İşte 1995'teki "tarihi" Akhisar web sayfası,
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Here is "historical" Akhisar web page in 1995, close
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This page is under an endless construction
/// Coordinates: 38.92N 27.85E /// Elevation: 93m /// Population: ca 100,000 ///
Location
The city of Akhisar is located in Western Anatolia, Turkey, approximately 50km. from the Aegean coast. It is 84 km northeast of Izmir, or about 485 km west of Ankara (the capital). The town is centered on a rather flat level ground at 90-100m above sea level, on a plate extending in N-S direction of about 2400 sq. km. The surrounding land is called "Akhisar Plain" and has small hills and mountains towards the North, peaking at 1295m. at Mount Görenez. The fertile land is naturally irrigated by numerous rivers. The land resides on a main fracture zone which explains many local earthquakes of moderate level.
Climate
The climate exhibits a typical mediterranean characteristics, with maximum rainfall in autumn, winter and hot, long summer seasons. Average annual rainfall is about 610mm. Ambient temperature averages at 10C in winter and 30C in summer.
History
The town was the site of one of the original Seven Churches of Asia Minor (ancient name Thyatira). Some ruins of a collonaded road and a few Ottoman samples remained till today.
The city was founded by Lydians and named as Pelopio. One of the generals of Alexander the Great, took over the control of the city in the 3rd century B.C. and changed its name to Thyatira. During the following centuries, Pergamum became the ruler of the city. After 100 B.C. the Roman influence was very apparent. The earliest settlers of the city were the Jews. It was lying on a mostly flat land and was very hard to defend, so for centuries it witnessed many battles.
In ancient times, the most important trade routes in Anatolia was passing through Akhisar and the town was an important center of activity. "The King's Road", running to Persia and trade routes between Ephesus and Cappadochia were just examples of those. Towards the year 1100 A.D. Turkish penetration to Asia Minor was taking place. The city is under Turkish rule since then. The coin findings imply the Lydian, Hellenistic, Roman Empire and Turkish periods in the region. The Ottoman documentation states that Akhisar was an important county in 16th century. According to the official records, in 1927 Akhisar was one of the big cities in Anatolia with a downtown population of 18,026.
Today, most ancient ruins are confined in "Tepemezari" area, downtown. There is also a tomb with hellenistic ruins. This small hill now hosts the City Hospital and its garden. Some houseware findings also reveal that there were older settlements going well back to 3,000 B.C. There was also a castle surrounding the hill, but nothing is now apparent from this castle with white-painted towers. (Hence the name Ak = white + hisar = castle). Among other important buildings still standing today and chiefly belonging to Ottoman period are "Ulu cami" (the Great Mosque, formerly a church), "Pasa Camii" and a few Turkish baths.
Economy
Today, Akhisar is a modern city with a downtown population of about 100,000. The economy depends heavily on agriculture. The city resides on the main highway between Izmir and Istanbul, two important ports of Asia Minor. Easy access to big commerce centers generally hides high unemployment rate resulting from the shrinking agriculture dependent economy. Fortunately, there is a significantly increasing trend in industrial investment in near surroundings.
The region is especially famous for its tobacco fields. Nearly one-fourth of total tobacco production in Aegean Region (Western Anatolia) comes from the vastness extending in N-S direction along evergreen pine forests. Akhisar's tobacco is internationally well known as the most important component of oriental flavor and mostly exported to US companies. Among the secondary agricultural products are wheat, cotton, grapes and melon.
Ethnic Structure
Almost all of the town residents are Turkish and a great percentage have their origins in Balkans and Thrace region, where Turkish rule was dominant for nearly 600 years. These people immigrated to the region mainly because of the Balkan wars in 1912 and other ethnic problems in the past decades.
Facilities
A number of fine restaurants and hotels usually attract tourists travelling from Istanbul to Izmir or South Aegean and/or Mediterranean regions as good refreshment and accomodation alternatives.
to be completed...
(c) 1995 Mehmet Un