Abstract:

In order to determine national heritage and maintain the continuity of cultural values in the rapidly globalizing world, spreading policies should be applied instead of protection policies. Continuity of cultural products can only be ensured by transferring them from local to national and national to global arenas. In this respect, image of the cities should be specified, and the existing historical, geographical and cultural accumulations should be determined and evaluated. Manisa, mentioned as “The City of the Sultan’s Sons”, like Amasya and Kütahya, is rich in terms of not only its geographical and cultural structure but also its history. Manisa is one of the cities which has a composed city culture and urban images with its historical sites, geographical feature, famous food, life styles and traditions, and many important people in Turkish history grew up in this city. Hosting a variety of historical heritage such as Sardes, the Lydian city whose inhabitants were the first to use money in the world, Philadelphia and Aigai ancient cities. Manisa is also the home of historical, geographical and cultural assets such as the Crying Rock (Niobe), the Goddess of Fertility (Kybele), Mount Sipylus, tulip of Manisa, sultana, cherry of Salihli and mesir paste. The city images of Manisa, which can be evaluated from local to national and even international dimensions, contribute to revealing the culture of the city and developing the urban identity. In this study, images of Manisa will be examined by taking into consideration the “developing”, “spreading” and “utilization” processes of these images. In the conclusion part of the study, findings and suggestions will be offered relating to the contribution of images integrating historical, natural and cultural structure of Manisa into the educational, touristic and economical structure of the city

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