Aydın Province

Aydın Province (Turkish: Aydın ili) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of approx. 150,000 (2000). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.

History

Aydın was founded by the ancient Thracians and was once known as Tralles. The area is an earthquake zone and the city was built and rebuilt by a succession of Spartans, Phrygians, Ionians, Lydians, Persians and Ancient Romans. In 1186 the Seljuk Turks took control of the area, followed by the Anatolian beylik of the Aydinids. During this period the town was named Aydın Güzelhisar, and was brought into the Ottoman Empire in 1426.

Geography

Neighboring provinces are Manisa to the north east, İzmir to the north, Denizli to the east, Muğla to the south.

The central and western parts of the province are fertile plains watered by the largest river in the Aegean region the Büyük Menderes River, with the Aydın Mountains to the north and the Menteşe Mountains to the south. The western end of the province is the Aegean coast with Lake Bafa a major feature of the Menderes delta area. The climate is typical of the Aegean region, very hot in summer. The Germencik region contains a number of hot springs.