CASSABA

cassaba, a town of asia minor, in the sanjak of manisa, 63 m. e. of smyrna, with which it is connected by rail. pop. estimated at 23,000, of which two-thirds are mussulman; but the estimate is probably excessive. it has considerable local trade, and exports the products of the surrounding district. cotton is the most important article, and there are ginning factories in the town; the silkworm is largely raised and exported; and the "melons of cassaba" are sent not only to smyrna but to constantinople. there are fragments of marbles built into the houses, but the modern town does not seem to occupy any ancient site of importance.