Manisa Province
Template:Infobox Province TR Manisa Province is a province in western Turkey. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir to the west, Aydın to the south, Denizli to the south east, Uşak to the east, Kütahya to the north east, and Balıkesir to the north. The seat of the province is the city of Manisa.
Districts
Manisa province is divided into 16 districts (capital district in bold):
- Ahmetli
- Akhisar
- Alaşehir
- Demirci
- Gölmarmara
- Gördes
- Kırkağaç
- Köprübaşı
- Kula
- Manisa
- Salihli
- Sarıgöl
- Saruhanlı
- Selendi
- Soma
- Turgutlu
Sites of interest
The Mount Sipylus national park (Spil Dağı Milli Parkı) near the city of Manisa covers a richly forested area, hot springs, and the famous "crying rock" of Niobe, and a Hittite carving of the Goddess Cybele (Mother Goddess). The park boasts of having within its boundaries about 120 varieties of native plants, especially wild tulips. The park provides opportunities for mountaineering and camping.
Sardis, in Salihli, was the ancient capital of Lydia, once ruled by King Croesus, who was renowned for his wealth. Due to numerous earthquakes, most of the visible remains date back only to Roman times. There are the remains of the temple of Artemis and a restored gymnasium, exhibiting of the past splendor of this ancient city. The splendid synagogue from the 3rd century is worth visiting, with its elaborate mosaics and artfully carved colored-stone panels.
Akhisar, the ancient city of Thyatira, was one of the seven churches of the Book of Revelation and the remains of the ancient city is found in part of the city called Tepe Mezarlığı (hill cemetery). More recently, it became an important commercial center in the province and is its second largest after Manisa.
The city of Alaşehir is where the remains of the ancient city of Philadelphia, another of the Seven Churches, is found. There is little left of the ancient city, except some ruins of a Byzantine church.
Kula houses provide beautiful examples of Ottoman architecture.
The villages of the Mount Yunt (Yunt Dağı), the towns of Gördes, Kula and Demirci are famous for their precious carpets and kilims.
In addition there are many thermal springs throughout the area.
The province is highly developed in terms of industrial activities which are concentrated especially in the largest four centers of Manisa, Turgutlu, Akhisar and Salihli.
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