Geography

Gözne at 37°00′N 34°34′E is 28 kilometres (17.4 mi) north 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...

. It is situated in the southern slopes of Toros Mountains. The average altitude is 1045 metres (3,428.5 ft). In some locations of the town, both Mersin and the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 can be viewed. The road between Mersin and Gözne is quite well cared and accessible whole year, the average travel time being about 30 minutes.

The winter (settled) population of the town is 4107 (2010 est.)

History

It is known that the town had been inhabited during the ancient age

Ancient history

Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...

. So far, only one inscription has been unearted; it is in Aramic. But the ruins of the castle in Gözne had been built in medieval age .

The modern settlement in Gözne dates back to 19th century when people from Mersin and Tarsus

Tarsus (city)

Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...

  began to use the surrounding as a summer resort .

During Turkish war of liberation , Mersin and Tarsus were under French

French Army

The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...

occupation and Gözne was one of the centers of the nationalists. After the liberation of Mersin in 1922, Gözne became a village and than a town in 1956.

Gözne as summer resort

Being Mediterranean cities, both Mersin and Tarsus are hot during the summers months. So it was a practice among the people to migrate to Gözne in summer months. During 19the century and early 20th century, usually the householders stayed in Mersin and met with their households on weekends. However, after the roads were constructed it is just a short drive from Mersin, and it is possible to spend the night in Gözne and work in Mersin. Nevertheless, after the beginning of beach tourism and other touristic activities as well as the advance in climatization technology, Gözne is not as popular as it used to be.