Greek army retreated towards Smyrna and the Aegean coast. During their retreat they carried out a scorched earth policy, burning towns and villages and committing atrocities along the way. Towns to the east of Manisa, such as Alaşehir and Salihli, were burned. Several days before the actual fire in Manisa, rumours were going around that the town would be burned. Turkish sources claim that the Greek and Armenian population got permission to leave from the Greek army and had already evacuated the area. Other sources confirm that the Christians fled before the Turkish advance. The Turkish sources claim that the local Turks and Muslims were ordered to stay in their houses, which most did until the day on which the fire started. The burning of the town was carefully managed by the Greek army, and fires were started at multiple places by specially organized groups. According to Turkish sources a significant number of the arsonists were local Greeks and Armenians. During the night of Tuesday 5 September and the morning of 6 September, fires were started in the commercial Çarşı district (while looted was taking place) and at various other sites. Many people left their houses and fled to safety in the mountains and hills. During this chaos some people were killed by the Greeks or burnt to death. The population hid in the mountains for several days. Meanwhile, the Turkish army continued its rapid advance and, after some fighting with remaining Greek troops, they took control of the remains of the town on 8 September. By then most of the town had been destroyed. Gülfem Kaatçılar İren, witnessed the fire as a little girl and remembers when she fled to the hills with her family: This witness testimony is also verified with the testimony of General Fahrettin Altay, the commander of the 5th Cavalry Army Corps, the Army Corps to save the remaining buildings and people of Manisa from fire on the 8th of September: Aftermath The town is believed to have lost many buildings and objects of historical significance, but a small area around the two imperial Ottoman mosques was saved from destruction. Today the town has grown again and had reached 309,050 inhabitants in 2012. Damage The Turkish government set up a commission called Tetkik-i Mezalim or Tetkik-i Fecayi Heyeti "the atrocity committee" to research and document the events and atrocities. The Turkish author Halide Edip saw