Fire of Manisa facts for kids
The Fire of Manisa refers to the burning of the city of Manisa in Turkey by the Greek army. It happened during the Greco Turkish War of 1919-1922. The town was burned between 5 and 8 September 1922. More than 10,000 buildings were destroyed. This was about 90 percent of the town. Thousands of people died in the flames or were shot dead by the Greeks.
The events
The town of Manisa was part of the Ottoman Empire. Turks and Greeks were living there together. The Greeks wanted Manisa to become part of Greece. In May 1919 a Greek army occupied the town. Then there was war between Greeks and Turks for three years. In the summer of 1922 Turks defeated the Greeks. The Greeks fled to the Aegean Sea to be transferred to Greece. During their retreat the Greeks burned towns and villages of Turks. Manisa too was burned down. The local Turks fled to the mountains. Most of the town was destroyed and later rebuilt. Some Turkish authors wrote about their experiences in Turkish literature.
Images for kids
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A view of Manisa before the fire. Photograph taken from the south in northerly direction and showing the area around the Cami-i Kebir neighborhood with the Sultan and Muradiye imperial Ottoman mosques in front. A small area around these mosques were saved from the fire.
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A picture of a street after the fire.
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Map of western Anatolia and location of Manisa and other towns.
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A view from the hills above the town.
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Picture taken from the north in southerly direction, showing Mount Sipylus and in the distance the Ulu Camii, grand mosque, built in 1366.
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The reconstruction of the burned Municipal building.
See also
In Spanish: Incendio de Manisa para niños
