The town of Manisa was part of the Ottoman Empire. Turks and Greeks were living there together. The Greeks wanted Manisa to become part of Greece. In May 1919 a Greek army occupied the town. Then there was war between Greeks and Turks for three years. In the summer of 1922 Turks defeated the Greeks. The Greeks fled to the Aegean Sea to be transferred to Greece. During their retreat the Greeks burned towns and villages of Turks. Manisa too was burned down. The local Turks fled to the mountains. Most of the town was destroyed and later rebuilt. Some Turkish authors wrote about their experiences in Turkish literature.