Muğla () is a city in southwestern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. The city is the center of the District of
Menteşe and
Muğla Province
Muğla Province ( tr, , ) is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, ...
, which stretches along
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
's
Aegean coast. Muğla's 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 Gökova
Gulf of Gökova ( tr, Gökova Körfezi) or Gulf of Kerme ( Turkish: Kerme Körfezi, Greek: Κεραμεικός κόλπος, Latin: Ceramicus Sinus, English: Ceramic Gulf or Gulf of Cos), is a long (100 km), narrow gulf of the Aegean Sea ...
to its south-west. Muğla (Menteşe) district area neighbors the district areas of
Milas,
Yatağan and
Kavaklıdere to its north by north-west and those of
Ula and
Köyceğiz, all of whom are dependent districts. Muğla is the administrative capital of a province that incorporates internationally well-known and popular tourist resorts such as
Bodrum
Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...
,
Marmaris,
Datça,
Dalyan,
Fethiye
Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686.
History
Fethiye was formerly known as Makri ...
,
Ölüdeniz and also the smaller resort of
Sarigerme.
Geography
The district area's physical features are determined by several pot-shaped high plains, delimited by mountains, of which the largest is the one where the city of Muğla is located and which is called under the same name (''Muğla Plain''). It is surrounded by steep slopes denuded of soil, paved with calcerous geology, and a scrub cover which gives the immediate vicinity of Muğla a barren appearance uncharacteristic of its region. Arable land is limited to valley floors.
Economy
Its former profile as a predominantly rural, difficult to access, isolated and underpopulated region enclosed by a rugged mountainous complex is now coming to an end. Also in recent years, a major program of restoration of the city's architectural heritage has enhanced local tourism. The city remains an orderly, compact, and provincial agricultural center. The city which retains its old neighborhoods, not having succumbed to the mid-20th century boom in concrete reconstruction, but displays a progressive mind as exemplified by the pride still expressed at having had Turkey's first female provincial governor in the 1990s,
Lale Aytaman. Nevertheless, Muğla still lacks sizeable manufacturing and processing centers, and its economy relies on trade, crafts, services, tourism, and agriculture. Therefore, tourism in Muğla is a great opportunity for local community employment, and its fertile soil and amenable climate provide a variety of products for people working in the agricultural sector.
History
Classical antiquity
In ancient times, Muğla was apparently a minor settlement: A halfway-point along the passage between the
Caria
Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joine ...
n cities of
Idrias
Idrias ( grc, Ἰδριάς) was a town of ancient Caria. It has been suggested that Idrias could be identified with the city that the Hittite texts of the Bronze Age call Atriya. Herodotus cites the territory of Idrias, which he names Idriade w ...
(later
Stratonicea) to the north and
Idyma (modern
Akyaka) to the southwest on the coast. The indigenous name Mobolla, over time corrupted into "Mogolla" and then further into the modern "Muğla", appears for the first time in the beginning of the 2nd century BCE at the time of its region's passage from what was apparently an eastern
Carian federation linked with Taba (modern
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 (and often the two are linked in one breath ''Kale-Tavas''). Population is around 12,720
History
The area has been oc ...
) and other cities to
Rhodian domination. Mobolla was part of the Rhodian
Peraea
Peraia, and Peraea or Peræa (from grc, ἡ περαία, ''hē peraia'', "land across") in Classical Antiquity referred to "a community's territory lying 'opposite', predominantly (but not exclusively) a mainland possession of an island state" a ...
on a firm basis as of 167 BCE until at least the 2nd century CE. The Rhodian territory started here and while region was subject to
Rhodes, it was not incorporated in the Rhodian state.
There are almost no ruins to reveal the history of the settlement of Mobolla. On the high hill to the north of the city, a few ancient remains indicate that it was the site of an
acropolis. A handful of inscriptions were unearthed within the city itself and they date back to the 2nd century BC.
In 2018, archaeologists unearthed a 2,300 year-old rock sepulchre of an ancient Greek boxer named
Diagoras of Rhodes
Diagoras of Rhodes (; el, Διαγόρας ὁ Ῥόδιος) was an Ancient Greek boxer from the 5th century BC, who was celebrated for his own victories, as well as the victories of his sons and grandsons. He was a member of the Eratidea f ...
, on a hill in the Turgut village, Muğla province,
Marmaris. This unusual pyramid tomb was considered to belong to a holy person by the local people. The
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
, used as a
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
by locals until the 1970s, also has the potential to be the only pyramid grave in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. Excavation team also discovered an inscription with these words: ''“I will be vigilant at the very top so as to ensure that no coward can come and destroy this grave.”''
In 2018, archaeological ruins and mosaics discovered in the city have been confirmed to belong to the villa of the Greek fisherman Phainos, who lived in the 2nd century CE. Phainos was the richest and the most famous fisherman of his time.
Turkish conquest
Turkish-era Muğla also remained a minor site in the beginning despite having been captured relatively early for western Anatolia in the course of the 13th century. The local ruling dynasty of
Menteşe had their capital in
Milas.
Ottoman and Republican periods
Muğla acquired regional importance after it replaced
Milas as the seat of the subprovince (
sanjak) under the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
in 1420. The sanjak kept the name Menteşe until the
Republican Era, when it was renamed Muğla after its seat of government.
Climate
Muğla has a rather humid
Mediterranean climate (
Köppen: ''Csa'',
Trewartha
Trewartha and Andrewartha are Cornish family names (and placename, Dexter). There are places called Trewartha in the parishes of Merther, St Agnes, St Neot and Veryan.
According to the ''Handbook of Cornish Names'' by G. Pawley White, "Tre ...
: 'wet' ''Cs'' or ''Cf''). It is characterised by long, hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.
Places of interest
Although it is close to major resorts, Muğla has only recently begun to attract visitors. Sights of interest in the city include:
* Great Mosque of Muğla (''Ulu Cami'') – large mosque built in 1344 by the
Beys of
Menteşe
* Konakaltı Han and Yağcılar Han – restored 18th century
caravanserais, the first used as an art gallery and facing Muğla Museum, and the second used for more commercial purposes
* ''Kurşunlu Cami'' – large mosque built in 1495
* Muğla City Museum has a good collection of archaeological and ethnographical artefacts, and 9 million year-old animal and plant fossils, recently discovered in nearby Kaklıcatepe
* the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
-era bazaar (''Arasta'') – marked by a clock tower built by a
Greek craftsman named Filivari Usta in 1895
* Vakıflar
Hamam
A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...
– a still operating Turkish bath which dates back to 1258
The old quarter of Muğla – on the slopes and around Saburhane Square (''Meydanı''), consisting of about four hundred registered old houses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, many of which are restored. These houses are mainly in the Turkish / Ottoman style, characterized by ''hayat'' ("courtyard") sections accessed through double-shuttered doors called ''kuzulu kapı'' ("lamb doors") and dotted with chimneys typical of Muğla. But there are also a number of "Greek" houses. The differences between the two types of houses may have as much to do with the extent to which wood or stone were used in their architecture, and whether they were arranged in introverted or extraverted styles, as with who inhabited them previously.
Local students tend to hang out in open air cafés along the İzmir highway, or in the caravanserai, or in ''Sanat Evi'' ("Art House") – an Ottoman-style residence that has been turned into a café / art gallery exhibiting principally wood carvings.
File:Mugla museum 6214.jpg, Muğla Museum Gladiator gravestone
File:Mugla museum 6215.jpg, Muğla Museum Gladiator gravestone
File:Mugla museum 6217.jpg, Muğla Museum Gladiator gravestone
File:Mugla museum 6219.jpg, Muğla Museum Gladiator gravestone
File:Mugla museum 6220.jpg, Muğla Museum Gladiator gravestone
File:Mugla museum 6222.jpg, Muğla Museum Gladiator gravestone
File:Mugla museum 6237.jpg, Muğla Museum Gladiators in small ceramic
File:Mugla museum 6235.jpg, Muğla Museum Small ceramic
File:Mugla museum 6226.jpg, Muğla Museum Statuettes
File:Mugla museum 6238.jpg, Muğla Museum Child bathing ceramic
File:Mugla museum 6247.jpg, Muğla Museum Stage mask
File:Mugla museum 6254.jpg, Muğla Museum Museum courtyard
File:Mugla museum 6255.jpg, Muğla Museum Frieze
File:Mugla museum 6211.jpg, Muğla Museum Frieze
File:Mugla museum 4223.jpg, Muğla Museum Frieze
File:Mugla museum 5742.jpg, Muğla Museum Christian decoration
File:Mugla museum 5743.jpg, Muğla Museum Seljuk plaque
File:Mugla museum 5792.jpg, Muğla Museum Interior
File:Mugla Chmineys 006.jpg, Muğla Chimneys
File:Mugla Chmineys 5813.jpg, Muğla Chimneys
File:Mugla Clock tower 5718.jpg, Muğla Clock tower
File:Mugla Old houses 5826.jpg, Muğla Old houses
File:Mugla Old houses 5827.jpg, Muğla Old houses
File:Mugla Old houses 5854.jpg, Muğla Old houses
File:Mugla Old houses 5857.jpg, Muğla Old houses
File:Mugla Old houses 5862.jpg, Muğla Old houses
File:Mugla great mosque.jpg, Muğla great mosque
File:Mugla Şhahidi Camii 6278.jpg, Muğla Şhahidi Camii
File:Mugla Şhahidi Camii 5840.jpg, Muğla Şhahidi Camii
File:Mugla Şahidi Camii 6279.jpg, Muğla Şhahidi Camii
File:Mugla Şeyh Camii 6293.jpg, Muğla Şeyh Camii
File:Mugla Şeyh Camii 6302.jpg, Muğla Şeyh Camii
File:Mugla Kurşunlu Camii 5706.jpg, Muğla Kurşunlu Camii Front
File:Mugla Kurşunlu Camii 5679.jpg, Muğla Kurşunlu Camii
File:Mugla Kurşunlu Camii 5684.jpg, Muğla Kurşunlu Camii
File:Mugla Kurşunlu Camii 5692.jpg, Muğla Kurşunlu Camii Painting of Mecca
File:Mugla Konakaltı Han 5736.jpg, Muğla Konakaltı Han
File:Mugla Konakaltı Han 5794.jpg, Muğla Konakaltı Han
File:Mugla Hacıkadı Evi 5724.jpg, Muğla Hacıkadı Evi
File:Mugla Hacıkadı Evi 5729.jpg, Muğla Hacıkadı Evi
File:Oldstreet Mugla Turkey.jpg, A street in the old quarter
File:Muğla 5.JPG, Buildings in the new part of the city.
File:Muğla 38.jpg, An old photograph of Muğla chimneys.
File:Muğla 95.JPG, A traditional house.
File:Muğla 67.jpg, Muğla in 19th century.
File:Muğla 9932.JPG, Cityscape from Mount Asar
File:Muğla 9913.JPG, Old quarter of the city.
File:Muğla 188.JPG, Cityscape from Mount Asar
File:Muğla cityscape.jpg, Cityscape from Mount Asar
File:Muğla 9923.JPG, Old quarter of the city.
Politics
Muğla's political color has traditionally been center-left. In
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
's 2004 local elections, Dr. Osman Gürün (
CHP) was re-elected, increasing his votes to 43.28%, aided in this by the abrupt virtual collapse of the other center-left party the
DSP. The 2004 elections were the seventh successive victory for the center-left candidates in the Muğla municipality. Turkey's incumbent
AKP and the traditional center-right
DYP have each obtained (24.5–24.75%). In 2009 communal elections,
MHP made a significant leap in votes and reached 24.2% of votes cast.
CHP had collected almost half of the votes at 46%.
Sports
The local football club,
Muğlaspor
Muğlaspor is a sports club in located in Muğla, Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in ...
currently compete in the third tier of the Turkish football pyramid.
Notable people from Muğla
*
Şahidi İbrahim Dede – 15th–16th century
Sufi poet
*
Basil Zaharoff (Βασίλειος Ζαχάρωφ) - Muğla, 1849 - Monte Carlo, 1936, Greek arms dealer and industrialist
*
Nail Çakırhan – 20th century poet and architect
*
Zihni Derin – 20th century
agronomist and
agriculturalist who pioneered tea production in Turkey
Due to the particularity of its location, commanding a large part of Anatolia's southwestern coast and a number of busy district centers, Muğla is also notable by the large number of people who, short of being natives in the strict sense, had associations of one sort or another with the city, including among its small
Greek minority until the 1923
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Among these can be listed:
* Arms trading tycoon
Basil Zaharoff, whose family were actually Greeks of the Ottomnan capital but who was born in Muğla in 1849
* The French actress of Greek descent
Anna Mouglalis
Anna Mouglalis ( el, Άννα Μουγλάλη; born 26 April 1978) is a French actress and model. She is known for being a house ambassador for Chanel since 2002, and for portraying the fashion designer Coco Chanel in the 2009 film '' Coco Chane ...
, as attested by her name, can trace her roots to the city
* Mining and poultry magnate
Yavuz Sıtkı Koçman (d. 2002) who contributed an important part of his fortune to building the university in the 1990s
See also
*
Caria
Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joine ...
*
Menteşe (district)
*
Menteşe (beylik) (
Anatolian beyliks)
*
Muğla University
*
Mesut of Menteşe
Footnotes
References
Sources
*
External links
Muğla MunicipalitySeveral hundreds of pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mugla
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey
Caria
Cities in Turkey
Districts of Muğla Province
Populated places in Muğla Province