Foça is a municipality and

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 ...

of İzmir Province,

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 ...

. Its area is 251 km², and its population is 34,946 (2022). The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

's city center on the Aegean coast. The district has a settlement and former municipality named Yenifoça (literally ''"New Foça"''), also along the shore and at a distance of from Foça proper. For this reason, Foça itself is locally often called as Eskifoça (''"Old Foça"'') in daily parlance. The town is built on the site of the ancient Greek city of Phocaea ().

History

The town of Phocaea (Φώκαια) was founded by ancient Greeks. Phocaea, named after the seals living in nearby islands, was founded by the Aeolian Greeks in the 11th century BC.

Ionian Greek Ionic or Ionian Greek () was a subdialect of the Eastern or Attic Greek, Attic–Ionic Ancient Greek dialects, dialect group of Ancient Greek. The Ionic group traditionally comprises three dialectal varieties that were spoken in Euboea (West Ioni ...

settlement in Phocaea, which was one of the most important settlements of Ionia at that time, started in the 9th century BC. Phocaeans, known as master sailors in history, also established many colonies in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea with their engineering development and success. Some of the important colonies that they had established in history are:

Massalia Massalia (; ) was an ancient Greek colonisation, Greek colony (''apoikia'') on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, east of the Rhône. Settled by the Ionians from Phocaea in 600 BC, this ''apoikia'' grew up rapidly, and its population se ...

, modern Marseille; Amisos in the Black Sea (now Samsun);

Lampsakos Lampsacus (; ) was an ancient Greek city located in modern day Turkey, strategically situated on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been transmitted in the ne ...

in the Dardanelles (now Lapseki); Methymna (now Molyvos) on Lesbos; and Elea, now Velia (Italy); Alalia (Corsica). In addition, Phocaeans were known as ones of the first in Ionia to mint "

electrum Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Its color ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver. It has been produced artificially and is ...

" coins using natural gold-silver mixture. Of course, this civilized progress affected many civilizations of that time and attracted them to Anatolia. Phocaea was taken over by the Genoese in 1275 as a fief from the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

, and was an active Port during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, principally due to the region's rich

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , such that is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium ...

reserves. The alum mines of Phocaea were conceded earlier by the Byzantines in 1267 to the Genoese brothers Benedetto and Manuele Zaccaria, who founded the Lordship of Phocaea. The Genoese controlled the city even during the Ottoman era due to the lease they had gained from the Byzantines in 1275. Another important Byzantine concession to the Genoese through dowry was the nearby island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

, given to the Gattilusio family as a result of the marriage between Francesco I Gattilusio and Maria Palaiologina, sister of Byzantine emperor

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. His long reign was marked by constant civil war, the spread of the Black Death and several military defea ...

) in 1355. The possessions of the Gattilusio family eventually grew to include, among others, the islands of Imbros, Samothrace,

Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...

and

Thasos Thasos or Thassos (, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of 380 km2 and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate regiona ...

, and the city of Aenos (modern Enez in

.) From this position, they were heavily involved in the mining and marketing of alum, useful in

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

production and a profitable trade controlled by the Genoese. From 1867 until 1922, Foça was part of the Aidin Vilayet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The city was mostly populated by Greeks until the Massacre of Phocaea carried out by the Turks during the Greek genocide. As a result, a large portion of the historic city was destroyed, and all the old churches were destroyed and mosques were built on top of them and the town subsequently became known as Foça. People who belonged to the local networks were radically different in their perception of the Greeks compared to the muhacirs who were alien to the local networks. The local communities favored the Greeks. Also, when the Greeks left, due to the massacre, their houses were occupied by muhacirs (forced Muslim migrants). Some of these Greeks returned later (1919) to their houses, when the Greek army arrived at the city. The muhacirs that lived there ran away when the Greeks returned. When the Greek army was defeated (1922), according to a testimony of a muhacir, some Greeks who tried to escape with boats or other things "were stopped and the punishments they deserved were delivered to them in and around the harbor of Eski Foça". The Greeks that did escape founded the new community of Nea Fokaia in Halkidiki, Greece. ''Eski'' Foça stretches along two bays; a larger one named Büyükdeniz (''"Greater Sea"'') and a smaller cove within that large one, named Küçükdeniz (''"Smaller Sea"''), where the medieval Foça Castle is also located. Many parts of the district are under strict environmental protection, due to the value of the flora and the fauna, and the beauty of the small bays and coves, especially between Foça and Yenifoça. Therefore, a judicious way to get to know the district would be by boat tours regularly organized in partance from the town center. Because of the protective measures, new constructions are not permitted in many parts of the district and Foça is set to preserve its unique characteristic as composed principally of old houses. The construction project for a 300-boat capacity

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

in Foça is recently tendered and started, upon the completion of which the town is expected to open to more active international tourism. Foça is the site of one of three

marine protected area A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...

s established in Turkey for the preservation of the Mediterranean monk seal, a heavily endangered species of sea mammals. The

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

maintains at Foça the home base of its two

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

units, Su Altı Savunma (SAS) and Su Altı Taarruz (SAT).

Composition

There are 16

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 Foça District:Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023. * Atatürk * Cumhuriyet * Fatih * Fevziçakmak * Fevzipaşa * Hacıveli * Ilıpınar * İsmetpaşa * Kazım Dirik * Kemal Atatürk * Kocamehmetler * Kozbeyli * Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak * Markköy * Mustafa Kemal Atatürk * Yenibağarası * Yeniköy

References

External links

Foça guide with photos

Foça picture gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foca Cittaslow Districts of İzmir Province Former Greek towns in Turkey Important Bird Areas of Turkey Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Places of the Greek genocide Populated coastal places in Turkey Populated places in İzmir Province Seaside resorts in Turkey Tourist attractions in İzmir Province

History

Composition

See also

References

External links