Introduction
For the island in Lake Van, see Kuş Island.
District and municipality in Aydın, TurkeyKuşadasıDistrict and municipalityWide-angle view of Kuşadası downtownStatue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the centreThe shoreline with the Pigeons in Hand statueDilek Peninsula-Büyük Menderes Delta National ParkA forest area by the sea on the Dilek Peninsula
LogoMap showing Kuşadası District in Aydın ProvinceKuşadasıLocation in TurkeyShow map of TurkeyKuşadasıKuşadası (Turkey Aegean)Show map of Turkey AegeanCoordinates: 37°51′35″N 27°15′35″E / 37.85972°N 27.25972°E / 37.85972; 27.25972CountryTurkeyProvinceAydınGovernment • MayorÖmer Günel (CHP)Area265 km2 (102 sq mi)Population (2022)130,835 • Density494/km2 (1,280/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)Postal code09400Area code0256Websitewww.kusadasi.bel.tr
Kuşadası (Turkish: [ˈkuʃadasɯ]) is a municipality and district of Aydın Province, Turkey. Its area is 265 km2, and its population is 130,835 (2022). It is a large resort town on the Aegean coast. Kuşadası is 95 km (59 mi) south of İzmir, and about 60 km (37 mi) west of Aydın. The municipality's primary industry is tourism. The mayor of the district is Ömer Günel.
Etymology
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Güvercinada ("Pigeon Island") derives its name in a similar fashion to Kuşadası ("Bird Island").
The name Kuşadası comes from the Turkish words kuş (bird) and ada (island), as the island has the shape of a bird's head (when seen from the sea). It was known as Ephesus Neopolis (Greek: Ἔφεσος Νεόπολις) during the Byzantine era, and later as Scala Nova or Scala Nuova under the Genoese and Venetians. Kuş Adası was adopted in its place during the Ottoman period at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, the citizens of Kuşadası often shorten the town's name to Ada.
History
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Antiquity[edit]
The area has been a centre of art and culture since some of the earliest recorded history, and has been settled by many civilizations since being founded by the Leleges people in 3000 BC. Later settlers include the Aeolians in the 11th century BC and Ionians in the 9th. Originally, seamen and traders built a number of settlements along the coastline, including Neopolis.
An outpost of Ephesus in ancient Ionia, known as Pygela (Πύγελα) was located in the area between the Büyük Menderes (Maeander) and Gediz (Hermos) rivers. The original Neopolis, is thought to have been founded on the nearby point of Yılancı Burnu. Later settlements were probably built on the hillside of Pilavtepe, in the district called Andızkulesi today. Kuşadası was a minor port frequented by vessels trading along the Aegean coast. In antiquity it was overshadowed by Ephesus, until Ephesus' harbor silted up. From the 7th century BC onwards the coast was ruled by Lydians from their capital at Sardis, then from 546 BC the Persians, and from 334 BC, along with all of Anatolia, the coast was conquered by Alexander the Great. From that point on the coastal cities in Anatolia became a centre of Hellenistic culture.
Rome and Christianity[edit]
The Roman Empire took possession of the coast in the 2nd century BC and made it their provincial capital in the early years of Christianity. Saint John the Evangelist and (according to Roman Catholic sacred tradition) the Virgin Mary both came to live in the area, which in the Christian era became known as "Ania".
As Byzantine, Venetian and Genoese shippers began to trade along the coast, the port was re-founded (by the name of Scala Nova or Scala Nuova, meaning "New Port"), a garrison was placed on the island, and the town centre shifted from the hillside to the coast.
The city had a Jewish population as early as 1307, when a number of Jews were expelled from Scala Nova to Smyrna. Following the Expulsion of Jews from Spain, 250 Jewish families went to Scala Nova. Plague and cholera epidemics in the 18th and 19th centuries drastically reduced the population to around 65 families by 1865. In 1905, the Jewish Encyclopedia indicated that there were 33 families living in the city, some of them immigrants from Morea following the Greek Revolution.
The Turkish era[edit]
Atatürk Memorial in Kuşadası
Long afterwards, in 1834, the castle and garrison on the island were rebuilt and expanded, becoming the focus of the town. This was to such an extent that people began to refer to the whole town as Kuşadası (bird island). However, in the 19th century, trade began to decline in favor of other nearby cities with the opening of the İzmir-Selçuk-Aydın railway, which bypassed Kuşadası. From 1867 until 1922, Kuşadası was part of Aidin Vilayet.
During the Turkish War of Independence, Kuşadası was occupied from 1919 to 1922, first by Italian troops between 14 May 1919 and 24 May 1922, and then by Greek troops. The Turkish forces led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk eventually gained control of the city on September 7, 1922.
After the establishment of the Turkish Republic, the Greek population was exchanged for Turks as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. The Greeks founded new settlements such as Nea Efesos in Greece. Kusadasi remained a district in İzmir Province until its transfer to Aydın Province in 1957.
