Yeşilovacık is a town in 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...

, 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...

.

Geography

Yeşilovacık is a 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...

 coastal town at 36°12′N 33°40′E.
It is a part of Silifke

Silifke

-Antiquity:Located a few miles from the mouth of the Calycadnus River, Seleucia was founded by Seleucus I Nicator in the early 3rd century BCE, one of several cities he named after himself. It is probable that there were already towns called Olbia and Hyria and that Seleucus I merely united them...

 district which in turn is a part of Mersin Province. The town is
on the state highway. It is west of both Silifke and 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 highway distance to Silifke is 42 kilometres (26.1 mi) and to Mersin 124 kilometres (77.1 mi). The area both east and the north is covered with pine forests. The west of the town is a wide sand beach. The population is 3232 as of 2010.

Economy

Both fishing and agriculture, especially greenhouse agriculture play important roles in the economy of Yeşilovacık. Apricots, plums, grapes and almonds are among the more important crops. Although touristic potential is great, at the moment, tourism plays only a minor role in the economy. (Only one holiday village) There is a little harbour for fishermen.

History

The ruins of Aphrodisias (not to be confused with the well known ancient settlement in Aydın Province

Aydin Province

Aydın Province is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of approx. 150,000 . Other towns in the province include the summer seaside resorts of Didim and Kuşadası.-History:Aydın was founded by the ancient...

) are on a cape a few kilometers east of Yeşilovacık. These ruins, now called Tisan, date back to 7th century BC of Hellenistic age. During the last years of Seleucid Empire

Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

 Aphrodisias lost its former importance. In 1210 Leo I, the king of Lesser Armenia sold this town to Knights Hospitaller

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

. The knights renamed the city as Porto Cabalieri. However, this medieval town didn’t survive.