Geography

Zeyne at 36°26′N 33°32′E is a part of Gülnar

Gülnar

Gülnar is a district of Mersin Province of Turkey, south-west of the city of Mersin.-Geography:The town of Gülnar is inland on a plain high in the Taurus Mountains, attractive countryside known for its vineyards and its green meadows used for summer grazing. Gülnar is a small town providing high...

 district which in turn is a part of Mersin Province. It is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) west of Göksu River with an altitude of 360 metres (1,181.1 ft) Distance to Gülnar is 26 kilometres (16.2 mi) and to Mersin is 151 kilometres (93.8 mi) The population is 1882 as of 2010.

History

History of Zeyne is more or less intermingled with that of Gülnar. During middle ages it was a part of the Karamanid beylik (principality). After Karamanids were defeated by 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...

 it was incorporated into Ottoman realm in the 15th century. In 1972 the town was renamed as Sütlüce and Sütlüce was decleared township. Nevertheless, the new name was not widely accepted and the government decided to return to former name in 2007

Sheik Ali Semerkandi (Ali of Semerkand) is an important figure of Zeyne history. He was a Muslim religious leader in Semerkand (modern Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

) He travelled to Anatolia

Anatolia

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

 and settled in Zeyne in 1434. He stayed in Zeyne and Karaman

Karaman

Karaman is a town in south central Turkey, located north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. According to 2000 census, the population of the province is 231 872 of which 132,064 live in the town of Karaman. The district covers an area...

during the rest of his life and died in Zeyne in 1457. Today a mosque had been built next to his tomb in Zeyne. There is a spring just east of the town where very old trees so called monumental trees have been grown. According to mitology that spring had been created by Ali Semarkandi.

Economy

The town is a typical agricultural town. Olives and various fruits like apricots, figs and grapes are produced. Dairying is also an important econonic activity.