Ödemiş


Ödemiş is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey, as well as the name of its central town, located 113 km southeast of the city of İzmir.
About 4 km north of Ödemiş town are the ruins of Hypaepa. The historical importance of the region is also reflected by the small town of Birgi, east of Ödemiş, which was the capital of the Anatolian Turkish Beylik of Aydın and it has outstanding examples of Seljuq and Ottoman architecture. Birgi has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list since 1994, and points of interest here include Çakırağa Mansion, İmam-i Birgivi Medrese and Sultanşah Mausoleum.
Ödemiş is famous for its potatoes, which has the best quality in Turkey, as well as its "Ödemiş Kebab". The city is the biggest potato grower of Turkey with its annual 350.000 tons of potato production.

Name

There are various theories about the origin of the name Ödemiş, Greek Οδεμήσιο. One theory holds that it is an alteration of the Greek personal name Εὕδαιμος, meaning "Happy". Another theory derives the name from that of the Greek goddess Artemis. The name may also come from Utamesh, Turkish Ötemiş, the name of one of the khans of the Kazan Khanate. In present-day Turkish, ödemiş means "paid".

Transport

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