Lake Marmara () is a lake in

Manisa Province Manisa Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in western Turkey. Its area is 13,339 km2, and its population is 1,468,279 (2022). Its neighboring provinces are İzmi ...

, western

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 ...

, bordered by the district areas of Gölmarmara to the northwest, whose name itself is inspired by the lake, and in larger part by Salihli. Lake Marmara is located in the alluvial valley of the

Gediz River The Gediz River (, ) is the second-longest river in Anatolia flowing into the Aegean Sea. From its source of Mount Murat in Kütahya Province, it flows generally west for to the Gediz River Delta in the Gulf of İzmir. Name The ancient Greek ...

and at , is slightly lower than the surrounding plains of the river ( for the nearby Gölmarmara town center). Aside from being a recreational center for the province as a whole, Lake Marmara is also an important source for fishing and agricultural irrigation and an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. In the early stages of Anatolian history, the lake was famous as a resort center for the

Lydians The Lydians (Greek language, Greek: Λυδοί; known as ''Sparda'' to the Achaemenids, Old Persian cuneiform Wikt:𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭, 𐎿𐎱𐎼𐎭) were an Anatolians, Anatolian people living in Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spo ...

, at a short distance from their capital, and was called under various names throughout history, the most notable being "Lake Gyges" or "Gygaean Lake" and "Lake Coloe" or "Lake Koloe”. Several archaeological sites are located nearby including

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

, Bin Tepe, and

Kaymakçı Kaymakçı is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Ödemiş, İzmir Province, Turkey. Its population is 5,489 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Kaymakçı is situated on the southern s ...

Climate change litigation Climate change litigation, also known as climate litigation, is an emerging body of environmental law using legal practice to set case law precedent to further climate change mitigation efforts from public institutions, such as governments and com ...

is ongoing about the lake almost drying up.

Footnotes

Landforms of Manisa Province Marmara Geography of ancient Lydia Important Bird Areas of Turkey {{AncientLydia-geo-stub