in Urla.
Education and Health
There are 16 students for each teacher and 492 patients for each doctor in Urla.
History
Limantepe
Information on Urla region's pre-
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
history is quite recent, based on the excavations in
Limantepe
The town of Limantepe, sometimes spelled Liman Tepe, located on Turkey's western coast is the site of a prehistoric (Bronze Age) settlement that includes an ancient port dating from 2500 years located underwater offshore. The area is situated in th ...
pursued by an international team since 1979. Some researchers refer in its context to the possible most ancient regularly used port in the world.
Klazomenai - Kilizman
Urla was an important cultural centre also in its
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
. It was the site of the
Ionia
Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...
n city of
Klazomenai
Klazomenai ( grc, Κλαζομεναί) or Clazomenae was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia and a member of the Ionian League. It was one of the first cities to issue silver coinage. Its ruins are now located in the modern town Urla n ...
. Pieces of art and sculpture found during excavations are now exhibited in the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
or in
İzmir Archaeology Museum.
The oldest attested
olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
production facilities were recently discovered in Klazomenai. The traces also indicate first exports of olive oil by way of sea.
Olive oil extraction
Olive oil extraction is the process of extracting the oil present in olive drupes, known as olive oil. Olive oil is produced in the mesocarp cells, and stored in a particular type of vacuole called a lipo vacuole, i.e., every cell conta ...
installation (''işlik'') dating back to the third quarter of the 6th century BC uncovered in Klazomenai is the only surviving example of a level and weights press from an ancient Greek city and precedes by at least two centuries the next securely datable earliest presses found in Greece. It was restored and reconstructed in 2004-2005 through collaboration between
Ege University
Ege University or Aegean University ( tr, Ege Üniversitesi) is a public research university in Bornova, İzmir. It was founded in 1955 with the faculties of Medicine and Agriculture. It is the first university to start courses in İzmir and the ...
, a Turkish olive-oil exporter and a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
natural building components company, as well as by local artisans, on the basis of the clearly visible
millstone
Millstones or mill stones are stones used in gristmills, for grinding wheat or other grains. They are sometimes referred to as grindstones or grinding stones.
Millstones come in pairs: a convex stationary base known as the ''bedstone'' and ...
with a cylindrical roller and three separation pits. The olive oil obtained turned out to be quite a success in business terms as well.
Turkish era
In the summit of Ottoman power, during the 16th century, Urla was almost entirely incorporated into the
pious foundation established by
Ayşe Hafsa Sultan
Hafsa Sultan ( ota, حفصه سلطان, "''Young lioness''"; or before – 19 March 1534), also called Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, was a concubine of Selim I and the first Valide Sultan of the Ottoman Empire as the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent. Dur ...
for the revenues and the maintenance of the complex she had had built in
Manisa in the 1520s. With the decline of the Ottoman power, the town, placed along with the entire peninsula at the frontier of the Aegean Sea difficult to control, frequently saw itself at the mercy of plunderers. İzmir's rise as an international trade port partially relieved Urla from its security concerns, while it also gradually increased its dependency to the neighboring metropolis. A
quarantine
A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...
center was established in Urla in 1865 through
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
initiative, in the island opposite Urla quay that bears today the very name of ''Karantina'', and where part of the site of ancient Klazomenai also extends. The center was in service until the 1950s, now transformed into a state hospital and an annexed
summer camp, although the quarantine installations are still standing. Prior to the foundation of the quarantine center, Admiral
Charles Napier had spent the winter of 1839-1840 here, before intervening, along with allied Turkish troops, against
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan ( sq, Mehmet Ali Pasha, ar, محمد علي باشا, ; ota, محمد علی پاشا المسعود بن آغا; ; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was ...
in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
. The town's and its municipality's population in 1914 were composed of 9.361 Turks, 24.711 Greeks, 423 Jews, 51 Bulgarians and 42 Armenians.
Seferis and Cumalı
Urla had two important men of letters among his sons: It is the birthplace of the Greek poet and
Nobel
Nobel often refers to:
*Nobel Prize, awarded annually since 1901, from the bequest of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel
Nobel may also refer to:
Companies
*AkzoNobel, the result of the merger between Akzo and Nobel Industries in 1994
*Branobel, or ...
-laureate
Giorgos Seferis
Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important G ...
and the
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
novelist
Necati Cumalı
Necati Cumalı (13 January 1921 – 10 January 2001) was a Turkish writer of novels, short-stories, essays and poetry. He was born in Florina, Greece to a Turkish family and his family had settled in Urla near İzmir in the framework of the 1 ...
(born in
Florina and re-settled in the framework of the 1923
Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations
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 ...
) grew up in Urla.
Archaeology
In January 2021, archaeologists headed by Elif Koparal, announced the discovery of the ruins of a 2500 year-old temple of
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
from the
5th century BC
The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC.
This century saw the establishment of Pataliputra as a capital of the Magadha Empire. This city would later become the ruling capital of different Indian king ...
. Among other findings in and around the temple, they found a statue piece depicting a woman, a
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
female head and an inscription that reads, "''This is the sacred area''". The traces of the temple were first excavated in 2016.
Notable people
*
Soner Ergençay, Turkish football player
*
Duygu Sakallı
Duygu Sakallı (born June 13, 1991) is a Turkish women's handballer, who plays in the Turkish Women's Handball Super League for Ardeşen GSK, and the Turkey national team. The -tall sportswoman plays in the left wing position.
Sakallı pla ...
, Turkish handballer
*
Giorgos Seferis
Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important G ...
, Greek poet and diplomat,
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
1963
*
Georgios Afthonidis, Greek member of the
Filiki Eteria and worker of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
Festivals
*
Urla Artichoke Festival
*
Mart Dokuzu Herb Festival
See also
![Klazomenai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Klazomenai.jpg)
*
Limantepe
The town of Limantepe, sometimes spelled Liman Tepe, located on Turkey's western coast is the site of a prehistoric (Bronze Age) settlement that includes an ancient port dating from 2500 years located underwater offshore. The area is situated in th ...
*
Klazomenai
Klazomenai ( grc, Κλαζομεναί) or Clazomenae was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia and a member of the Ionian League. It was one of the first cities to issue silver coinage. Its ruins are now located in the modern town Urla n ...
*
İzmir Institute of Technology
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
References
External links
Urla news portal
Resources
*
* Urla's names as referred to b
Dr. Mahmut Tolon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urla, Izmir
Populated places in İzmir Province
Tourist attractions in İzmir Province
Districts of İzmir Province
Former_Greek_towns_in_Turkey
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey