Karamürsel
Encyclopedia
Karamürsel is a town and district located in northwestern Turkey
, in the province of Kocaeli
. The mayor is İsmail Yıldırım (DP).
Karamürsel is on the coast of Izmit Bay and has beautiful shores. It has a famous basket known as Karamürsel basket, which is mainly used in collecting fruit like cherries, etc.. The characteristic of this handwoven basket is that it looks small to the eye but has a much bigger capacity than one would think.
Karamürsel is historically known as The Town of The Wrestlers. It has also been well-known with its fish restaurants that also attract customers from nearby area. Handmade silk carpet production (the famous Hereke rugs are produced here too), fruit production (cherry, peach, plums, figs, pears, apples), and olive production are sources of income for the locals. It is not heavily industrialized like other parts of the province, and therefore Karamürsel's natural beauties are more intact compared to the rest of the province of Kocaeli.
The people living in Karamürsel and its villages are mainly Muslim Manav Turks and immigrants known as Muhacir in Turkish
. On the other hand some immigrants came from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria
, Romania
, Macedonia
, Laz
, Georgian
, Circassians and Crimea
, and arrived in the country during/after the fall of Ottoman Empire. Due to its rich ethnic structure it displays a wide array of cultures, heavily influenced by that of Balkan and Caucasus
. Recently the town has also started attracting immigration from other parts of Turkey, especially from the Black Sea region.
Karamürsel was heavily damaged during the devastating 1999 İzmit earthquake
(August 17, 1999) which rocked the eastern part of Marmara Region. 164 people lost their lives in Karamürsel in the earthquake, and many were left homeless. After the earthquake many people left this town for other parts of Turkey, and the place had a resemblance of a ghost-town for the winter of 1999. It is now returning to its old days, with the houses being repaired and the busineess being reopened. During the earthquake, a considerably damaging tsunami hit both the northern and southern sides of the İzmit bay in about one minute. Even the tsunami was not very large, subsidence and coastal landslides, have left a substantial portion of the towns of Gölcük, Degirmendere and Karamürsel inundated by the sea (Altinok et al., 1999). The coast of Karamürsel is now repaired and reconstructed.
Karamürsel has a very long history of being an important base for the navy. The first Ottoman shipyard was built on the Bay of İzmit in 1327 in Karamürsel. The ships built there constituted first nucleus of the Ottoman Naval Forces.
Due to its strategic and naturally protected location, Karamürsel has been used as a naval base that controls Black Sea. In addition A U.S. military base was located in Karamürsel for many years during the Cold War for the purpose of intercepting Russian radio transmissions. The station, containing a huge array of antenna called Elephant Cage, was there from 1957 until 1979. This huge landmark was visible from everywhere in Karamursel, from villages on the hills surrounding the town, and also from the shores across the Izmit Bay. After the US military left the base was transferred to Turkish Navy, and is still in operation today. The US military however took an important chip from the antenna, so that it would not be used after they left. The Turkish military eventually took out the antenna in mid 1990s, however everyone still remembers this immense structure.
In 1958, a U.S. military dependents USDESEA Educational System
school was opened on the Karamürsel Air Station. Beginning as an elementary level school, the school was eventually expanded to include middle school students and eventually included both junior and senior high school students. In 1961, a new school building was constructed and served the educational needs of the military personnel's children until the base itself was closed in 1979.
In addition to the students that lived on the base with their active duty parents, the American dependent's school on Karamürsel Air Station (KCDI) became a regional boarding school
that now included grades nine through twelve. High school age students whose parents were stationed in other Turkish locations, those stationed in Iraklion Air Station
, Crete, and the children of civilian federal employees that worked for the VOA (Voice of America
) radio station in Xanthi, Greece now attended high school in Karamürsel. Housed in military barracks, the dormitory students were supervised by federal civilian employees referred to as dorm counselors.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, in the province of Kocaeli
Kocaeli Province
Kocaeli Province is a province of Turkey. Its capital is İzmit, which is sometimes referred to as Kocaeli itself. The largest town in the province is now Gebze. The traffic code is 41. The province is located at the easternmost end of the Marmara Sea, especially on the Gulf of İzmit. Because of...
. The mayor is İsmail Yıldırım (DP).
Karamürsel is on the coast of Izmit Bay and has beautiful shores. It has a famous basket known as Karamürsel basket, which is mainly used in collecting fruit like cherries, etc.. The characteristic of this handwoven basket is that it looks small to the eye but has a much bigger capacity than one would think.
Karamürsel is historically known as The Town of The Wrestlers. It has also been well-known with its fish restaurants that also attract customers from nearby area. Handmade silk carpet production (the famous Hereke rugs are produced here too), fruit production (cherry, peach, plums, figs, pears, apples), and olive production are sources of income for the locals. It is not heavily industrialized like other parts of the province, and therefore Karamürsel's natural beauties are more intact compared to the rest of the province of Kocaeli.
The people living in Karamürsel and its villages are mainly Muslim Manav Turks and immigrants known as Muhacir in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. On the other hand some immigrants came from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Laz
Laz
Laz may refer to the Laz people, who live by the Black Sea, or to their language. As a given name, Laz may be a diminutive for Lazar, Lazarus, Lazaro, or Lazaros...
, Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Circassians and Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
, and arrived in the country during/after the fall of Ottoman Empire. Due to its rich ethnic structure it displays a wide array of cultures, heavily influenced by that of Balkan and Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. Recently the town has also started attracting immigration from other parts of Turkey, especially from the Black Sea region.
Karamürsel was heavily damaged during the devastating 1999 İzmit earthquake
1999 Izmit earthquake
The 1999 İzmit earthquake was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northwestern Turkey on August 17, 1999, at about 3:02am local time. The event lasted for 37 seconds, killing around 17,000 people and leaving approximately half a million people homeless...
(August 17, 1999) which rocked the eastern part of Marmara Region. 164 people lost their lives in Karamürsel in the earthquake, and many were left homeless. After the earthquake many people left this town for other parts of Turkey, and the place had a resemblance of a ghost-town for the winter of 1999. It is now returning to its old days, with the houses being repaired and the busineess being reopened. During the earthquake, a considerably damaging tsunami hit both the northern and southern sides of the İzmit bay in about one minute. Even the tsunami was not very large, subsidence and coastal landslides, have left a substantial portion of the towns of Gölcük, Degirmendere and Karamürsel inundated by the sea (Altinok et al., 1999). The coast of Karamürsel is now repaired and reconstructed.
Karamürsel has a very long history of being an important base for the navy. The first Ottoman shipyard was built on the Bay of İzmit in 1327 in Karamürsel. The ships built there constituted first nucleus of the Ottoman Naval Forces.
Due to its strategic and naturally protected location, Karamürsel has been used as a naval base that controls Black Sea. In addition A U.S. military base was located in Karamürsel for many years during the Cold War for the purpose of intercepting Russian radio transmissions. The station, containing a huge array of antenna called Elephant Cage, was there from 1957 until 1979. This huge landmark was visible from everywhere in Karamursel, from villages on the hills surrounding the town, and also from the shores across the Izmit Bay. After the US military left the base was transferred to Turkish Navy, and is still in operation today. The US military however took an important chip from the antenna, so that it would not be used after they left. The Turkish military eventually took out the antenna in mid 1990s, however everyone still remembers this immense structure.
In 1958, a U.S. military dependents USDESEA Educational System
Department of Defense Education Activity
The Department of Defense Education Activity is a civilian agency of the United States Department of Defense that manages all schools for military children and teenagers, as well as foreign service children and teenagers, in the United States and also overseas at American military bases worldwide...
school was opened on the Karamürsel Air Station. Beginning as an elementary level school, the school was eventually expanded to include middle school students and eventually included both junior and senior high school students. In 1961, a new school building was constructed and served the educational needs of the military personnel's children until the base itself was closed in 1979.
In addition to the students that lived on the base with their active duty parents, the American dependent's school on Karamürsel Air Station (KCDI) became a regional boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
that now included grades nine through twelve. High school age students whose parents were stationed in other Turkish locations, those stationed in Iraklion Air Station
Iraklion Air Station
Iraklion Air Station was a United States Air Force facility located east of the city of Iraklion in the village of Gournes, in the north central section of the Greek island of Crete.-Major commands to which assigned:...
, Crete, and the children of civilian federal employees that worked for the VOA (Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
) radio station in Xanthi, Greece now attended high school in Karamürsel. Housed in military barracks, the dormitory students were supervised by federal civilian employees referred to as dorm counselors.