Aydın Province

Infobox Province TR
region = Aegean
name = Aydin
licence = 09
total population = 998,621
area_code= 256
area= 8007
urban population=150,000
turkname=Aydın

Aydın is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region . The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of approx. 150,000 (2000). Much of the countryside is an attractive mix of fig, olive and citrus trees, especially figs. Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.

Geography

The central and western parts of the province are fertile plains watered by the largest river in the Aegean region the Büyük Menderes River, with the Aydın Mountains to the north and the Menteşe Mountains to the south. The western end of the province is the Aegean coast with Lake Bafa a major feature of the Menderes delta area. The climate is typical of the Aegean region, very hot in summer. The Germencik region contains a number of hot springs which are popular among local and foreign tourists.

Aydın is the home of the Zeybek folk art. This involves a special type of war dance which is performed in a ring to resemble birds. The Zeybek is performed to sounds of the Kiteli and other Turkish folk istruments.

The major sources of income are agriculture and tourism. This is an attractive area and the coastal towns of Didim and Kuşadası in particular are busy tourist resorts. Kuşadası is near to the Büyük Menderes Delta national park, while Didim has its temple of Apollo, its beaches, and the ancient ruins of Miletos nearby, all attracting income from tourists. In ancient and classical periods, this area was part of Caria and the province contains numerous important archeological sites, including the ancient Carian cities of Alinda and Alabanda.

Aydın is Turkey's leading producer of figs and exports dried figs worldwide. The very name by which the fruit was called in the world markets was "Smyrna figs" till recently, due to the preponderance of figs exported from İzmir over other species of the genus. But İzmir got the name by being the center for the wholesale tradw and exports, while in fact the fruit was traditionally cultivated in Aydın. The term used within Turkey is "Aydın figs" ("Aydın inciri"). Turkey's yearly production of roughly 50,000 tons of dried figs, is almost all from Aydın, [ [http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FruitAndTreeNuts/fruitnutpdf/Figs.pdf US Department of Agriculture briefing report on world fig production] For comparison, the world's second and the third largest producers of dried figs, namely Greece and California, each produce around 12,500 tons per year. Since Aydın dominates the Turkish market in figs, the province also soars over these two producers by almost fourfold. ] Within Aydın province, the best figs are reputed to be grown in Germencik. Aydın also has an important place in other agricultural products,including olives and chestnuts, cotton, citrus fruits, water melons and other fruits.

Aydın has some light industry, while major projects of the 1990s such as the Izmir to Aydın motorway and Adnan Menderes University, based in the city of Aydın and with branches throughout the province, are boosting the economy of Aydın in different ways. The road comes from Izmir through Aydın and south to Muğla, carrying large numbers of holidaymakers in summer. The cuisine features the typical Turkish pastries, köfte and kebab.

History

Aydın was founded by the ancient Thracians and was once known as Tralles. The area is an earthquake zone and the city was built and rebuilt by a succession of Spartans, Phrygians, Ionians, Lydians, Persians and Ancient Romans. In 1186 the Seljuk Turks took control of the area, followed by the Anatolian Turkish Beylik of the Aydınoğlu. During this period the town was named Aydın Güzelhisar, and was brought into the Ottoman Empire in 1426.

* See Aydın for a much more detailed account

Places of interest

The city of Aydın has a number of antique ruins and Ottoman period mosques. The province has attractive countryside including a stretch of the Aegean coast and important sites including:
* Didim coastal resort wıth large temple of Apollo and nearby..
** Miletus ruins of an Ancient Greek city
* Kuşadası coastal resort, near to the Büyük Menderes Delta national park
* Kirazli scenic traditional Turkish koy with beautiful old stone houses
* Alinda ancient ruins
* Alabanda ancient ruins
* Magnesia ad Maeandrum ancient ruins, on the Ortaklar - Söke road in Germencik
* Nysa - another ruined Carian city, in Sultanhisar
* Aphrodisias - more ancient ruins, including tombs, friezes and sculpture, in Karacasu
* Priene - another ruin, near Söke

Prominent citizens

* Anthemius of Tralles - architect of Haghia Sophia in Istanbul
* Atçalı Kel Mehmet Efe, folk hero, leader of a public revolt during the decline of the Ottoman Empire
* Demirci Mehmet Efe, hero of the Turkish War of Independence
* Yörük Ali Efe, hero of the Turkish War of Independence
* Mahmut Esat Bozkurt, architect of the legal system of the Turkish Republic, close friend of Atatürk, born in Kuşadası
* Adnan Menderes, Turkish Prime Minister (1950-1960)
* İlhan Selçuk, editor of the Cumhuriyet newspaper
* İsmet Sezgin, former minister
* Atilla Koç, MP for Aydın, former minister of culture and tourism, born in Köşk
* Şükran Güngör, Theatre and film actor, born in Çine
* Güven Önüt, former Beşiktaş footballer
* Rıdvan Dilmen, retired footballer, team manager and sports commentator
* Ben Holt

Aydın in popular culture

* The folk songs of Aydın are famously short, indeed a popular saying in the Aegean region to get someone to stop talking, is "Keep it short, make it an Aydın tune" [kısa kes de aydın havası olsun]

Districts

Aydın province is divided into 17 districts (capital district in bold):
*Aydın
*Bozdoğan
*Buharkent
*Çine
*Didim
*Germencik
*Incirliova
*Karacasu
*Karpuzlu
*Kirazli
*Koçarlı
*Köşk
*Kuşadası
*Kuyucak
*Nazilli
*Söke
*Sultanhisar
*Yenipazar

References

External links

* [http://www.aydin-bld.gov.tr official information and municipality bulletin] tr icon
* [http://www.aydin.gov.tr/ official website of the provincial governorate] en icon
* [http://www.yerelnet.org.tr/iller/il.php?iladi=AYDIN local information] tr icon
* [http://www.turkeyforecast.com/weather/aydin/ Aydın Weather Forecast Information] en icon
* [http://www.aydininciri.com Aydin İnciri TAnitim Sitesi tr icon
* [http://www.aydinfigs.com aydin figs informen icon