Introduction
District and municipality in Muğla, TurkeyMarmarisDistrict and municipalityMarmaris harbour
LogoMap showing Marmaris District in Muğla ProvinceMarmarisLocation in TurkeyShow map of TurkeyMarmarisMarmaris (Turkey Aegean)Show map of Turkey AegeanCoordinates: 36°51′12″N 28°16′15″E / 36.85333°N 28.27083°E / 36.85333; 28.27083CountryTurkeyProvinceMuğlaGovernment • MayorAcar Ünlü (CHP)Area906 km2 (350 sq mi)Elevation7 m (23 ft)Population (2022)97,818 • Density108/km2 (280/sq mi)Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)Postal code48700Area code0252Websitewww.marmaris.bel.tr
Marmaris (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈmaɾmaɾis]) is a municipality and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. Its area is 906 km2, and its population is 97,818 (2022). It is a port city and tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, along the shoreline of the Turkish Riviera.
Although Marmaris is known for its honey, its main source of income is international tourism. It is located between two intersecting sets of mountains by the sea, though following a construction boom in the 1980s, little is left of the sleepy fishing village that Marmaris was until the late 20th century.
As an adjunct to the tourism industry, Marmaris is also a centre for sailing and diving, possessing two major and several smaller marinas. It is a popular wintering location for hundreds of cruising boaters.
Dalaman Airport is an hour's drive to the east.
Ferries operate from Marmaris to Rhodes and Symi in Greece.
Etymology
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During the period of the Beylik of Menteşe; the city became known as Marmaris, a name derived from the Greek màrmaron (marble; Turkish: mermer), in reference to the rich marble deposits in the region, and the prominent role of the city's port in the marble trade.
History
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Marmaris Castle
Antiquity[edit]
It is not certain when Marmaris was founded but in the 6th century BC the site was known as Physkos (Ancient Greek: Φύσκος or Φοῦσκα, Phouska) in Greek, also Latinised as Physcus. It was in a part of Caria that belonged to Rhodes and contained a magnificent harbour and a grove sacred to Leto.
According to the historian Herodotus, there had been a castle on the site since 3000 BC.[citation needed] The area eventually came under the control of the Persian Empire. In 334 BC, Caria was invaded by Alexander the Great and Physkos Castle was besieged.[citation needed] The town's 600 inhabitants realised that they had no chance against the invading army and burned their valuables in the castle before escaping to the hills. Aware of the strategic value of the castle, the invaders repaired the destroyed sections to house a few hundred soldiers before the main army returned home.[citation needed]
Ottoman period[edit]
Map of Marmaris by Piri Reis
Karaca in Marmaris
In the later Middle Ages, Marmaris formed part of the Beylik of Menteşe.[citation needed] Then In the mid-fifteenth century, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror conquered and united the various tribes and kingdoms of Anatolia and the Balkans, and acquired Constantinople. The Knights of St. John, based in Rhodes, had fought the Ottoman Empire for many years and managed to withstand the onslaughts of Mehmed II too.[citation needed] When Suleiman the Magnificent set out to conquer Rhodes, Marmaris served as a base for the Ottoman navy; Marmaris Castle was rebuilt from scratch in 1522 to accommodate an Ottoman army garrison.[citation needed]
In 1798, Admiral Nelson assembled his fleet in the harbour at Marmaris before setting sail for Egypt and the Battle of the Nile which put an end to Napoleon's ambitions in the Mediterranean.
In 1801, a British force of 120 ships under Admiral Keith and 14,000 troops under General Abercromby anchored in the bay for eight weeks, using the time to train and resupply ready their mission to end the French campaign in Egypt and Syria.
Modern times[edit]
Throughout Ottoman rule, Marmaris retained its Greek population up until the end of World War I. In the aftermath of the 1919–1922 Greco-Turkish War and the subsequent population exchange, the Greek population of Marmaris left for Greece and the town was settled by Turkish migrants from the Balkans. The two Fethiye earthquakes of 1957 almost completely destroyed the city. Only the castle and the historic buildings surrounding it were left undamaged.[citation needed]
Renovation work on the castle started in 1979. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, it was converted into a museum with seven galleries, the largest of them used as an exhibition hall. The courtyard is full of seasonal flowers. Built at the same time as the castle, there is also a small Ottoman caravanserai built by Süleyman's mother Ayşe Hafsa Sultan in the bazaar.[citation needed]
There were many forest fires in the early 2020s.
