Mugla Province
Encyclopedia
Muğla Province is a province
of Turkey
, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea
. Its seat is Muğla
, about 20 km (12.4 mi) inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum
, Ölüdeniz
, Marmaris
and Fethiye
, are on the coast in Muğla.
and longer than many countries' costlines, (even without taking any small islands into account). Important is the Datça Peninsula
. As well as the sea, Muğla has two large lakes, Lake Bafa
in the district of Milas
and Lake Köyceğiz
. The landscape consists of pot-shaped small plains surrounded by mountains, formed by depressions in the Neogene
. These include the plain of the city of Muğla
itself, Yeşilyurt
, Ula, Gülağzı, Yerkesik, Akkaya
, Çamköy and Yenice). Until the recent building of highways, transport from these plains to either the coast or inland was quite arduous, and thus each locality remained an isolated culture of its own. Contact with the outside world was through one of the three difficult passes: northwest to Milas
, north to the Menderes plain through Gökbel, or northeast to Tavas
.
The economy of Muğla relies mainly on tourism (on the coast), and agriculture, forestry and marble quarries inland.
Agriculture in Muğla is rich and varied; the province is one of Turkey's largest producers of honey, pine-forest honey in particular and citrus fruits are grown in Ortaca, Fethiye, Dalaman and Dalyan.
The province is the second center of marble
industry in Turkey after Afyonkarahisar
in terms of quantity, variety and quality. Other mineral exploitation includes coal-mining in Yatağan and chrome in Fethiye
. Other industry in the province includes the SEKA paper mill in Dalaman
and the power stations at Yatağan
, Yeniköy and Kemerköy. However Muğla is by no means an industrialised province.
, the region between the Menderes (Meander
) and Dalaman
(Indus
) rivers in the south was called Caria
. The inhabitants were Carians
and Leleges
. In his Iliad
, Homer
describes the Carians as natives of Anatolia, defending their country against Greeks in joint campaigns in collaboration with the Trojans
.
A major city of ancient Caria, Muğla is known to have been occupied by raiding parties of Egyptians
, Assyrians and Scythians, until eventually the area was settled by Ancient Greek
colonists. The Greeks inhabited this coast for a long time building prominent cities, such as Knidos
(at the end of the Datça Peninsula
and Bodrum
(Halicarnassos), as well as many smaller towns along the coast, on the Bodrum Peninsula and inland, including in the district of Fethiye
the cities of Telmessos, Xanthos
, Patara and Tlos
. Eventually the coast was conquered by Persians who were in turn removed by Alexander the Great, bringing an end to the satrapy of Caria.
In 1261 CE, Menteşe Bey, founder of the Beylik (principality) that carried his name, with its capital in Milas
, established his rule over the region of Muğla as well. The beys of Menteşe held the city until 1390 and this, the first Turkish state in the region, achieved a high level of cultural development, its buildings remaining to this day. The province also became a significant naval power, trading with the Aegean Islands
, Crete
and as far as Venice
and Egypt
. Turkish
settlement during the Menteşe period usually took place through migrations along the Kütahya
-Tavas
axis.
In 1390, Muğla was taken over by the Ottoman Empire
. However, just twelve years later, Tamerlane and his forces defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Ankara
, and returned control of the region to its former rulers, the Menteşe Beys, as he did for other Anatolian beyliks. Muğla was brought back under Ottoman control by Sultan Mehmed II
the Conqueror, in 1451. One of the most important events in the area during the Ottoman period was the well-recorded campaign of Süleyman the Magnificent against Rhodes
, which was launched from Marmaris
.
With this long history Muğla is rich in ancient ruins, with over 100 excavated sites including the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Letoon
, near Fethiye
.
(capital district in bold):
(CHP), Turkey's principal center-left party has a traditionally strong presence across the political landscape of Muğla Province, closely followed by the traditional center-right represented by the Democrat Party (DP) in Turkey's politics, although the incumbent Justice and Development Party
(AKP) obtained the first place in the ballots cast during the last national-scale elections that were the 2004 local elections, with 31,25 % of the votes. The overall percentage for the province was 26,3 % for the CHP, and 20,98 % for the DP during the same elections. The rightist Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP), campaigning on Turkish nationalism had obtained a further 9,5 % (especially in the Fethiye
district). The other parties registered less significant percentages.
Provinces of Turkey
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, called il in Turkish .A province is administered by an appointed governor , and was formerly termed a "governorate" ....
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
. Its seat is Muğla
Mugla
Muğla is a city in south-western Turkey. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey´s Aegean coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of...
, about 20 km (12.4 mi) inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum
Bodrum
Bodrum is a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova. The site was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the...
, Ölüdeniz
Ölüdeniz
Ölüdeniz is a small resort village in the Fethiye district which is in the Muğla Province the South West coast of Turkey on the Aegean Sea to the south and the high, steep sided Babadağ Mountain, south of Fethiye. The town is a beach resort.Ölüdeniz remains one of the most photographed beaches on...
, Marmaris
Marmaris
Marmaris is a port city and a tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in Muğla Province.Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. Little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was just a few decades ago after a construction boom in the 1980s...
and Fethiye
Fethiye
Fethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
, are on the coast in Muğla.
Etymology
The original name of Muğla is open for discussion. Various sources refer to the city as Mogola, Mobella or Mobolia.Geography
At 1100 km (683.5 mi), Muğla's coastline is the longest among the Provinces of TurkeyProvinces of Turkey
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, called il in Turkish .A province is administered by an appointed governor , and was formerly termed a "governorate" ....
and longer than many countries' costlines, (even without taking any small islands into account). Important is the Datça Peninsula
Datça Peninsula
The Datça Peninsula is an 80 km-long, narrow peninsula in southwest Turkey separating the Gulf of Gökova to the north from the Gulf of Hisarönü to the south. The peninsula corresponds almost exactly to the administrative district of Datça, part of Muğla Province...
. As well as the sea, Muğla has two large lakes, Lake Bafa
Lake Bafa
Lake Bafa or Lake Bafa Nature Park is a lake and a nature reserve situated in southwestern Turkey, part of it within the boundaries of Milas district of Muğla Province and the northern part within Aydın Province's Söke district...
in the district of Milas
Milas
Milas is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy, and the region is very rich in history and its remains, the whole territory of Milas district containing a remarkable twenty-seven...
and Lake Köyceğiz
Köycegiz
Köyceğiz is a town and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.The town of Köyceğiz lies at the northern end of a lake of the same name which is joined to the Mediterranean Sea by a natural channel called Dalyan. Its unique environment is being preserved as a nature and wildlife...
. The landscape consists of pot-shaped small plains surrounded by mountains, formed by depressions in the Neogene
Neogene
The Neogene is a geologic period and system in the International Commission on Stratigraphy Geologic Timescale starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and ending 2.588 million years ago...
. These include the plain of the city of Muğla
Mugla
Muğla is a city in south-western Turkey. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey´s Aegean coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of...
itself, Yeşilyurt
Yesilyurt
Yeşilyurt is a small town in southwestern Turkey at a distance of from the city of Muğla, center of Muğla Province.It is accessed by a turnout at a short distance from Muğla-İzmir highway just before entering Muğla...
, Ula, Gülağzı, Yerkesik, Akkaya
Akkaya
Akkaya is a surname shared by several notable people, all of whom were born in Turkey in the latter half of the 20th century:* İlkay Akkaya * Deniz Akkaya * Gülşah Akkaya...
, Çamköy and Yenice). Until the recent building of highways, transport from these plains to either the coast or inland was quite arduous, and thus each locality remained an isolated culture of its own. Contact with the outside world was through one of the three difficult passes: northwest to Milas
Milas
Milas is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy, and the region is very rich in history and its remains, the whole territory of Milas district containing a remarkable twenty-seven...
, north to the Menderes plain through Gökbel, or northeast to Tavas
Tavas
Tavas is a town and a district of Denizli Province of Turkey, on a wide plain on the road to Muğla, near to the district of Kale...
.
The economy of Muğla relies mainly on tourism (on the coast), and agriculture, forestry and marble quarries inland.
The province is the second center of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
industry in Turkey after Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar
Afyonkarahisar 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...
in terms of quantity, variety and quality. Other mineral exploitation includes coal-mining in Yatağan and chrome in Fethiye
Fethiye
Fethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
. Other industry in the province includes the SEKA paper mill in Dalaman
Dalaman
Dalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province.Dalaman Stream forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbors are Köyceğiz and Ortaca districts...
and the power stations at Yatağan
Yatagan
The yatagan or yataghan is a type of Ottomanknife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th centuries....
, Yeniköy and Kemerköy. However Muğla is by no means an industrialised province.
Transportation
The following are aspects about transportation in Muğla province:- There are two airports in DalamanDalamanDalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province.Dalaman Stream forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbors are Köyceğiz and Ortaca districts...
and MilasMilasMilas is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy, and the region is very rich in history and its remains, the whole territory of Milas district containing a remarkable twenty-seven...
-Bodrum, serving domestic and international flights and catering to the tourism industryTourism in TurkeyTourism in Turkey is focused largely on a variety of historical sites, and on seaside resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean Sea coasts. In the recent years, Turkey has also become a popular destination for culture, spa, and health care tourism...
. - There are yacht marinas in BodrumBodrumBodrum is a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova. The site was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the...
, MarmarisMarmarisMarmaris is a port city and a tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in Muğla Province.Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. Little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was just a few decades ago after a construction boom in the 1980s...
, FethiyeFethiyeFethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
and GüllükGüllükGüllük, is a small harbor town with own municipality within the district of Milas, situated north of Bodrum in Muğla Province of Turkey. It is a small Turkish town and growing holiday destination, with the town being pleasantly developed with a range of tourist amenities. The Town centre is...
. - There are many privately-run busBusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
connections to İzmirIzmirIzmir 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...
, AntalyaAntalyaAntalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
, AnkaraAnkaraAnkara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and other major cities in Turkey from Muğla and directly from the coastal resorts.
History
In ancient times in AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, the region between the Menderes (Meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
) and Dalaman
Dalaman
Dalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province.Dalaman Stream forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbors are Köyceğiz and Ortaca districts...
(Indus
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
) rivers in the south was called Caria
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
. The inhabitants were Carians
Carians
The Carians were the ancient inhabitants of Caria in southwest Anatolia.-Historical accounts:It is not clear when the Carians enter into history. The definition is dependent on corresponding Caria and the Carians to the "Karkiya" or "Karkisa" mentioned in the Hittite records...
and Leleges
Leleges
The Leleges were one of the aboriginal peoples of southwest Anatolia , who were already there when the Indo-European Hellenes emerged. The distinction between the Leleges and the Carians is unclear. According to Homer the Leleges were a distinct Anatolian tribe Homer...
. In his Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
, Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
describes the Carians as natives of Anatolia, defending their country against Greeks in joint campaigns in collaboration with the Trojans
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
.
A major city of ancient Caria, Muğla is known to have been occupied by raiding parties of Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
, Assyrians and Scythians, until eventually the area was settled by Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
colonists. The Greeks inhabited this coast for a long time building prominent cities, such as Knidos
Knidos
Knidos or Cnidus is an ancient settlement located in Turkey. It was an ancient Greek city of Caria, part of the Dorian Hexapolis. It was situated on the Datça peninsula, which forms the southern side of the Sinus Ceramicus, now known as Gulf of Gökova. By the fourth century BC, Knidos was located...
(at the end of the Datça Peninsula
Datça Peninsula
The Datça Peninsula is an 80 km-long, narrow peninsula in southwest Turkey separating the Gulf of Gökova to the north from the Gulf of Hisarönü to the south. The peninsula corresponds almost exactly to the administrative district of Datça, part of Muğla Province...
and Bodrum
Bodrum
Bodrum is a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova. The site was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the...
(Halicarnassos), as well as many smaller towns along the coast, on the Bodrum Peninsula and inland, including in the district of Fethiye
Fethiye
Fethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
the cities of Telmessos, Xanthos
Xanthos
Xanthos was the name of a city in ancient Lycia, the site of present day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey, and of the river on which the city is situated...
, Patara and Tlos
Tlos
Tlos is known to have been one of the most important religious centers of the Lycian region in Antalya province of Turkey.It is known as the city where mythological hero Bellerophon and his winged flying horse Pegasus lived. Determined as the oldest city of Lycian Region by the archaeological...
. Eventually the coast was conquered by Persians who were in turn removed by Alexander the Great, bringing an end to the satrapy of Caria.
In 1261 CE, Menteşe Bey, founder of the Beylik (principality) that carried his name, with its capital in Milas
Milas
Milas is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy, and the region is very rich in history and its remains, the whole territory of Milas district containing a remarkable twenty-seven...
, established his rule over the region of Muğla as well. The beys of Menteşe held the city until 1390 and this, the first Turkish state in the region, achieved a high level of cultural development, its buildings remaining to this day. The province also became a significant naval power, trading with the Aegean Islands
Aegean Islands
The Aegean Islands are the group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast...
, Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
and as far as Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
settlement during the Menteşe period usually took place through migrations along the Kütahya
Kütahya
Kütahya is a city in western Turkey with 212,444 inhabitants , lying on the Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Kütahya Province, inhabited by some 517 804 people...
-Tavas
Tavas
Tavas is a town and a district of Denizli Province of Turkey, on a wide plain on the road to Muğla, near to the district of Kale...
axis.
In 1390, Muğla was taken over by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. However, just twelve years later, Tamerlane and his forces defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Ankara
Battle of Ankara
The Battle of Ankara or Battle of Angora, fought on July 20, 1402, took place at the field of Çubuk between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the Turko-Mongol forces of Timur, ruler of the Timurid Empire. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to a period of crisis for...
, and returned control of the region to its former rulers, the Menteşe Beys, as he did for other Anatolian beyliks. Muğla was brought back under Ottoman control by Sultan Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
the Conqueror, in 1451. One of the most important events in the area during the Ottoman period was the well-recorded campaign of Süleyman the Magnificent against Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
, which was launched from Marmaris
Marmaris
Marmaris is a port city and a tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in Muğla Province.Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. Little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was just a few decades ago after a construction boom in the 1980s...
.
With this long history Muğla is rich in ancient ruins, with over 100 excavated sites including the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Letoon
Letoon
The Letoon , sometimes Latinized as Letoum, was a sanctuary of Leto near the ancient city Xanthos that was one of the most important religious centres of the Lycian region in Anatolia...
, near Fethiye
Fethiye
Fethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
.
Well-known residents
The following are notable residents of Muğla province:- The historian HerodotusHerodotusHerodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
of Halicarnassos - Seaman Turgut ReisTurgut ReisTurgut Reis was an Ottoman Admiral and privateer who also served as Bey of Algiers; Beylerbey of the Mediterranean; and first Bey, later Pasha, of Tripoli. Under his naval command the Ottoman Empire maritime was extended across North Africa...
- Arms dealer Basil ZaharoffBasil ZaharoffBasil Zaharoff, GCB, GBE , born Zacharias Basileios Zacharoff, was an arms dealer and financier...
born in Muğla - Turkish orthodox church leader in Bodrum Zihni Özdamar, he worked to get the support of the church authorities for the Turkish War of IndependenceTurkish War of IndependenceThe Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
. - Painter Osman Hamdi BeyOsman Hamdi BeyOsman Hamdi Bey was an Ottoman statesman, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering Turkish painter. He was also an accomplished archaeologist, and is considered as the pioneer of the museum curator's profession in Turkey...
had his summer residence in Yatağan - Avram Galanti, prominent Young Turk and supporter of Atatürk in the Jewish community of Bodrum.
- Şükrü KayaSükrü KayaŞükrü Kaya was an Ottoman civil servant and Turkish politician, who served as government minister, Minister of Interior and Minister of Foreign affairs in several governments....
, Minister of the Interior under Atatürk, born in İstanköy. - Turkish War of Independence general Mustafa MuğlalıMustafa MuğlalıMustafa Muğlalı was an officer of the Ottoman Army and the general of the Turkish Army.-Killing 33 Kurdish People:...
- Founder of CumhuriyetCumhuriyetCumhuriyet is a centre-left Turkish daily newspaper, founded on May 7, 1924 by journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu. Based in Istanbul, it has been situated since October 17, 2005 in Mecidiyeköy. Cumhuriyet was the last newspaper to leave the old press district Cağaloğlu...
newspaper and key supporter of AtatürkYunus Nadi AbalıoğluYunus Nadi AbaliogluYunus Nadi Abalıoğlu was a renowned Turkish journalist and founder of the newspaper Cumhuriyet.Yunus Nadi was born in 1879 in the Seydiler village of the south Aegean town Fethiye. After primary school in Fethiye, he was schooled on Rhodes. Later on, Yunus Nadi moved to Istanbul, where he...
, and his son Nadir Nadi Abalıoğlu, from Fethiye. - Agriculturalist responsible for planting tea in the Eastern Black Sea region Zihni DerinZihni DerinZihni Derin was a Turkish agronomist and agriculturalist noted primarily for his pioneering role in tea production in Turkey's eastern Black Sea Region.-External links:...
, from Muğla - Necati Çiller, father of Prime Minister Tansu ÇillerTansu ÇillerTansu Penbe Çiller is a Turkish economist and politician. She was Turkey's first and only female Prime Minister.- Early career :She is the daughter of a Turkish governor of Bilecik province during the 1950s. She graduated from the School of Economics at Robert College after finishing the American...
, governor of Istanbul in the 1950s, from Milas - The "Fisherman of Halicarnasoss" writer Cevat Şakir KabaağaçlıCevat Sakir KabaagaçliCevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı was a Turkish writer of novels, short-stories and essays, as well as being a keen ethnographer and travelogue.-Biography:He is deeply associated with Bodrum where...
, and his student Şadan Gökovalı - Nail ÇakırhanNail ÇakırhanNail Çakırhan was a Turkish poet and journalist in his career in the beginning, and later a self-taught and award-winning architect and restorer who left his print particularly in the architecture of the coastal township of Akyaka in southwestern Turkey through old houses he had had repaired and...
, architect of the AkyakaAkyaka, MuglaAkyaka is a coastal township with its own municipality in the Ula district of Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The town is situated at the far end of the Gulf of Gökova, at the start of the fertile Gökova plain, and is a rising centre for international tourism due to its advantageous...
Çakırhan houses and winner of the Aga Khan Award for ArchitectureAga Khan Award for ArchitectureThe Aga Khan Award for Architecture is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community...
; - Amateur astronomer and president of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSOAmerican Association of Variable Star ObserversSince its founding in 1911, the American Association of Variable Star Observers has coordinated, collected, evaluated, analyzed, published, and archived variable star observations made largely by amateur astronomers and makes the records available to professional astronomers, researchers, and...
) Janet Akyüz MatteiJanet Akyüz MatteiJanet Akyüz Mattei was a Turkish American astronomer, educated in both Turkey and the United States and with a U.S. career, who was the director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers from 1973 to 2004....
of Bodrum. - Folk singer Muğlalı Memiş (Memiş Güniç)
- Singer and fixture of the Bodrum nightclub scene for many years, Zeki MürenZeki MürenZeki Müren was a prominent Turkish singer, composer and actor. He was famous for his compelling voice and precise articulation in his singing of both established Turkish classical music and contemporary songs.-Biography:Müren grew up in the provincial capital city of Bursa in western Turkey...
- Poet Can YücelCan YücelCan Yücel was a Turkish poet noted for his use of colloquial language.-Biography:Can Yücel was the son of a former Minister of National Education, Hasan Ali Yücel who left his mark on the history of education in Turkey, and a grandchild of an Ottoman sea captain who perished with the frigate...
is buried in DatçaDatçaDatça is a district of Muğla Province in south-west Turkey, and the center town of the district. The center is situated midway through the peninsula which carries the same name as the district and the town .-Geography:...
, his home in his final years - Poet Erdogan Cokduru born in Marmaris
- Former President Kenan EvrenKenan EvrenAhmet Kenan Evren was the seventh President of Turkey; a post he assumed by leading the 1980 military coup. He was also the last president to be born in the Ottoman Empire.- Biography :...
now retired in Marmaris, where he spends his days painting
Districts
Muğla province is divided into 12 districtsDistricts of Turkey
The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 957 districts . In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the kaza....
(capital district in bold):
- BodrumBodrumBodrum is a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova. The site was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the...
- DalamanDalamanDalaman is a district, as well as the central town of that district, situated on the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the Muğla Province.Dalaman Stream forms much of the western border of the district, where its neighbors are Köyceğiz and Ortaca districts...
- DatçaDatçaDatça is a district of Muğla Province in south-west Turkey, and the center town of the district. The center is situated midway through the peninsula which carries the same name as the district and the town .-Geography:...
- FethiyeFethiyeFethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
- KavaklıdereKavaklidere, MuglaKavaklıdere is a town and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is notable for its marble and slate industry and the vast forests extending across the district...
- KöyceğizKöycegizKöyceğiz is a town and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey.The town of Köyceğiz lies at the northern end of a lake of the same name which is joined to the Mediterranean Sea by a natural channel called Dalyan. Its unique environment is being preserved as a nature and wildlife...
- MarmarisMarmarisMarmaris is a port city and a tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in southwest Turkey, in Muğla Province.Marmaris' main source of income is tourism. Little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was just a few decades ago after a construction boom in the 1980s...
- MilasMilasMilas is an ancient city and the seat of the district of the same name in Muğla Province in southwestern Turkey. The city commands a region with an active economy, and the region is very rich in history and its remains, the whole territory of Milas district containing a remarkable twenty-seven...
- MuğlaMuglaMuğla is a city in south-western Turkey. It is the center of the district the same name, as well as of Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey´s Aegean coast. Muğla center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a distance of about from the nearest seacoast in the Gulf of...
- OrtacaOrtacaOrtaca is a town and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. Formerly a township depending Köyceğiz administratively, it was made into a separate district in 1987. Apart from Ortaca district center, there is one depending township with own municipality, namely Dalyan.Ortaca is a...
- Ula
- Yatağan
Politics
The Republican People's PartyRepublican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...
(CHP), Turkey's principal center-left party has a traditionally strong presence across the political landscape of Muğla Province, closely followed by the traditional center-right represented by the Democrat Party (DP) in Turkey's politics, although the incumbent Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
(AKP) obtained the first place in the ballots cast during the last national-scale elections that were the 2004 local elections, with 31,25 % of the votes. The overall percentage for the province was 26,3 % for the CHP, and 20,98 % for the DP during the same elections. The rightist Nationalist Movement Party
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...
(MHP), campaigning on Turkish nationalism had obtained a further 9,5 % (especially in the Fethiye
Fethiye
Fethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
district). The other parties registered less significant percentages.