Geography

Tekeli is a part of Bozyazı

Bozyazi

Bozyazı is a town and district of Mersin Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, west of the city of Mersin.-Geography:Bozyazı is a remote coastal district with the Taurus Mountains as a backdrop; The roads over the mountains or along the coast from either direction are very difficult to...

 district which itself is a part of Mersin Province

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...

. It is situated on a small coastal plain surounded by the Toros Mountains. It is Datça Mersin highway which runs parallel to Mediterranean

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...

 coast at about 36°9′N 33°8′E.
Tekeli is 15 km (9.3 mi) to Bozyazı and 186 km (115.6 mi) to 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...

. The population of the town is 3422. as of 2010.

History

The territory around Tekeli was ruled in turn by Hittites

Hittites

The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...

, Lydians

Lydians

The Lydians were the inhabitants of Lydia, a region in western Anatolia, who spoke the distinctive Lydian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian group....

, Romans

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 and 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...

. In 1225, it was annexed by the Seljuks and after the disintegration of Seljuks, it fell to Karamanids. Finally in 1466 it was incorporated in the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. According to municipality, the name of the town refers to historical Turkmen

Oghuz Turks

The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....

 tribe of Teke which is also known as the founder of Teke Beylik

Beylik of Teke

The Anatolian beylik of Teke with its capital at Antalya was one of the frontier principalities established by Oghuz Turkish clans after the decline of Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. The dynasty started with a split of territories between two brothers of the dynasty ruling the neighboring Beylik of...

. The Teke Turkmens migrated from Turkestan

Turkestan

Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...

 to South West Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 (Antalya

Antalya

Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...

 region) in the 13th century. Between 16th and 18th centuries a part of nomadic Teke people migrated to the present location. The village was founded in 1864. After the First World War the village was briefly occupied by Italian Army

Italian Army

The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...

. But during the Turkish War of Independence

Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

the town became a part of Turkey in 21 May 1921. In 1987, it was decleared a township.

Economy

The most pronounced economy activity in Tekeli is greenhouse agriculture. Bananas, peanuts and all kinds of citrus are also produced. The touristic (beach) potential of the town is also promising.