The capital of Manisa province, located about 30 km (about 20 mi) northeast of Izmir, the major Turkish port on the Aegean Sea. The city is situated on the northern slopes of Mount Manisa (Mount Sipylus), by the meandering Gediz River (called the Hermus River in ancient times). Due to its location on the edge of the fertile Manisa plain, agricultural produce has traditionally been the major means of support in the region. The recent development of electronics industries has diversified the city's economy.  Manisa has both highway and railway connections to Izmir.

The Archeological and Ethno graphical Museums (founded in 1935) contain finds and cultural artifacts from the city and its environs. Celâl Bayar University (1992), named after the third president of Turkey, is the only higher education institution in Manisa. The current settlement stands on the ancient city of Magnesia. Found 6 km (4 mi) east of Manisa, a 13th-century BC rock carving of Cybele, the ancient Mother of the Gods, is considered evidence of Phrygian or Hittite presence in the area. Held by Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, and then Seljuk Turks, Manisa was captured by Ottomans in AD 1405.

Manisa became a provincial capital in the newly established Republic of Turkey in 1923. Population (2008) 332,346