Gazipaşa () is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Antalya Province Antalya Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. It is located on the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taur ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 1,111 km², and its population is 53,702 (2022). It is situated 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

coast, 180 km east of the city of

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

. Gazipaşa is a quiet rural district famous for its bananas and oranges. Gazipaşa district is adjacent to

Alanya Alanya (; ), formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort town, resort city, a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. It is on the southern coast of Turkey, in the country's Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean R ...

to the northwest, Sarıveliler to the north, Anamur to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

Geography

The district of Gazipaşa stands on a narrow strip of coast between the Mediterranean Sea and the high

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

rising steeply behind (highest point the 2253m "Deliktaş". Prehistoric animal remains (shelled sea animals) can be found at many locations in the mountains. Before these were the Taurus Mountains (

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

Age) these peaks were below the sea. The coast road is winding

, but good with four lanes in places making Gazipaşa easy to access from Antalya and Alanya. From Gazipaşa east the road is two lanes but in the process of being improved to four. It is 80 km to the next town Anamur which takes two hours to drive). The remote rocky hillsides are home to snakes, scorpions and other wildlife such as deer, rabbits, wild boar, wild sheep and badgers. There is 50 km of coastline, half of which is sandy beach and rocky stretches with small coves that can be used for swimming. The beaches of Gazipaşa are used as nesting grounds by loggerhead sea turtles. Construction is forbidden in these sea turtle areas. The local economy depends on agriculture and the land of the coastal strip is used for growing fruits and vegetables, especially citrus fruits and bananas. The mountainous areas have many fruit orchards and in recent years a large number of glasshouses have been built to produce crops such as cucumbers, strawberries and artichokes all year round in both locations. Some grain is grown and there is also much animal husbandry animals in the summer these animals are grazed higher in the mountains. Gazipasa has a dam (Gökçeler Barajı). There is also some forestry and fishing but only small industry. Its current mayor is Mehmet Ali Yılmaz. Gazipaşa has not experienced the tourist boom of neighbouring

but there are now efforts being made to attract tourists to the district by building a yacht marina and an international airport. Tourist attractions include some sites from antiquity, caves, beaches, the opportunity to appreciate the marvellous Taurus Mountain scenery with mountain walking or motor touring. The Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport, opened in 2010, serves the tourist economies of

, Anamur and Yeşilöz.

Climate

Gazipaşa has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Csa''), with very hot, dry summers, and mild winters with heavy rain.

Composition

There are 53 neighbourhoods in Gazipaşa District:Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 May 2023. * Akoluk * Aydın * Aydıncık * Bakılar * Beyobası * Beyrebucak * Çakmak * Çalıpınar * Çamlıca * Çığlık * Çile * Çimenbağ * Çobanlar * Çörüş * Cumhuriyet * Doğanca * Ekmel * Esenpınar * Esentepe * Gazi * Göçük * Gökçebelen * Gökçesaray * Güneyköy * Gürçam * Hasdere * Ilıcaköy * İnalköy * İnceğiz * İstiklal * Kahyalar * Karaçukur * Karalar * Karatepe * Kırahmetler * Kızılgüney * Koru * Korubaşı * Küçüklü * Macarköy * Muzkent * Öznurtepe * Pazarcı * Şahinler * Sarıağaç * Sugözü * Üçkonak * Yakacık * Yeni * Yenigüney * Yeniköy * Yeşilyurt * Zeytinada

History

This is a part of the world with a long history, and there is evidence of Hittite settlement going back to 2000 BC, and it is assumed that this coast was settled long before that. The

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

city of Selinus was established here on the River Kestros (today called ''Hacımusa'') by 628 BC, as part of the kingdom of Cilicia. In 197 BC the area passed into the hands of the

Ancient Romans The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman ...

, and in the 2nd century AD the Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

died here after falling ill while journeying along the Mediterranean coast. His body was taken by his successor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

for burial in Rome and for a period the town was named ''Traianapolis''. The later Roman Empire (

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

) continued to rule the area until it was taken by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia who lost the area to the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

of `Ala' ad-Din Kay-Qubad in 1225. Selinus was retaken briefly by Armenians before the conquest of Karamanids in the end of the 13th century. During the area of the Anatolian beyliks the coast including Selinti was controlled by the Karamanid clan of Konya and was brought into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1472 by Gedik Ahmet Pasha, naval commander of Sultan Mehmet II. The 17th century traveller Evliya Çelebi records Selinti as a group of 26 villages, with a well-kept mosque on the seafront along with a jetty for boats to Cyprus, and green mountains behind. Archaeological research continues and in 2004 a team from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

found a small bronze statue of Pegasus dating back to 300 BC in the waters off Gazipaşa; it is now in the Museum of Alanya. We can list the castles in Gazipaşa as Selinus, Iotape, Lamos (Adanda), Nephelis and Antiochia ad Cragum.

International relations

Gazipaşa is twinned with: * Brønnøysund,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Virovitica Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungary, Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). I ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Gallery of various scenes

File:Ruins_-_panoramio_(38).jpg, Ruins File:Руины_-_panoramio_(66).jpg, More ruins File:АНТИОХИЯ_АД_КРАГУМ_-_panoramio.jpg, Even more ruins File:Kilikien_-_Antiocheia_ad_Cragum2_-_panoramio.jpg, Yet more ruins File:Aqueduct_-_panoramio_(3).jpg, Roman aqueduct ruins File:Cemetery_romania_-_panoramio.jpg, Roman graves File:Emerald_lagoon_-_panoramio.jpg, Emerald Lagoon File:Gazipasa-Alanya_coast_01-3.jpg File:Fener_Fish_Resturant_-_panoramio.jpg, A coastal restaurant File:MHPGazipasa.JPG,

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...

office

Notable residents

* Ahmet Arslan (born 1986), athlete

References

External links

Gazipasa municipality's official website

Panorama image

Investigation of the construction history of the supposed cenotaph of Emperor Trajan (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut)

Antiochia ad Cragum (University of Nebraska)
*
Selinos coins

Gazipaşa news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazipasa Districts of Antalya Province Populated places in Antalya Province Populated coastal places in Turkey Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey