Aydin
Produces nearly all of Turkey's 50,000 tons of annual dried figs, historically called 'Smyrna figs' after the export port. The city was destroyed in 1922 and rebuilt. By 2026, citrus cultivation will diversify beyond fig monoculture.
Aydın produces nearly all of Turkey's 50,000 annual tons of dried figs—a monoculture so complete that the global market historically called them 'Smyrna figs' after the export port, though the fruit has always grown in Aydın's Büyük Menderes valley.
The Büyük Menderes River—the largest in the Aegean region—creates the fertile plains that enable Aydın's agricultural dominance. The Aydın Mountains to the north and Menteşe Mountains to the south channel water and moderate climate. Ancient Ionia flourished here; the name 'Menderes' derives from the classical Maeander River, whose winding course gave English the word 'meander.' Ottoman incorporation came in 1390 when Bayezid I absorbed the territory. After the 1402 Battle of Ankara, Timur briefly restored local Aydinid rule before Murad II reclaimed the region for the Ottomans.
The Turkish War of Independence marked Aydın with destruction. Greek occupation during 1919-1922 ended with liberation on September 5, 1922—but fire consumed the city, requiring complete reconstruction. The modern city emerged from ashes, oriented around fig cultivation that had defined the region for centuries. International markets called the product 'Smyrna figs' because İzmir (ancient Smyrna) handled wholesale trade and exports, though Aydın—particularly the Germencik district—grew the fruit.
Today Aydın's agricultural specialization extends beyond figs. Olives from Memecik, Manzanilla, and Gemlik varieties supply oil production. Chestnuts grow in the highlands. Cotton supports textile manufacturing. Orange and tangerine cultivation has expanded in recent years, diversifying beyond the traditional fig monoculture. The coastal districts of Kuşadası and Didim attract Mediterranean tourism, providing service-sector employment.
The province's 1,148,241 residents (2022) occupy 8,116 square kilometers between mountains and sea. The Aegean climate brings intensely hot summers that dry figs naturally—a climate adaptation that has enabled continuous production for millennia. Aydın now markets domestically as 'Aydın figs' rather than under the old İzmir-branded 'Smyrna' name.
By 2026, Aydın will continue exporting dried figs while citrus cultivation expands—a province learning that even successful monocultures benefit from diversification.