Beydağları Coastal National Park ( tr, Beydağları Sahil Milli Parkı), a.k.a. Olympos Beydagları National Park ( tr, Olimpos Beydağları Millî Parkı), is a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
in
Antalya Province
Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.
Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visit ...
, southern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
The national park was established on March 16, 1972, by government deceee. It stretches over an area of beginning in Sarısu, located southwest of
Antalya
Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
and reaching out to
Cape Gelidonya
Cape Gelidonya ( tr, Gelidonya Burnu or Taşlık Burnu, from el, Χελιδωνία, ''Chelidonia''; la, Chelidonium promontorium), formerly Kilidonia or Killidonia is a cape or headland on the Teke Peninsula in the chain of Taurus Mountains, loc ...
parallel to the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
across the
Kemer
Kemer is a seaside resort and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, west of the city of Antalya, on the Turkish Riviera.
Kemer is on the Gulf of Antalya, of sea coast with the skirts of the western Taurus Mountain ...
-
Kumluca
Kumluca is a town and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, part of the Turkish Riviera. Kumluca is located west of the city of Antalya, on the Teke Peninsula, (between the bays of Antalya and Fethiye). Its neighbour ...
shoreline.
The ancient settlements
Olympos,
Phaselis
Phaselis ( grc, Φασηλίς) or Faselis ( tr, Faselis) was a Greek and Roman city on the coast of ancient Lycia. Its ruins are located north of the modern town Tekirova in the Kemer district of Antalya Province in Turkey. It lies between th ...
and
Idyros
Idyros ( grc, Ἴδυρης, la, Idyrus) was a Greek city in ancient Lycia. Its exact location is uncertain. According to Pseudo-Scylax it was located north of Phaselis.
The site of the town is tentatively located near modern Kemer
Kemer is ...
are situated within the national park, which lies between the shores of the ancient regions
Pamphylia
Pamphylia (; grc, Παμφυλία, ''Pamphylía'') was a region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the north by ...
and
Lycia
Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...
.
The tallest mountain in the park is
Tahtalı Dağı
Tahtalı Dağı, also known as Lycian Olympus, is a mountain near Kemer, a seaside resort on the Turkish Riviera in Antalya Province, Turkey. It was known as Olympus ( grc, Ὄλυμπος; also transliterated as Olympos) and Phoenicus or Phoin ...
. The
Yanartaş
Yanartaş (, Turkish for "flaming stone") is a geographical feature near the Olympos valley and national park in Antalya Province in southwestern Turkey. It is the site of dozens of small fires which burn constantly from vents in the rocks on th ...
burning gas field is found on the foothills of that mountain.
The national park offers place for activities such as beach and sea sports, picnic, camping,
trekking
Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back, while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey, and may involve camping outdoors. In North America tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain h ...
,
mountain climbing
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
,
paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...
etc. Visiting of the archeological sites within the national park is possible all around the year.
The park has a great biodiversity, it has over 865 plant species, 25 of which are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
. Rare mammals include mountain goat, lynx,
caracal
The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...
and wolf.
See also
*
Olympos Aerial Tram
References
External links
National parks of Turkey
Turkish Riviera
Tourist attractions in Antalya Province
Geography of Antalya Province
1972 establishments in Turkey
Protected areas established in 1972
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