Bergama is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

İzmir Province İzmir Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 districts out of 30 in to ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 1,544 km², and its population is 105,754 (2022). By excluding

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

's metropolitan area, it is one of the prominent districts of the province in terms of population and is largely urbanized at the rate of 53.6%. Bergama center is situated at a distance of to the north from the point of departure of the traditional center of İzmir ( Konak Square in

Konak, İzmir Konak is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 24 km2, and its population is 332,277 (2022). It is the most densely populated of the thirty districts of İzmir, and has historically acted as t ...

) and lies at a distance of inland from the nearest seacoast at the town of Dikili to its west. Bergama district area neighbors the areas of three districts of

Balıkesir Province Balıkesir Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in northwestern Turkey with coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, Aegean. Its area is 14,583 km ...

to its north, namely

Ayvalık Ayvalık (), formerly also known as Kydonies (), is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 305 km2, and its population is 75,126 (2024). It is a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean Se ...

, Burhaniye and

İvrindi İvrindi is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 818 km2, and its population is 31,512 (2022). The mayor is Önder Lapanta (Good Party, İYİ). Composition There are 69 mahalle, neighbou ...

district of Kınık and

Manisa Province Manisa Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in western Turkey. Its area is 13,339 km2, and its population is 1,468,279 (2022). Its neighboring provinces are İzmi ...

district of Soma to its east, while to the south it is bordered by

Yunusemre Yunusemre is a municipality and district of Manisa Province, Turkey. Its area is 823 km2, and its population is 266,514 (2022). It covers the western part of the agglomeration of Manisa and the adjacent countryside. The district Yunusemre was ...

district of Manisa Province and two other İzmir Province districts along the coast that are Aliağa and Dikili from its south towards its west. The district area's physical features are determined by the alluvial plain of Bakırçay River.

Name

The name Bergama, as well as its ancient predecessor

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...

, are thought to be connected with the even more ancient

Luwian language Luwian (), sometimes known as Luvian or Luish, is an ancient language, or group of languages, within the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The ethnonym Luwian comes from ''Luwiya'' (also spelled ''Luwia'' or ''Luvia'') – ...

adjective ''"parrai"'' (

Hittite language Hittite (, or ), also known as Nesite (Nešite/Neshite, Nessite), is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken by the Hittites, a people of Bronze Age Anatolia who created an empire centred on Hattusa, as well as parts of the northern ...

equivalent; ''"parku"''), meaning ''"high"'' in the same vein as being the etymological root of a number of other ancient cities across

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The ancient and modern Greek language form of the name is . In Turkish language, it has been adapted to Bergama. The name of Pergamos derives from Perga (as keramos from kera=earth, clay), although a Turkish author Özhan Öztürk claims that ''Bergama'' means "high settlement/base" in

, while Argoma (modern Suluova) in

Amasya Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol ...

means "border settlement" at the Hittite- Kaskian border.

General features

Currently, known for its cotton, gold, and fine carpets, the city was the ancient Greek and Roman cultural center of

; its wealth of ancient ruins continues to attract considerable tourist interest today, although its famous Temple has been moved to the Pergamon Museum, in Berlin, Germany. Located on a promontory north of the Bakırçay river, inland from the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, Bergama has a population of about 102,000. The ruins of the ancient city of

lie to the north and west of the modern city; Roman Pergamon is believed to have sustained a population of approximately 150,000 at its height in the 1st century AD. Among Bergama's notable ruins are the Sanctuary of Asclepius (or ''

Asclepeion An Asclepieion ( ''Asklepieion''; Ἀσκλαπιεῖον in Doric dialect; Latin ''aesculapīum''), plurally Asclepieia, was a healing temple in ancient Greece (and in the wider Hellenistic and Roman world) that was dedicated to Asclepius, t ...

''), a temple dedicated to an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

god of healing, a Greek Theater, and the Red Basilica complex ("Kızıl Avlu" in Turkish) that straddles the Selinus River, a 2nd-century AD construction likely built by

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

. The town also features an archaeological museum.

History

The city of

was the capital of the

Attalid kingdom The Kingdom of Pergamon, Pergamene Kingdom, or Attalid kingdom was a Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; ). The ...

from 281 BC to 133 BC and then became part of the Roman province of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. It remained under Eastern Roman rule in the Middle Ages except for

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

invasion in 620s,

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

invasion in 715 and

Sultanate of Rum The Sultanate of Rum was a culturally Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim state, established over conquered Byzantine territories and peoples (Rum) of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks following their entry into Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. ...

rule between 1074 and 1097. It was conquered by

Karasids The Karasids or Karasid dynasty (; ), also known as the Principality of Karasi and Beylik of Karasi (''Karasi Beyliği'' or ''Karesi Beyliği'' ), was a Turkish Anatolian beylik (principality) in the area of classical Mysia (modern Balıkesir and ...

and then

Aydinids The Aydinids or Aydinid dynasty ( Modern Turkish: ''Aydınoğulları'', ''Aydınoğulları Beyliği'', Old Anatolian Turkish: آیدین اوغوللاری بیلیغی, also known as the Principality of Aydin and Beylik of Aydin (), was one ...

in 1302. It was part of

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1337. During Ottoman rule, it was part of the Sanjak of Karesi between 1337 and 1868, in Saruhan one (Its centre was

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

) between 1868 and 1877 and finally in

one. From 1867 until 1922, Bergama was part of Aidin Vilayet and had a mixed population of Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Jews. Many Greeks were expelled by Turks in 1914. During the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

, it was occupied by Greece on June 19, 1919, but came under Turkish control again on September 14, 1922. The Greek Army burnt down the city while retreating in 1922. The remaining Greek inhabitants were expelled in the population exchange and founded new communities in Lesvos and

Gallikos Gallikos () is a village and a former municipality in the Kilkis (regional unit), Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...

in Greece.

Climate

Bergama has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa''), with very hot, dry summers, and cool to mild, moderately wet winters.

Sights of interest within Bergama city

Selçuk Selçuk is a municipality and district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 317 km2, and its population is 38,151 (2022). The town Selçuk is located northeast of the ancient city of Ephesus, that was once home to the Temple of Artemis, o ...

Minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

built in the 14th century * Çukurhan

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

built in the 14th century * Taşhan caravanserai built in 1432 * Great Mosque of Bergama built in 1399 * Şadırvanlı

Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

built in 1550 * Zeus Altar (Now in Berlin Museum) * Acropolis - accessible by the Bergama Acropolis Gondola from the base station north east of the town * Asklepion *Halil Kayanın Evi Bergama is also known for its historic quarter, where old Ottoman houses in the traditional style are found.

Historic bridges

As an ancient settlement at the northern edge of the Bakırçay River valley, with tributary streams flowing down from the Madra Mountains, Bergama retains many historic bridges. The area next to the River Selinus (Bergama Çayı) at the base of the Pergamon Massif was developed extensively in Roman times, and the Selinus was canalized to allow construction along the river's course. By the reign of

(AD 117–138), development was so extensive that the Selinus was enclosed in two long tunnels where it runs in front of the Red Basilica, allowing a huge sacred precinct or '' temenos'', to be built on top. The resulting structure, the Pergamon Bridge (sometimes known as Musluk Köprusu, survives to this day. Each of the tunnels spans ; the northern one has a length of and the southern . The entrance to the structure is at approximately and the exit at . Other ancient bridges in Bergama include: * The Ulucami Bridge, with two unequal spans. * The Tabak Bridge, with two roughly equal spans. * The Üçkemer Bridge, whose name means "three arches", a longer bridge approached on the south end by a ramp parallel to the river.

Allianoi

Allianoi is an ancient spa settlement, with remains dating predominantly from the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

period (2nd century AD) located near the city of Bergama (ancient

) in

. The site is at a distance of to the northeast of Bergama, on the road to the neighboring town of

. One particularity of Allianoi is its being a very recent historical discovery. It was mentioned only once in the 2nd century by the orator and medicinal writer

Aelius Aristides Publius Aelius Aristides Theodorus (; 117–181 AD) was a Greek orator and author considered to be a prime example as a member of the Second Sophistic, a group of celebrated and highly influential orators who flourished from the reign of Nero unt ...

in his "Hieroi Logoi" (''Sacred Tales'') (III.1), one of the key sources for the knowledge on the science of healing as it was understood at that time. No other writer of antiquity nor any

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

finding known had referred to Allianoi.

Kozak Plateau

Kozak Plateau (''Kozak Yaylası'') is a high plain at an altitude varying between and starting at a distance of from Bergama center in the northern direction. The plain is a favorite regional excursion area, famed for its hand-made textile products and pine forests whose

pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are traded locall ...

is also extensively exported.

Ovacık gold mine

Recently, Bergama also made headlines in the context of controversies based on environmental concerns over the gold mine in Ovacık village.

Wind turbine manufacturing

LM Wind Power LM Wind Power (formerly LM Glasfiber) is a Danish manufacturer of wind turbine blades, and a subsidiary of GE Vernova. History LM Wind Power was founded in 1940, as ''Lunderskov Møbelfabrik'' (Lunderskov furniture factory) in the small town Lun ...

, a division of GE Renewable Energy, opened a

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

blade manufacturing facility in Bergama in 2017. The first blades it produced were used at the Bodangora Wind Farm in New South Wales, Australia.

Bergama Carpets

Bergama is also renowned for its high quality carpets. There are approximately eighty villages that still weave Bergama carpets. The history of carpet weaving in Bergama dates back to the 11th century - when Turkish migration started to the area. Bergama carpets have almost always been woven with wool - an attestation to the pastoral life style of the Yörük clans populating the area at the time. Although the history of carpet weaving in Bergama dates back to the 11th century, most surviving carpets do not age more than 200 years - mainly due to their wool content. The oldest surviving Bergama carpets can be found in mosques in and around Bergama, as well as the archaeological museum in Bergama.

Bergama Festival

Between June 18–24, Bergama celebrates its annual festival "Bergama Kermesi", which is already running into its seventy-second anniversary. Bergama Kermesi is a major local event, generally celebrated with the attendance of Turkish celebrities, singers, players, poets, and writers.

Composition

There are 135

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Bergama District: * Ahmetbeyler * Akçenger * Alacalar * Alhatlı * Alibeyli * Armağanlar * Aşağıbey * Aşağıcuma * Aşağıılgındere * Aşağıkırıklar * Atatürk * Atçılar * Atmaca * Avunduk * Avunduruk * Ayaskent * Ayvatlar * Aziziye * Bahçelievler * Balaban * Barbaros * Bayramcılar * Bekirler * Bölcek * Bozköy * Bozyerler * Çakırlar * Çalıbahçe * Çaltıkoru * Çamavlu * Çamköy * Çamoba * Çamtepe * Çeltikçi * Cevaplı * Çitköy * Çobanlar * Çürükbağ * Dağıstan * Demircidere * Dereköy * Doğancı * Durmuşlar * Eğiller * Eğrigöl * Ertuğrul * Fatih * Ferizler * Fevzipaşa * Gaylan * Gaziosmanpaşa * Gazipaşa * Göbeller * Göçbeyli * Gökçeyurt * Gültepe * Güneşli * Hacıhamzalar * Hacılar * Halilağalar * Hamzalısüleymaniye * Hisarköy * İkizler * Ilgıncaber * İncecikler * İneşir * İnkılap * İslamsaray * İsmailli * Kadıköy * Kadriye * Kaleardı * Kapıkaya * Kaplanköy * Karahıdırlı * Karalar * Karaveliler * Kaşıkçı * Katrancı * Kıranlı * Kırcalar * Kızıltepe * Kocahaliller * Kocaköy * Koyuneli * Kozluca * Kurfallı * Kurtuluş * Maltepe * Maruflar * Muratlar * Narlıca * Okçular * Öksüzler * Örenli * Örlemiş * Oruçlar * Ovacık * Paşaköy * Pınarköy * Pirveliler * Rahmanlar * Sağancı * Sarıcalar * Sarıcaoğlu * Sarıdere * Seklik * Selçuk * Sindel * Süleymanlı * Talatpaşa * Tavukçukuru * Teğelti * Tekkedere * Tepeköy * Terzihaliller * Tırmanlar * Topallar * Turabey * Üçtepe * Ulucami * Ürkütler * Yalnızdam * Yalnızev * Yenikent * Yeniler * Yerlitahtacı * Yortanlı * Yukarıada * Yukarıbey * Yukarıcuma * Yukarıkırıklar * Zafer * Zağnos * Zeytindağ

International relations

Bergama is twinned with: *

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

, Netherlands * Asenovgrad, Bulgaria *

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

, Lebanon *

Böblingen Böblingen (; ) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was founded by Count Wilhelm von Tübingen-Bö ...

, Germany * Lefka, Cyprus *

Nea Peramos Nea Peramos (), before the 1990s ''Megalo Pefko'' (), is a suburb and a former municipality in West Attica, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Megara, of which it is a municipal unit. Geography Nea Pe ...

, Greece *

Orhei Orhei (), also formerly known as Orgeev (), is a city, municipality and the administrative centre of Orhei District in the Moldova, Republic of Moldova, with a population of 21,065. Orhei is approximately north of the capital, Chișinău. Hist ...

, Moldova * Pergamos, Cyprus *

Piatra Neamț Piatra Neamț (; ; ) is the capital city of Neamț County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in northeastern Romania. Because of its very privileged location in the Divisions of the Carpathians, Eastern Carpathian mountains, it is con ...

, Romania * Rosoman, North Macedonia *

Sanski Most Sanski Most ( sr-cyrl, Сански Мост, ) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Sana River in northwes ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina * Yehud, Israel

References

External links

*
Rosa Valderrama, "Pergamum"
brief history
Photographic tour of old and new Pergamon, including the museum

Pergamon altar in Berlin
{{Authority control Cities in Turkey Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Roman sites in Turkey Populated places in İzmir Province Districts of İzmir Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey