Soma 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
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 Ä°zmi ...
,
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 820 km
2, and its population is 111,789 (2022).
The town lies at an elevation of .
History
From 1867 until 1922, Soma was part of the
Aidin Vilayet
The Vilayet of Aidin or Aydin (, ) also known as Vilayet of Smyrna or Ä°zmir after its administrative centre, was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire in the south-west of Asia Minor, including the ancient regi ...
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 ...
.
Composition
There are 71
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 Soma District:
* Adil
* Akçaavlu
* Atatürk
* Avdan
* Bayat
* Beyce
* Boncuklu
* Bozarmut
* Büyük Güney
* Büyük Işıklar
* Çatalçam
* Çavdır
* Cenkyeri
* Çerkez Hamidiye
* Çevircek
* Cuma
* Cumhuriyet
* Darkale
* DeniÅŸ
* Dereköy
* Devlethan
* Dualar
* DuÄŸla
* Evciler
* Eynez
* Göktaş
* Hacıyusuf
* Hamidiye
* Hatun
* Heciz
* Hürriyet
* İnönü
* Ä°stasyon
* Kaplan
* Karacahisar
* KaracakaÅŸ
* Karaçam
* Karamanlı
* Kayrakaltı
* Kiraz
* Kızılören
* Kobaklar
* Koyundere
* Kozanlı
* Kozluören
* Küçük Güney
* Kum
* KurtuluÅŸ
* MenteÅŸe
* Naldöken
* Namazgah
* Nihat Danışman
* Onüçeylül
* Pirahmet
* Samsacı
* Sarıkaya
* SeviÅŸler
* Söğütçük
* Sultaniye
* Tabanlar
* Tekeli Işıklar
*
Turgutalp
* Türkali
* Türkpiyale
* Ularca
* Uruzlar
* Vakıflı
* Yağcılı
* Yayladalı
* Yırca
* Zafer
Economy
Lignite
Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), 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 ...
mining and a lignite-fired thermal power plant are the main economic activities in Soma. During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the mines were opened up for production. The lignite extracted during that time was described as being of "very bad" quality. That lignite was burned with German
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal i ...
for trains in the region. A small portion was exported to
Ä°zmir
Ä°zmir 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 Ä°zmir Province. In 2024, the city of Ä°zmir had ...
.
A
just transition
Just transition is a concept that emerged in the 1980s through efforts by U.S. trade unions to protect workers' rights and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production, primarily protecting workers affected by environmental regulati ...
from coal could be supported by the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...
.
The
Soma Wind Farm, with 119
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...
s and an installed total capacity of 140.4
MW, is one of
Turkey's largest wind farms.
Olive, walnut and almond cultivation is among the important agricultural activities of Soma.
2014 Soma coal mine disaster
On 13 May 2014, as a result of an explosion caused by a mine fire at the
Soma coal mine, 301 workers were killed.
References
External links
*
Road map of Soma and environs
Populated places in Manisa Province
Districts of Manisa Province
Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey
{{Manisa-geo-stub