Germencik is a town and a district of
Aydın ProvinceAydın Province 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 . Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.-History:Aydın was founded by the ancient...
in the Aegean region of
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Geography
Germencik is located in the middle of the fertile Büyük Menderes (Meander) plain, inland from the Aegean coastal town of
KuşadasıKuşadası is a resort town on Turkey's Aegean coast and the center of the seaside district of the same name in Aydın Province. Kuşadası lies at a distance of to the south from the region's largest metropolitan center of İzmir, and from the provincial seat of Aydın situated inland. Its primary...
, on the Aydın-
İzmirIzmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
highway 25 km (16 mi) from the city of
AydınAydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
. It is also the junction of the İzmir-Aydın-
AfyonkarahisarAfyonkarahisar is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along the Akarçay River. Elevation...
and
OrtaklarOrtaklar is a town in Germencik district of Aydın Province, Turkey. At it is to Germencik and to Aydın. The population of the town is 12987 as of 2010. The village was founded after 1886 when the railroad from İzmir to Aydın was constructed...
-
SökeSöke is a town and a large district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of western Turkey, south-west of the city of Aydın, near the Aegean coast. It had 68,020 population in 2010.- Geography :...
railway lines.
Until the 1950s the plain was a swampy area subject to regular flooding and Germencik grew as people moved from the wet lands into the town. Today Germencik itself is a small town of 12,000 people, astride the Izmir-Aydın highway, providing high schools, a hospital, a library and other services for the surrounding district. There are more health centres and primary schools in the villages of the district.
The economy of Germencik depends on agriculture, the main crops are figs and olives but cotton, sesame and other crops are also grown here. Of the 374.39 km
2 total area of Germencik 255.8 km
2 is planted and of the remainder 106.23 km
2 is forest, 6.65 km
2 is meadow/pasture, 5.19 km
2 is unused and 0.52 km
2 is lake or swamp. In 1998 16,950 tons of cotton were produced from 56.5 km
2, 7,500 tons of figs from 87.22 km
2 and 44,170 tons of olives from 92.92 km
2. Sheep and cattle are raised too and there is a small dairy industry as well as bee-keeping and some poultry farming.
Industry in the area is mainly the processing of the local produce to make
tahiniTahini or sesame paste , is a paste of ground sesame seeds used in cooking. North African, Greek and West Asian tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds. The Arabic word tahin simply means flour.Tahini is a major component of hummus and...
, helva, olive oil etc.
The people live the traditional Turkish rural lifestyle with strong family ties etc. The women generally have their heads covered and wear long skirts.
History
Germencik is an old settlement, first founded by 'Hıdır Bey' of the Aydinind Principality under the name "Değirmencik" (little mill). Later, it has also been called "İğneabad". The town obtained district's status in 1948.
Places of interest
- The remains of the antique city of Magnesia on the Maeander
Magnesia or Magnesia on the Maeander was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia, considerable in size, at an important location commercially and strategically in the triangle of Priene, Ephesus and Tralles. The city was named Magnesia, after the Magnetes from Thessaly who settled the area along with...
are located on the road from Ortaklar to SökeSöke is a town and a large district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of western Turkey, south-west of the city of Aydın, near the Aegean coast. It had 68,020 population in 2010.- Geography :...
, near the village of Tekin. See Magnesia on the MaeanderMagnesia or Magnesia on the Maeander was an ancient Greek city in Anatolia, considerable in size, at an important location commercially and strategically in the triangle of Priene, Ephesus and Tralles. The city was named Magnesia, after the Magnetes from Thessaly who settled the area along with...
for more details of this city, founded by Ancient Greeks from Thessaly and in its day a key trading partner of PrienePriene was an ancient Greek city of Ionia at the base of an escarpment of Mycale, about north of the then course of the Maeander River, from today's Aydin, from today's Söke and from ancient Miletus...
, EphesusEphesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
, Tralles and other major Aegean cities. The ruins have been excavated and include a theatre, temples and an Ancient Roman gymnasium, and baths. Magnesia was commercially and strategically at an important location in the triangle of Prien, EphesusEphesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
and Tralles.
The first excavations at the archaeological site were made in 1891 by
Carl HumannCarl Wilhelm Humann was a German engineer, architect and archaeologist...
of the Berlin Museum. 21 Month long excavations revealed (partially or fully) the theatre, Artemis temple, agora, Zeus temple and prytaneion. Excavations resumed at the site, after almost 100 years, in 1984, by Prof. Dr. Orhan Bingöl on assignment from
Ankara Üniversitesi and
Turkish Ministry of Culture. Findings at the archaeological site are now displayed at museums of Istanbul, as well as Berlin and Paris, where they were illegally smuggled.
The most important and the biggest piece smuggled outside Turkey is the whole façade of the Zeus temple (smuggled by the German archeological team), which is currently in possession of the Berlin Bergama Museum. The Turkish government has made several unsuccessful attempts to date, to return it.
- The hot springs in the villages of Alangüllü, Çamur, and Gümüşlü, all 10–12 km north of Germencik.