Germencik is located in the middle of the fertile Büyük Menderes plain, inland from the Aegean coastal town of Kuşadası, on the Aydın-İzmir highway from the city ofAydın. It is also the junction of the İzmir-Aydın-Afyonkarahisar and Ortaklar-Söke railway lines. Until the 1950s the plain was a swampy area subject to regular flooding and Germencik grew as people moved from the wet lands into the town. Today Germencik itself is a small town of 12,000 people, astride the Izmir-Aydın highway, providing high schools, a hospital, a library and other services for the surrounding district. There are more health centres and primary schools in the villages of the district. The economy of Germencik depends on agriculture, the main crops are figs and olives but cotton, sesame and other crops are also grown here. Of the 374.39 km2 total area of Germencik 255.8 km2 is planted and of the remainder 106.23 km2 is forest, 6.65 km2 is meadow/pasture, 5.19 km2 is unused and 0.52 km2 is lake or swamp. In 1998 16,950 tons of cotton were produced from 56.5 km2, 7,500 tons of figs from 87.22 km2 and 44,170 tons of olives from 92.92 km2. Sheep and cattle are raised too and there is a small dairy industry as well as bee-keeping and some poultry farming. Industry in the area is mainly the processing of the local produce to make tahini, halva, olive oil etc. The people live the traditional Turkish rural lifestyle with strong family ties etc. The women generally have their heads covered and wear long skirts.
History
Germencik is an old settlement, first founded by 'Hıdır Bey' of the Aydinid Principality under the name "Değirmencik". Later, it has also been called "İğneabad". The town obtained district's status in 1948.
See Magnesia on the Maeander for more details of this city, founded by Ancient Greeks from Thessaly and in its day a key trading partner of Priene, Ephesus, Tralles and other major Aegean cities. The ruins have been excavated and include a theatre, temples and an Ancient Roman gymnasium, and baths. Magnesia was commercially and strategically at an important location in the triangle of Prien, Ephesus and Tralles. The first excavations at the archaeological site were made in 1891 by Carl Humann of the Berlin Museum. 21 Month long excavations revealed the theatre, Artemis temple, agora, Zeus temple and prytaneion. Excavations resumed at the site, after almost 100 years, in 1984, by Prof. Dr. Orhan Bingöl on assignment from and . Findings at the archaeological site are now displayed at museums of Istanbul, as well as Berlin and Paris, where they were illegally smuggled. The most important and the biggest piece smuggled outside Turkey is the whole façade of the Zeus temple, which is currently in possession of the Berlin Bergama Museum. The Turkish government has made several unsuccessful attempts to date, to return it.
The hot springs in the villages of Alangüllü, Çamur, and Gümüşlü, all 10–12 km north of Germencik.
