Kumluca is a town and district of

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 visi ...

on the

Mediterranean 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 Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

coast of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, part of the Turkish Riviera. Kumluca is located west of the city of

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

, on the Teke Peninsula, (between the bays of Antalya and

Fethiye Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686. History Fethiye was formerly known as Makri (). ...

). Its neighbour towns are Korkuteli, Elmalı,

Finike Finike, the ancient Phoenix or Phoinix ( grc, Φοῖνιξ), also formerly Phineka, is a town and a district on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya Province in Turkey, to the west of the city of Antalya, along the Turkish Riviera. It is located o ...

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 Mounta ...

and

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

The town of Kumluca, formerly the village of Sarıkavak, is named for its sandy soil (''kum'' meaning sand in Turkish), good for growing watermelons.

Geography

The centre of the district is a plain pointing north from the Mediterranean coast and surrounded by mountains on three sides. The northern part of the district is hilly and mountainous. Summers are hot and dry, winters cool and wet as one would expect in a Mediterranean district. The coast never gets snow, though it snows in the mountains. In this climate fruit and vegetables can be grown under glass all year round and this is the mainstay of the local economy, along with orange trees. Kumluca is a wealthy district.

History

In the last years of the Seljuqs of Rum, silver coins were minted in the town. Between 1282 and 1302, the town struck dirhams under Kaykhusraw III,

Kayqubad III Kayqubad III ( 1ca, كَیقُباد سوم or ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Kayqubād bin Farāmurz ( fa, علاء الدین کیقباد بن فرامرز) was briefly sultan of the Sultanate of Rum between the years of 1298 and 1302. He was a nephew of th ...

, and

Mesud II Ghiyath al-Dīn Me’sud ibn Kaykaus or Mesud II ( 1ca, مَسعود دوم, ''Ghiyāth ad-Dīn Mas'ūd bin Kaykāwūs'' ( fa, غياث الدين مسعود بن كيكاوس) bore the title of Sultan of Rûm at various times between 1284 and 1 ...

with the mint name ''Sarıkavak'' ( ar, ساروقواق, Sārūqawāq) Archaeologists have found a shipwreck dating back to the 15th-16th B.C 50 meters away from the coast of Kumluca district in early April in 2019. Archaeologist Hakan Öniz has published an article about this research in the journal Palestine Exploration Quarterly. He announced that a new

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

shipwreck had been discovered in the same coast where the Gelidonya and Uluburun shipwrecks were found and this finding belongs to earlier times than both of them. Greek Families lived in the village together with the Turks of the village and the Greek families left during the

Greek-Turkish population exchange The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the " Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

Demographics

The district has a population of 65,652 according to the 2010 census.Statistical Institute
/ref> The town itself has 31.525 inhabitants. Kumluca has 3 municipalities (Beykonak, Çavuşköy and Mavikent) and 24 villages. The population of inhabited places are shown in the table(Municipalities are shown in bold)

Tourism

There are a number of important historical sites in the district of Kumluca including Olympos,

Kitanaura Kitanaura ( grc, Κιτάναυρα) (or Kithanaura) was an ancient city in Lycia. Its ruins are located near Saraycık, a small village in the Kumluca district of Antalya Province, Turkey. History The history of the city is largely unknown b ...

Korydalla Corydala or Corydalla or Korydalla or Korydala ( grc, Κορύδαλλα) was a city of ancient Lycia. Anciently, it belonged to the Rhodians, according to Hecataeus, quoted by Stephanus. But it was not in Rhodes, nor was it one of the Rhodian p ...

Rhodiapolis Rhodiapolis ( grc, Ῥοδιάπολις), also known as Rhodia (Ῥοδία) and Rhodiopolis (Ῥοδιόπολις), was a city in ancient Lycia. Today it is located on a hill northwest of the modern town Kumluca in Antalya Province, Tur ...

, Idebessos and

Gagai Gagae or Gagai ( grc, Γάγαι) was a town on the southeast coast of ancient Lycia, in what is now the province of Antalya, from which the ''Gagates lapis'' derived its name. The ruins are located in Kumluca district, Antalya Province, Turkey. E ...

; of these Olympos is the largest and attracts the most visitors. There is of coast with many hotels and restaurants between the villages of

Adrasan Adrasan, also known as Çavuşköy, is a village in the District of Kumluca, Antalya Province, Turkey. A collection of smaller villages and hamlets, Adrasan extends along a 2.5 Kilometer stretch of coast - most of which is sand and shingle beach ...

and Olympos, and holiday villages near the town of Mavikent. West of Mavikent there is less development but taken as a whole Kumluca is one of the fastest growing local economies in Turkey.

References

External links

District governor's official website

District municipality's official website

Information on Kumluca
{{Authority control Populated places in Antalya Province Populated coastal places in Turkey Districts of Antalya Province Kumluca District