Atayurt is a town in
Mersin Province,
Turkey
Geography
Atayurt is in the fertile alluvial plain of
Silifke district which itself is a part of Mersin Province. The town is on the
D 400 highway
D.400 is an east–west state road in southern Turkey. The road starts at Datça in the southwest corner of the Anatolian peninsula. The road ends at the Iranian border at Esendere.
D.400 runs through the cities of Marmaris, Fethiye ...
. The distance to
Mersin
Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...
is and to Silifke is . The coordinates are about . The population is 7154 as of 2012.
History
The rural population density of the vicinity has always been high and there were two villages (Olukbaşı and Esenbel) next to each other. In 1989, the two villages have been merged to form Atayurt town. In 2005, Karadedeli and Sıtmasuyu villages have been merged. The name of the town refers to Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish republic.
Economy
Like other parts of Silifke plain, the main economic activity of Atayurt is agriculture, especially green house and forced crop agriculture. Almost all fruits especially strawberries are produced. Since the sea side is only to town center, the services to summer houses at the sea side also play a part of town economy.
Concerns about blue tunnel project
The
Göksu River is very important to the economy of the town. The government is planning to use a part of the river to water
Central Anatolia with the
Blue Tunnel Project
Blue Tunnel Project, is an effort to provide large-scale irrigation to arid lands of Konya Plain, in the Turkish heartland, where agriculture and wildlife are under threat.
Blue Tunnel, the most important part of the Konya Plain Project, is the ...
( tr, Mavi Tünel) referring to a tunnel with a capacity of 36 m
3/s which will drain water to
Bağbaşı
Bağbaşı (former Eğiste) is a town in Hadim district of Konya Province, Turkey. It is situated in Toros Mountains. At it is just at the south of a pass named after Eğiste. Bağbaşı is planned to be the northern terminus of a tunnel pr ...
in
Konya Province. Atayurt residents are afraid that this project may cause a partial drought around Atayurt and decrease agricultural production.
Mayor's page
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Mersin Province
Towns in Turkey
Populated places in Silifke District