Aydın (/ˈaɪdɪn/EYE-din;Turkish:[ˈajdɯn]; formerly namedGüzelhisar;Greek: Τράλλεις) is a city in and the seat ofAydın Province in Turkey'sAegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley ofBüyük Menderes River (ancientMeander River) at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast. The city forms the urban part of theEfeler district, with a population of 259,027 in 2022.[1] Aydın city is located along a region which was famous for its fertility and productivity since ancient times.Figs remain the province's best-known crop, although other agricultural products are also grown intensively and the city has somelight industry.
At the crossroads of a busy transport network of several types, a six-lane motorway connects Aydın toİzmir, Turkey's second port, in less than an hour, and in still less time to the internationalAdnan Menderes Airport, located along the road between the two cities. A smaller airport, namelyAydın Airport, is located a few kilometers in the South-East of Aydın. The region of Aydın also pioneered the introduction of railways into Turkey in the 19th century and still has the densest railroad network.
The province of Aydın is also where a number of internationally known historic sites and centers of tourism are concentrated.
After the first capture of the city by the Turks under the emirate (Beylik) ofMenteşe (Menteshe), whose lands extended towards the south, who named it for a first period asGüzelhisar, literally"the beautiful castle" (sometimes rendered asGuzel Hissar). The city was later taken over by Turks of theAydinids, whose lands extended towards the north, who named it after Aydinid dynasty."Aydın" meant"lucid, enlightened" inTurkish and in a distinct evolution of the term, came to mean"lettered, educated, intellectual" in modern Turkish. It is still a popular male name.
In ancient Greek sources, the name of the city is given asAnthea (Ανθέα) andEuanthia (Ευανθία). During theSeleucid period, it received the nameAntiochia (Greek: Αντιόχεια). At other times it was also calledSeleucia ad Maeandrum (Σελεύκεια επί του Μαιάνδρου) andErynina (Ερυνίνα).[2] InRoman andByzantine times, it was known asTralles (inLatin) orTralleis (Τράλλεις inAncient Greek), and was one of the largest Aegean cities in antiquity. There is some indication that it once bore the nameCharax (Χάραξ), but that name may have belonged toAcharaca.[3][4]
Nevertheless, the name Güzelhisar was used throughout the early centuries of the Ottoman administration as well, often recorded in adjectival form, as"Güzelhisar of Aydın (lands)", but the name Aydın was increasingly preferred. This previous Turkish name also found its way into the international trade vocabulary until at least the end of the 18th century and its modified formsJoselassar and evenJoseph Lasat were used to describe a fine type of cotton produced in this same region and much sought after.[5]
According toStrabo Tralles was founded by theArgives andTrallians. Along with the rest ofLydia, the city fell to thePersian Empire. After its success againstAthens in thePeloponnesian War,Sparta unsuccessfully sought to take the city from the Persians, but in 334 BC, Tralles surrendered toAlexander the Great without resistance and therefore was not sacked. Alexander's generalAntigonus held the city from 313 to 301 BC and later theSeleucids held the city until 190 BC when it fell toPergamon. From 133 to 129 BC, the city supportedAristonicus of Pergamon, a pretender to the Pergamene throne, against the Romans. After the Romans defeated him, they revoked the city's right to mint coins.
Tralles was aconventus for a time under the Roman Republic, butEphesus later took over that position. The city was taken by rebels during theMithridatic War during which many Roman inhabitants were killed. Tralles suffered greatly from anearthquake in 26 BC.Augustus provided funds for its reconstruction after which the city thanked him by renaming itselfCaesarea.
Strabo describes the city as a prosperous trading center, listing famous residents of the city, includingPythodoros (native ofNysa), and orators Damasus Scombrus and Dionysocles. Several centuries later,Anthemius of Tralles, architect of theHagia Sophia inConstantinople, was born in Tralles.
Alexander of Tralles was one of the most eminent physicians of the early Byzantine Empire.
An earlybishopPolybius (fl. ca. 105) is attested by a letter fromSaint Ignatius of Antioch to the church at Tralles. The city was officiallyChristianized, along with the rest ofCaria, early after the conversion ofConstantine, at which time thesee was confirmed. Among the recorded bishops are: Heracleon (431), Maximus (451), Uranius (553), Myron (692), Theophylactus (787), Theophanes and Theopistus both ninth century, and John (1230). TheCatholic Church includes this bishopric in its list oftitular sees as Tralles in Asia, distinguishing it from the see ofTralles in Lydia. It has appointed no newtitular bishop to these Eastern sees since theSecond Vatican Council.[6]
By the 13th century, the city lay in ruins. In 1278,Andronikos II Palaiologos decided to rebuild and repopulate it, now to be renamed Andronikopolis or Palaiologopolis, with the aim of forming a bulwark against Turkish encroachment in the area. Themegas domestikosMichael Tarchaneiotes was given the task: he rebuilt the walls and settled 36,000 people from the surrounding regions. 13th century Byzantine settlement policy along the Meander Valley notably involved theTurkicCumans.[7] Nevertheless, Turkish attacks resumed soon after. The city was besieged and, lacking sufficient supplies and access to water, captured by the beylik ofMenteshe in 1284. The city suffered extensive destruction and part of its inhabitants were massacred.[8] Moreover, over 20,000 inhabitants were sold off as slaves.[9][10]
Under the rule ofMenteshe, whose lands extended towards the south, the city was renamed asGüzelhisar ("beautiful castle"). The city was later taken over by theAydinids, who made it one of their principal settlements, but not the capital.
The Beylik ofAydin was founded in the region in 1307 and they ruled the lands north ofBüyük Menderes River up to and includingİzmir. During the first half of the 14th century, Aydinids were as active as the Ottomans, if not more, in pressuring the islands and the lands west ofAnatolia, and they caused much hardship for the Byzantine and Latin dependencies of theAegean Sea and mainland Greece.[11] The principality was taken over by the risingOttoman Empire, for the first time shortly before theBattle of Ankara between theOttomans andTamerlane in 1402, and then Tamerlane having given back the province to the sons of Aydın. Finally Ottomans definitely captured it in 1425.
Aydın became part ofAnatolia Province of the Ottoman Empire and this until 1827, when it became the seat of its owneyalet under its own name, constituted among other reasons to respond to the prevalent unrest in the region, as exemplified byAtçalı Kel Mehmet Rebellion (1829–1830). The seat was moved to İzmir in the 1840s and with the abolition of eyalets under the administrative reforms of 1864, Aydın became asanjak (subprovince) of thevilayetof the same name, with its seat still in İzmir, which had outgrown Aydın city in size as it became a booming port of international trade.
In the 19th century Aydın continued to benefit from its location at the center of the fertile Menderes valley, and its population grew.[12] At that time, besidesfigs andolive oil, which were the traditional crops of the region,cotton also grew in importance, with many European investors seeking alternative sources of cotton at the time of theAmerican Civil War.
The first railroad commenced in the Ottoman Empire and the first finished within the present-day territory of Turkey[13] was built by the BritishLevant Company connecting Aydın to Smyrna (nowİzmir). The 130 km (81 mi) line was started in 1856 and finished in ten years.[14] The line fundamentally changed Aydın region's economy. The railway station built at the time remains an impressive structure in the city of Aydın.
During theGreco-Turkish War (1919-1922), violent fighting took place in and around Aydın [Αϊδίνιο], especially in the beginning phase of the war, during theBattle of Aydın between 27 June and 4 July 1919. The civilian population of the city, principally Turkish as well as Greek,[15] suffered heavy casualties. Neither could the city'sJewish population, 3,500-strong in 1917 go unscathed.[16]
Aydın remained in ruins until it was re-captured by the Turkish army on 7 September 1922. Resistance warriors such as theefeYörük Ali, who were based in the surrounding mountains and conducted a guerrilla warfare against the Greek army, became heroes in Turkey. Following the war and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, the Greeks of Aydın were exchanged with Muslims living in Greece under the 1923 agreement for thePopulation exchange between Greece and Turkey.
Recent decades have seen Aydın going beyond its traditional role as a hub for agricultural products, and developing a diversified economy increasingly based on services. One event in this process was the opening in 1992 ofAdnan Menderes University, named after a favorite son of Efeler, AydınAdnan Menderes,Turkey's prime minister during the 1950s. The pace of the economy is determined by the city's location, at only an hour's drive from the seashore. Many residents of Aydın typically have summer houses and investments in or around such centers of tourism asKuşadası,Güzelçamlı andDidim.
But still the city has a quiet country market town feel to it and its dominance, within both theTurkish market and abroad, in the production of a number of agricultural products, particularly figs, still identifiesAydın Province, and most of this trade is managed and handled from Aydın itself.
Central Library in Aydın University.
Aydın city centre is still relatively small but growing, centred on one palm-lined avenue of shops and cafes, and a maze of narrow side streets, dotted with orange trees. The people more family-oriented, so there is little night life, or cultural amenities for young people, although presumably now they have a university this will change. There are a number of mosques, high schools,dersane (private courses cramming students for the university entrance exams) and other public buildings. Like all Turkish cities Aydın is now spreading as the middle-classes are leaving their flats in the city for smarter apartments or houses slightly out of town.
Aydın has a hot summerMediterranean climate (Csa) under both theKöppen andTrewartha classification systems. Summers are very hot and dry, with highs above 35.0 °C (95.0 °F) on most summer days. Spring and fall are warm and variable, while winters are mild and quite rainy. Snowfall is rare, with the last one occurring on 2 February 2012.[17]
Highest recorded temperature: 45.1 °C (113.2 °F) on 3 August 2021 Lowest recorded temperature: −11.0 °C (12.2 °F) on 4 January 1942[18]
In the 1920s, Aydın was noted for itscotton and grain production. There are many olive trees located in Aydın. Some citizens usually produce olive oil but there are also many small-scale firms which export olive oil to different countries.[22]
The construction of the six-laneİzmir-Aydın motorway shortened the journey from Aydın to İzmir, Turkey's second portuary center, to less than an hour, and less still to the internationalAdnan Menderes Airport.
At the end of the 2018–2019 season, no sports clubs in Aydın were promoted or relegated to the next league. Aydın's only super league team,Aydın Büyükşehir Belediyespor Women's Volleyball team, played in the final in the Challenge Cup in Europe and ranked second. In football, Nazilli Belediyespor ranked 10th in the 2nd League at the end of the play-off matches. Aydın PTT SK placed 9th in the Handball Men's 1st League. Other clubs are in the 2nd, 3rd and regional leagues.
Aydın Archaeological Museum.Interior of the dome of Aydin Cihanzade MosqueFountain of Aydin Cihanzade Mosque
The Ottoman period mosques of Ramazan Paşa, Süleyman Paşa and Cihanoğlu
The Byzantine tower and fortifications above the town
Roman era ruins (of Tralles) including a gymnasium and a theatre
The statue ofYörük Ali Efe in the town, which was pulled down and remade after public protests that the original statue showed theefe without a moustache.
Aydın Museum - archaeology, coinage and ethnographic collection
Menodorus (1st century BC), priest ofZeus Larisaeus at Tralles, was killed by Domitius Ahenobarbus on the charge of attempting a revolt on his fleet[28]
Tryphosa,Hedea and Dionysia (1st century AD) - Young female champions and daughters ofHermesianax. Their father erected a monument atDelphi for his daughters.[31]
^John Van Antwerp Fine Jr (1991).The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest.University of Michigan Press. p. 292.
^According to 1912 figures, the Sandjak of Aydın had a total population of 220000, in which 39000-54500 according to varying sources, wereGreeks. The sizable share of the Greek population was, as it was the case with many other localities across WesternAnatolia, the result of an increase due toeconomic migration fromAegean Islands or even the Greek mainland to fertile Anatolian valleys as of the beginning of the 19th century and especially during its second half. An 1856British report presented to theSecretary of State for War describes Aydın region in elogious terms and Aydın and theMenderes River valley to be entirelyTurk.(full text) Report on Smyrna by George Rolleston for theSecretary of State for War. Section on Aydın, p. 104-108
^A short line built inDobruja was started later but finished earlier than İzmir-Aydın railway.
Günter Dinhobl; Ralf Roth (2008).Across the Borders: Financing the World's Railways in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.Ashgate Publishing.ISBN978-0-7546-6029-3.
Blue Guide, Turkey, The Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts (ISBN978-0-393-30489-3), pp. 353–54.
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