Bozyazi
Encyclopedia
Bozyazı is a town and district of Mersin Province
on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey
, 220 km (137 mi) west of the city of Mersin
.
as a backdrop; The roads over the mountains or along the coast from either direction are very difficult to drive making Bozyazı too far from large cities or the established centres of tourism to attract many visitors, so the district is quiet and unspoilt. However there are developments of holiday flats in some places, mainly owned by people from Konya
and Ankara
as well as foreigners. The sea is clean and Bozyazı is home to an important colony of the endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal
.
The narrow coastal strip has a temperate climate and is used to grow bananas along with strawberries, citrus fruits, ground-nuts, and a variety vegetables and fruits. The higher land (over 50% of the district) meanwhile is used for apples and walnuts. There are areas of cedar and fir trees.
The highest peaks are Tol Dağı (1,250 m), Azıtepe (780 m), Susmak Dağı (1,600 m), Kaş Dağı (1,639 m) and Elmakuzu Dağı (1,690 m), there are areas of high meadow in these mountains used for summer grazing. Bozyazı river rushes off Elmakız through a rocky gorge, there is a dam and hyrodelectric power station 14 km north of Bozyazı.
About 60% of the population lives in the town of Bozyazı, a small town providing high schools and healthcare to the surrounding villages. There are two other small towns (Tekmen
and Tekeli
) and about 40 villages. The biggest village is Karaisali. These are quiet places where the people are conservative; old and young spend the evenings sitting by the sea spitting out sunflower and pumpkin seeds; there is little nightlife, maybe the odd restaurant with a piano player.
are on a hill above the town of Bozyazı. They are being excavated by a team from Mersin University
who have found traces of occupation going back to the Hellenistic period of the 4th century BC, when Nagidos was an outpost of Rhodes
and Samos
, a small port established to trade goods from Egypt
and Cyprus
. The town was subsequently controlled by Egypt
ians, Ancient Romans, Byzantines
and Seljuk Turks.
Mersin Province
The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...
on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, 220 km (137 mi) west of the city of Mersin
Mersin
-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...
.
Geography
Bozyazı is a remote coastal district with the Taurus MountainsTaurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
as a backdrop; The roads over the mountains or along the coast from either direction are very difficult to drive making Bozyazı too far from large cities or the established centres of tourism to attract many visitors, so the district is quiet and unspoilt. However there are developments of holiday flats in some places, mainly owned by people from Konya
Konya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
and Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
as well as foreigners. The sea is clean and Bozyazı is home to an important colony of the endangered Mediterranean Monk Seal
Mediterranean Monk Seal
The Mediterranean monk seal is a pinniped belonging to the Phocidae family. At some 450-510 remaining individuals, it is believed to be the world's second-rarest pinniped , and one of the most endangered mammals in the world.It is present in parts of the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic...
.
The narrow coastal strip has a temperate climate and is used to grow bananas along with strawberries, citrus fruits, ground-nuts, and a variety vegetables and fruits. The higher land (over 50% of the district) meanwhile is used for apples and walnuts. There are areas of cedar and fir trees.
The highest peaks are Tol Dağı (1,250 m), Azıtepe (780 m), Susmak Dağı (1,600 m), Kaş Dağı (1,639 m) and Elmakuzu Dağı (1,690 m), there are areas of high meadow in these mountains used for summer grazing. Bozyazı river rushes off Elmakız through a rocky gorge, there is a dam and hyrodelectric power station 14 km north of Bozyazı.
About 60% of the population lives in the town of Bozyazı, a small town providing high schools and healthcare to the surrounding villages. There are two other small towns (Tekmen
Tekmen
Tekmen is a town in Mersin Province , Turkey.- Geography :Tekmen is a Mediterranean coastal town. Toros mountains are just north of the town and the coastal plain of the town is a narrow strip between the sea and the mountains. Mountains are covered by macquis groves and red pine forests.Tekmen is...
and Tekeli
Tekeli, Mersin
- Geography :Tekeli is a part of Bozyazı district which itself is a part of Mersin Province. It is situated on a small coastal plain surounded by the Toros Mountains. It is Datça Mersin highway which runs parallel to Mediterranean coast at about ....
) and about 40 villages. The biggest village is Karaisali. These are quiet places where the people are conservative; old and young spend the evenings sitting by the sea spitting out sunflower and pumpkin seeds; there is little nightlife, maybe the odd restaurant with a piano player.
History
The ruins of the ancient city of NagidosNagidos
Nagidos was an ancient city of Cilicia near modern Bozyazı, at the mouth of the Sini Cay , ca. 20 km east of Anamur in Mersin Province in south Turkey. The site was discovered by Rudolf Heberdey and Adolf Wilhelm. In the 1930s a Swedish expedition carried out explorations. In 1986 the museum of...
are on a hill above the town of Bozyazı. They are being excavated by a team from Mersin University
Mersin University
Mersin University is a state university, built in 1992 in Mersin province, Turkey. The university has about 25,000 students, 1,405 academic staff and a number of foreign and guest academic staff....
who have found traces of occupation going back to the Hellenistic period of the 4th century BC, when Nagidos was an outpost of Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
and Samos
Samos Island
Samos is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate regional unit of the North Aegean region, and the only municipality of the regional...
, a small port established to trade goods from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. The town was subsequently controlled by Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ians, Ancient Romans, Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and Seljuk Turks.