Manisa

Capital of Manisa province, western Turkey, 30 km/19 mi northeast of Izmir; population (2000) 214,300. Situated in the fertile Gediz River valley, below the Bozdaǧ Mountains and Mount Sypilus, it is an agricultural market centre with diverse light industries. Small deposits of magnesium and zinc ore occur nearby.

The ancient ruins of Sardis lie 50 km/31 mi to the east, seat of the Lydian king Croesus.

Features Much of the original city centre was destroyed in 1922 during the Turkish War of Independence, but a variety of architecture remains, including the Muradiye Camii, a mosque built in the 16th century by the master architect Sinan; and the Sultan Camii, a focus for the annual Mesir Bayrami or Spiced Candy festival held in April. The event, which is over 450 years old, is celebrated by the scattering of a gum made with 41 herbs and spices. The sweets are believed to contain pain-killing and aphrodisiac properties.

History Manisa has been occupied by the Hittites, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Seleucids, Egyptians, Byzantines, and Seljuk and Ottoman Turks. For a brief period during the Fourth Crusade it became the capital of the Byzantine Empire.