district 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Bursa Province Bursa Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in Turkey along the Sea of Marmara coast in northwestern Anatolia. It borders Balıkesir Province, Balıkesir to the west, K ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Nicaea Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

Bilecik Bilecik is a city in northwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Bilecik Province and Bilecik District.Ayasofya Mosque where the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics and others. ...

was held in A.D. 787. The town is famous for the Iznik tiles and pottery.

Etymology

İznik derives from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

name of the city, (Latinized as

Nicaea Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

), prefixed with , meaning 'to' or 'into'. The

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

spelling is : İznîq. İznik appears as () in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

sources, while

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

, who visited the area, recorded it as ().

History

Iznik Wall at Yenisehir Gate 8227 Panorama

In ancient times, this was the site of

Nicaea Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

, a Hellenistic city founded by Antigonus in 316 BC. In 1331,

Orhan Orhan Ghazi (; , also spelled Orkhan; died 1362) was the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his reign, Orhan focused his energies on conquering mos ...

captured the city from the Byzantines and for a short period the town became the capital of the expanding Ottoman Emirate. The large church of

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

in the centre of the town was converted into the Orhan Mosque and a ''medrese'' (theological schoo
Süleyman Paşa Medresesi
and hamam (bathhouse) were built nearby. In 1334 Orhan built another mosque and an '' imaret'' (soup kitchen) just outside the Yenisehir gate (Yenişeh Kapısı) on the south side of the town. AyasofyaPanorama1

The Moroccan traveller

Ibn Battuta Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...

stayed in Iznik at the end of 1331 soon after the capture of the town by Orhan. According to Ibn Battuta, the town was in ruins and only inhabited by a small number of people in the service of the sultan. Within the city walls were gardens and cultivated plots with each house surrounded by an orchard. The town produced fruit, walnuts, chestnuts and large sweet grapes. A census in 1520 recorded 379 Muslim and 23 Christian households while another one taken a century later in 1624 recorded 351 Muslim and 10 Christian households. Assuming five members for each household, these figures suggest that the population was around 2,000. Estimates made in the 18th and 19th centuries arrived at similar numbers. The town was poor and the population small even when ceramic production was at its peak during the second half of the 16th century. The Byzantine city is estimated to have had a population of 20,000–30,000 but in the Ottoman period the town was never prosperous and occupied only a small fraction of the walled area. It was, however, a centre for the production of highly decorated fritware vessels and what are known as İznik tiles during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1677 the English clergyman John Covel visited Iznik and found only a third of the town occupied. In 1745 the English traveller Richard Pococke reported that Iznik was no more than a village. A succession of visitors described the town in unflattering terms. For example in 1779, the Italian archaeologist Domenico Sestini wrote that Iznik was nothing but an abandoned town with no life, no noise and no movement. In 1797 James Dallaway described Iznik as "a wretched village of long lanes and mud walls...". The town was seriously damaged by the Greek Army in 1921 during the

Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a par ...

; the population became refugees and many historical buildings and mosques were damaged or destroyed.

Pottery and tiles

Iznik's main period of importance came in the 16th century with the development of a pottery and tile making industry. Iznik

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

s ( Turkish: ''İznik Çini''.) were used to decorate many of the mosques designed by

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...

in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. However, the ceramics industry declined in the 17th century and İznik was reduced to a minor agricultural settlement when it was bypassed by the railway in the 19th century. Iznik Museum 1702

Main sights

A number of monuments were erected by the early Ottomans in the period between the conquest in 1331 and 1402 when the town was sacked by

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

. Among those that have survived are: * İznik was originally ringed with of walls that were about high and enclosed within a double ditch on the landward sides. The walls incorporated over 100 towers. Large gates on the three landward sides of the walls provided the only entrances to the city. The western part of the walls rose up beside the lake which is sufficiently large that it cannot easily be blockaded from the land. Today the walls are ruined but enough still survives to provide a pleasant walking route. * Yeşil Mosque (Green Mosque), built for

Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha () was the first Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire, Grand Vizier of Murad I's reign. He was also technically the first in Ottoman Empire, Ottoman history who held the title "Grand Vizier" (although several ...

, the first

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

of the Ottoman Empire between 1378 and 1391. It is located near the Lefke Gate on the east side of the town. Damaged in 1922 during the Greco-Turkish War, it was restored between 1956 and 1969. *

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

, also known as Aya Sofya, (, "' Holy Wisdom') is a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

-era former

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

which was built by

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

in the middle of the city in the 6th century. It was here that the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics and others. ...

, a gathering of Christian bishops, was held in AD 787. After controversial rebuilding, it is now the Ayasofya Mosque ( Turkish: Ayasofya Cami). * Hacı Özbek Mosque (1333). This mosque was built only three years after the Ottoman conquest. The portico on the west side of the building was demolished in 1940 to widen the road. * Nilüfer Hatun Soup Kitchen (''Nilüfer Hatun Imareti'') Built in 1388, the building was abandoned for many years but was restored in 1955 and is now a museum. * Süleyman Pasha Madrasa (mid-14th century). This is one of two surviving

medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

s in the town. It was restored in the 19th century and again in 1968. * Mausoleum of Çandarlı Hayreddin Pasha (14th century). The main chamber contains fifteen

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

. A lower room contains three more sarcophagi including that of Ottoman-Tunisian statesman Hayreddin Pasha. It is located in a cemetery outside the Lefke gate to the east of the town. *

Kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

s Slight traces remain of the kilns used to make the pottery and tiles that once made İznik famous. Several monuments survived into the 20th century but were destroyed during the

Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between 15 May 1919 and 14 October 1922. This conflict was a par ...

. These include: * Church of the Koimesis/Dormition (6th–8th century but rebuilt after the 1065 earthquake). The only church in the town that was not transformed into a mosque, it was decorated with 11th-century Byzantine mosaics which survive only in photographs. * Eşrefzâde Rumi Mosque (15th century). Eşrefzâde Rumi was married to the daughter of Hacı Bayram-ı Veli. He founded a

sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

sect and after his death in 1469–70 his tomb became a pilgrimage site. The mosque has been restored and the tomb is decorated with Iznik tiles. * Seyh Kutbeddin Mosque and Mausoleum (15th century). The mosque and mausoleum have been rebuilt.

Composition

There are 46

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in İznik District: * Aydınlar *

Bayındır Bayındır is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 548 km2, and its population is 40,073 (2022). The central town of the district is situated in the valley of the Küçük Menderes. History ...

* Beyler * Boyalıca * Çakırca * Çamdibi * Çamoluk * Çampınar *

Çandarlı Çandarlı is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Dikili, İzmir Province, Turkey. Its population is 8,021 (2022). Before the 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation, 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). It is a we ...

* Çiçekli * Derbent * Dereköy * Dırazali * Elbeyli *

Elmalı Elmalı is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,433 km2, and its population is 40,774 (2022). It lies about inland, near the town of Korkuteli and west of the city of Antalya. Formerl ...

* Eşrefzade * Göllüce * Gürmüzlü * Hacıosman * Hisardere * Hocaköy * İhsaniye * İnikli * Karatekin * Kaynarca * Kırıntı * Kutluca * Mahmudiye * Mahmut Çelebi * Mecidiye * Müşküle * Mustafa Kemal Paşa * Mustafalı * Ömerli * Orhaniye * Osmaniye * Sansarak * Sarıağıl * Selçuk * Şerefiye * Süleymaniye * Tacir * Yeni * Yenişerefiye * Yeşilcami * Yürükler

Sport

The İznik Ultramarathon is a endurance running event that has taken place around Lake İznik every April since 2012. It is the country's longest single-stage athletics competition.

International relations

İznik is twinned with: *

Jingdezhen Jingdezhen is a prefecture-level city in eastern Jiangxi province with a total population of 1,669,057 (2018), bordering Anhui to the north. It is known as the "Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing Chinese ceramics for at least 1,0 ...

, China * Khulo, Georgia * Nikaia, Greece * Pithiviers, France * Spandau (Berlin), Germany * Talas, Kyrgyzstan * Tutin, Serbia

References

Sources

* * * * First published in 1986, . * * * * *

External links

*
Iznik
ArchNet. Information on the historic buildings in the town.
300+ photographs of the town and sights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iznik Cities in Turkey Roman towns and cities in Turkey Populated places in Bursa Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Districts of Bursa Province World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Cittaslow

Etymology

History

Pottery and tiles

Main sights

Composition

Sport

International relations

References

Sources

Further reading

External links