Foça is a town and district in
Turkey's
İzmir Province, on the
Aegean coast. The town of Foça is situated at about northwest of
İzmir's city center. The district also has a township with its own municipality named
Yenifoça
Yenifoça (meaning "New Foça" in Turkish, the words sometimes spelled separately as "''Yeni Foça''") is a suburb of the Foça district, in Turkey's İzmir Province.
The town of Yenifoça is situated at about north by northwest of İzmir city ...
(literally ''"New Foça"''), also along the shore and at a distance of from Foça proper. For this reason, Foça itself is locally often called as Eskifoça (''"Old Foça"'') in daily parlance. The town is built on the site of the ancient city of
Phocaea ( el, Φώκαια).
History
The town of
Phocaea (Φώκαια) was founded by ancient Greeks. Phocaea, named after the seals living in nearby islands, was founded by the
Aeolian Greeks in the 11th century BC.
Ionian Greek
Ionic Greek ( grc, Ἑλληνικὴ Ἰωνική, Hellēnikē Iōnikē) was a subdialect of the Attic–Ionic or Eastern dialect group of Ancient Greek.
History
The Ionic dialect appears to have originally spread from the Greek mainland acros ...
settlement in Phocaea, which was one of the most important settlements of Ionia at that time, started in the 9th century BC. Phocaeans, known as master sailors in history, also established many colonies in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea with their engineering development and success. Some of the important colonies that they had established in history are:
Massalia, modern Marseille;
Amisos in the Black Sea (now Samsun);
Lampsakos in the Dardanelles (now Lapseki);
Methymna
Mithymna () ( el, Μήθυμνα, also sometimes spelled ''Methymna'') is a town and former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of West Lesbos, of whic ...
(now Molyvos) on Lesbos; and
Elea, now Velia (Italy);
Alalia
Speech delay, also known as alalia, refers to a delay in the development or use of the mechanisms that produce speech. Speech – as distinct from language – is the actual process of making sounds, using such organs and structures as the lungs, ...
(Corsica).
In addition, Phocaeans were known as ones of the first in Ionia to mint "
electron" coins using natural gold-silver mixture. Of course, this civilized progress affected many civilizations of that time and attracted them to Anatolia.
Phocaea was taken over by the
Genoese in 1275 as a fief from the
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
, and was an active Port during the
Middle Ages, principally due to the region's rich
alum
An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double sulfate salt of aluminium with the general formula , where is a monovalent cation such as potassium or ammonium. By itself, "alum" often refers to potassium alum, with the ...
reserves. The alum mines of Phocaea were conceded earlier by the
Byzantines in 1267 to the Genoese brothers
Benedetto
Benedetto is a common Italian name, the equivalent of the English name Benedict. Notable people named Benedetto include:
People with the given name
* Benedetto Accolti (disambiguation), several people
* Benedetto Aloi (1935–2011), American mo ...
and
Manuele Zaccaria, who founded the
Lordship of Phocaea. The
Genoese controlled the city even during the
Ottoman era due to the lease they had gained from the Byzantines in 1275. Another important Byzantine concession to the Genoese through dowry was the nearby island of
Lesbos
Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the na ...
, given to the
Gattilusio family as a result of the marriage between
Francesco I Gattilusio
Francesco I Gattilusio (died 6 August 1384) was the first member of the Gattilusio family to rule the Aegean island of Lesbos as a vassal of the Byzantine emperor.
Freebooter
The Gattilusio family came from the Republic of Genoa. The parents of Fr ...
and Maria Palaiologina, sister of Byzantine emperor
John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions.
Biography
John V was the son of E ...
) in 1355. The possessions of the Gattilusio family eventually grew to include, among others, the islands of
Imbros
Imbros or İmroz Adası, officially Gökçeada (lit. ''Heavenly Island'') since 29 July 1970,Alexis Alexandris, "The Identity Issue of The Minorities in Greece And Turkey", in Hirschon, Renée (ed.), ''Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1 ...
,
Samothrace
Samothrace (also known as Samothraki, el, Σαμοθράκη, ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,859 (2011 ...
,
Lemnos and
Thasos
Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area.
The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate re ...
, and the city of
Aenos (modern
Enez in
Turkey.) From this position, they were heavily involved in the mining and marketing of alum, useful in
textile production and a profitable trade controlled by the Genoese.
The city was mostly populated by Greeks until the
Massacre of Phocaea
The massacre of Phocaea ( el, Η Σφαγή της Φώκαιας, ''I Sfagí tis Fókaias''; Turkish: ''Foça Katliamı'') occurred in June 1914, as part of the ethnic cleansing policies of the Ottoman Empire that included exile, massacre and d ...
carried out by the Turks during the
Greek genocide. As a result, a large portion of the historic city was destroyed, and all the old churches were destroyed and mosques were built on top of them and the town subsequently became known as Foça. People who belonged to the local networks were radically different in their perception of the Greeks compared to the muhacirs who were alien to the local networks.
The local communities favored the Greeks. Also, when the Greeks left, due to the massacre, their houses were occupied by
muhacirs (forced Muslim migrants).
Some of these Greeks returned later (1919) to their houses, when the Greek army arrived at the city.
The muhacirs that lived there ran away when the Greeks returned.
When the Greek army defeated (1922), according to a testimony of a muhacir, the Greeks who tried to escape with boats or other things "were stopped and the punishments they deserved were delivered to them in and around the harbor of Eski Foça".
''Eski'' Foça stretches along two bays; a larger one named Büyükdeniz (''"Greater Sea"'') and a smaller cove within that large one, named Küçükdeniz (''"Smaller Sea"''), where the medieval
Foça Castle is also located.
Many parts of the district are under strict environmental protection, due to the value of the flora and the fauna, and the beauty of the small bays and coves, especially between Foça and Yenifoça. Therefore, a judicious way to get to know the district would be by boat tours regularly organized in partance from the town center. Because of the protective measures, new constructions are not permitted in many parts of the district and Foça is set to preserve its unique characteristic as composed principally of old houses.
The construction project for a 300-boat capacity
marina in Foça is recently tendered and started, upon the completion of which the town is expected to open to more active international tourism.
Foça is the site of one of three
marine protected area
Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected areas of seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity for a cons ...
s established in Turkey for the preservation of the
Mediterranean monk seal, a heavily endangered species of sea mammals.
Monk Seal Fact File
/ref>
The Turkish Navy
The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.
The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establ ...
maintains at Foça the home base of its two special operations units, Su Altı Savunma (SAS) and Su Altı Taarruz
The Underwater Offence ( tr, Su Altı Taarruz), or SAT, is the special operations forces unit of the Turkish Navy. Turkish Navy's first and only navy commando unit consisting of highly skilled soldiers selected from among the officers and petty of ...
(SAT).
See also
* Massacre of Phocaea
The massacre of Phocaea ( el, Η Σφαγή της Φώκαιας, ''I Sfagí tis Fókaias''; Turkish: ''Foça Katliamı'') occurred in June 1914, as part of the ethnic cleansing policies of the Ottoman Empire that included exile, massacre and d ...
* Marinas in Turkey
* Foreign purchases of real estate in Turkey
Land ownership in Turkey had been constrained by the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. This was to prevent foreigners from competing with natives for desirable property. This policy was continued when Turkey became independent in the early 20 ...
* Turkish Riviera
The Turkish Riviera ( tr, Türk Rivierası), also known popularly as the Turquoise Coast, is an area of southwest Turkey encompassing the provinces of Antalya and Muğla, and to a lesser extent Aydın, southern İzmir and western Mersin. Th ...
References
External links
Foça guide with photos
Foça picture gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foca
İzmir
Districts of İzmir Province
Populated coastal places in Turkey
Seaside resorts in Turkey
Former Greek towns in Turkey
Populated places in İzmir Province
Tourist attractions in İzmir Province
Important Bird Areas of Turkey
Places of the Greek genocide
Cittaslow