A JOURNEY INTO THE PAST IN MANISA

Manisa, one of the greatest and most developed cities in the Aegean, presents countless travel routes with its famed sultana grape, "mesir" paste, delicious food, thousands of years of history, and natural beauties.

Manisa, one of the greatest and most developed cities in the Aegean, presents countless travel routes with its famed sultana grape, “mesir” paste, delicious food, thousands of years of history, and natural beauties.

Every time I recall Manisa, the wild horses that I met on Mount Sipylus come to my mind. I saw them running freely in nature the first time I arrived in Manisa. Setup between Mount Sipylus and River Gediz, Manisa with its rich history and unprecedented beauties will always be one of the cities that I like the most. Evliya Celebi described it as such, “This plain is an abundant land full of orchards and vegetable gardens, villages full of purple basil, roses, and flowers. When you have this view from the windows of the houses you get invigorated.” Manisa today preserves its former glory.

As you get closer to Manisa on the Izmir highway, you get the feeling that the two cities are merged. Located on the junction of trade routes, Manisa with its abundant lands has been the home of many civilizations. After the Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians, Macedonians, Romans, and Byzantines, the Anatolian Beyliks and the Ottomans experienced their heyday on these lands. As you explore Manisa it is possible to come by the traces of these civilizations at every step. To pursue the trails of the past, I start my exploration from the bazaar.

Manisa played an important role in the custom of the administration of “sanjak” divisions by the Ottoman sultans’ sons and was, thus, called the “City of Shahzades” Including the likes of Murad II, Mehmed the Conqueror, Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, Murad III, Mehmed III, and Mustafa I who later all rose to the throne, a total of 16 sultans’ sons acted as governors of the Manisa Sanjak. The city met with the Turks in 1313 when Saruhan Bey conquered these lands. Ulu Mosque and its madrasah, Mawlawi Lodge, and Çukur Bathhouse date back to the Sarukhanids. After visiting the tomb of Saruhan Bey, I head to Ulu Mosque and its madrasah. Built in 1366, the mosque is one of the oldest in Manisa.

The Ottomans constructed unique buildings in this city, where many sons of reigning

sultans were brought up. As I visit the Muradiye Religious Complex, it surprises me to see traces of architect Sinan. Sinan designed the Muradiye Religious Complex, his sole work in the Aegean. It was constructed at first by architect Mahmut Agha, and then by architect Sedefkâr Mehmed Agha. The madrasah and the almshouse of the mosque, one of the most elegant examples of classical Ottoman architecture, serve as a museum today.

I can’t omit visiting Manisa Museum on my way. The building, which was built in 1558 as a madrasa under the aegis of Murad III, houses various archeological and ethnographic findings. As I tread the streets that are adorned with palm trees, I have a cranberry sherbet to quench my thirst. It is not the kind that is diluted from concentrate –there are pieces of whole fruit in it. With the refreshment of the sherbet, I head towards the Sultaniye Religious Complex. Ornamented with red and white stones, the mosque was commissioned by Ayşe Hafsa Sultana, the spouse of Sultan Selim I. Sultan (Mesir) Mosque is also famous for its distribution of “mesir” paste.

“Mesir” paste has a past dating back 500 years and is identified with Manisa. In 1552, when Ayşe Hafsa Sultana, the mother of Suleiman the Magnificent, fell ill in Manisa, the famous doctor of the era, Merkez Efendi was called to attend to her. The paste he made by mixing 41 different spices healed the sultana. When the sultana got better, she wanted this paste to be distributed to the

public for everyone’s benefit.

From that day onwards, the “mesir” paste is prepared and dispensed from the dome and the minarets of the Mesir Mosque to the public every Nauruz.

Taking a break, I taste the famous kebab of Manisa. Right beside the governor’s residence, the restaurant called Arif Usta’nın Yeri is a small shop where you can have Manisa kebab. Running this place for the last 26 years, Arif Usta says that he makes his kebab from the animal’s back which is exposed to the sun. Prepared with 25% lamb and 75% veal, the kebab is served with a butter sauce, yoghurt, and pita bread. A Persian wanderer introduced kebab, which has a history dating back 150 years, to Manisa. Blessed thistle, stuffed artichokes, purslane, stuffed green bell peppers, black-eyed peas, tarator (a sauce with garlic, walnuts, and bread crumbs), pumpkin sinkonta, “simit ekmeği” (bread with the aroma of bay leaves leavened with chickpeas), “mantar tatlısı” (mushroom-shaped semolina sweets), “zerde” (saffron rice pudding) are Manisa’s most distinguished recipes. After the meal, I have my coffee in the courtyard of Yeni Han.

As I stroll along the street, Mount Sipylus catches my eye from time to time. To be able to see once again the wild horses I mentioned at the beginning, I head towards the open plains. The wild horses that have made the mountain their home are the subjects of a custom that was kept alive in Anatolia for many years. When winter came, the villagers

released their horses, which worked for them in spring and summer, into the wild in order to avoid the trouble of feeding them. If they managed to survive through the winter, when spring came, they once again chose one of them according to their needs and laid claim to it. With the use of tractors becoming widespread after the ´70s, the horses that were released into the wild were no longer reclaimed. Despite not being a part of the wildlife, these domesticated horses got used to coping on their own. Wild horses can be found on Mount Yunt in Manisa, Kocayayla in Afyonkarahisar, the Karadağ region in Karaman, Kayseri, Muş, Karacaören, Madenşehri, and Üçkuyu.

Mount Sipylus, which Manisa leans against, was declared a national park in 1969. More than 100 endemic plants and 70 healing herbs have been

registered here. This is also the homeland of the tulip known as Sipylus tulip or Manisa tulip. These are the tulips that lend their name to an era of the Ottoman Empire. With its recreational and picnic areas, bungalows, walking trails, and climbing routes, Mount Sipylus is a corner of paradise.

As I descend Sipylus, famous for its legends and beauty, I drop by the Weeping Rock aka Niobe’s Rock. Legend has it that Phrygian Niobe married Amphion, the king of Thebes, and had twelve children. Her childhood friend, Leto, had two children with Zeus. Praising her own children all the time and disparaging Leto for only having two, Niobe got on Leto’s wrong side one day and got her children to kill all of Niobe’s offspring. Wanting to alleviate her pain, Zeus turned Niobe into a stone on the slope of the mountain.

As I wander in the abundant land of the Gediz Valley, I come across the famed sultana of Manisa. I’m here at the right season: bunches of grapes weigh on the branches. This seedless grape known also as sultana is the most valuable product that grows in this land. Manisians are quite ambitious when it comes to the sultana: they claim to be Turkey’s and the world’s greatest production center.

I drop by Gölmarmara Lake but it seems a bit dried, it requires attention. One of the purposes of my visit is to see the Bin Tepe (Thousand Hills) Lydian burial mounds located south of Gölmarmara. There are 119 burial mounds spread over the area between Sardis and Gölmarmara. The size of the tombs are representative of the buried person’s social status.

I’m quite excited to visit the famed ancient city of Sardis, renowned for its urban planning. In Sardis, the capital of the

Lydian Kingdom which minted the first golden coin in history, I stand among the buildings, most of which are still standing. One of

the seven important churches that are cited in the Bible is in Sardis, and two others, Philadelphia and Thyatira, are in Manisa.

My last stop is Kula, aka the “Burnt Land.” You might think that this area, reachable by path, looks like nothing you have ever seen before. The black stones around it seem to clarify why it is called “Burnt Land.” Thousands of years ago, this was a place where volcanoes, big and small, were active. In time, they became extinct but they left behind this coal black scenery. After years of efforts, the region was granted a geopark certificate in 2011. I head towards the center to see Kula’s historical houses. I admire the conscientious craftsmanship employed in building the houses. The eaves of the roofs that cover the streets are embellished with decorations. As I stroll along the streets that have preserved their appearances, I strike a conversation with the ladies that are knitting at their doorsteps. In Manisa, I seem to travel back into the past. Leaving the places I could not explore this time for another trip, I begin my preparations to return home.