Sebil is a town in

Mersin Province Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of fo ...

, Turkey.

Geography

Sebil is a part of

Çamlıyayla Çamlıyayla is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The district has a population of 10,558 of which 3335 lives in the town of Çamlıyayl Çamlıyayla is a small district high in the Taurus Mountains. I ...

district which in turn is a part of Mersin Province. Distance between Sebil and Çamlıyayla is . Sebil is located on southern slopes of

Toros Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolia# ...

at . The average altitude is about . The country about Sebil is chiefly formed of

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Just west of the town there is a

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

, approximately deep. The canyon had been formed by the rivulet Cehennem Deresi which is a tributary of

Berdan River The Berdan (also Baradān or Baradā), the ancient Cydnus ( el, Κύδνος), is a river in Mersin Province, south Turkey. The historical city of Tarsus is on the river and it is therefore sometimes called the Tarsus River. Originally the water ...

. The population of the town was 2120 as of 2012 Statistical Institute

History

Five centuries ago the nomadic

Oghuz Turks The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family. In th ...

(also called Yörük) used this location as their summer camps (so called '' yayla''). They called the location Sebil meaning free (i.e., no rent for the camp). In later years observing the winter was not harsh, eventually they chose the area as their permanent settlement.Mayor’s page
/ref> Sebil was declared a township in 1972.

Economy

Sebil produces fresh fruits and vegetables. A secondary economic activity is

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

. Domestic tourism in the canyon also seems promising with challenging tracking courses and game animals in the dense forest.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Mersin Province Towns in Turkey Populated places in Çamlıyayla District