Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province. Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of Izmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in quantity and variety of agricultural production. The city of Manisa is also widely visited, especially during March and September festivals, the former festival being the continuation of a five hundred year old "Mesir Paste Distributon" tradition, and also for the nearby Mount Spil national park. It is also a departure point for other visitor attractions of international acclaim which are located nearby within Manisa's depending region, such as Sardes and Alasehir (ancient Philadelphia) inland.
One such likeable eccentric of the 20th century was Ahmet Bedevi, the Tarzan of Manisa or "Manisa Tarzani", a figure who became a symbol for the city by contributing to raising consciousness for protection of the environment across Turkey and a reference especially since the 1960s when an importation reforestation effort covering thousands of hectares was made in and around Manisa.The Muradiye Mosque of the 16th century was built by the great architect Mimar Sinan (and completed by Sedefhar Mehmet Aga), and the Murad Bey Medresse now houses the Archaeological Museum of Manisa. Manisa celebrates the Vintage Festival every September, when the fruits of the vineyards are celebrated. The vineyards surround the city and provide dry fruit for export from Izmir, and grapes for wine making. Within the 694, Manisa center is in the lead with 238 enterprises engaged in industrial production, with the depending centers of Turgutlu (125 industrial enterprises), Akhisar (100), Salihli (78) closely contending, and Saruhanli (33), Alasehir (30), Kula (28), Demirci (20) and Soma (17) following.
The choice of Manisa as production base in the eighties by the Turkish consumer electronics and white goods giant Vestel was an important boost for the present-day level of sophistication. Today Manisa's economic activities are far from being confined to a sole company. Manisa registered roughly 200m US Dollars in FDI in 2004 and well-known businesses such as Italian white goods company Indesit, German electrical goods company Bosch, UK packaging company Rexam and Imperial Tobacco of the UK have invested in Manisa.
The city also has a football team, Manisaspor, which plays in the Turkish Premier Super League under the home colors of red and white and away colors of black and white. Manisaspor's home ground is the Manisa 19 Mayis Stadi.
