Karaburun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Karaburun |
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| Location in Turkey | |
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| Overview | |
| Region | Aegean Region, Turkey |
| Province | İzmir Province |
| Coordinates | 38°38′ N 26°31′ E |
| Postal code | 35x xx |
| Area code | 0232 |
| Licence plate code | 35 |
| Mayor | Hamza Serdar Yasa (CHP) |
| Website | http://www.karaburun.bel.tr/ |
Karaburun is a district, as well as the center town of that district, in Turkey's İzmir Province. The district area covers the peninsula of the same name (Karaburun Peninsula) and the town is situated close to the northern tip of the peninsula. The peninsula is bordered by the districts of Çeşme and Urla in its south and faces the Greek island of Chios.
The coasts of the peninsula have beautiful bays as yet often undiscovered by outsiders, although there is one German vacation village slightly to the north of the district center. Its flora and fauna also varies from the mainland.
The oldest name known for the region was Mimas (Greek:Μίμας), in reference to the son of Gaia who was one of the Giants slain by Hephaistos during the war between Gods and Giants in Greek mythology. Homer mentions the "windy Mimas" mountain (present-day Bozdağ) in his Odyssey. The Mimas mountain is also associated with Iris, Leto and Narcissus. In Ionian through to Byzantine times it also carried the names Stelar or Stylarius, Caleberno by the Genoese and Ahırlı during the Ottoman era. The name Karaburun may possibly be a modified form of Caleberno.[citation needed]
The region is rich in history although its only sizeable urban center from ancient Greek, Byzantine through to Ottoman times was in Erythrai. The city became known in English as Likri by the end of 18th century BC. Today in this location, the Ildırı village stands, being depended by Çeşme. Traces of smaller settlements date back to the Bronze Age.
It is the most recently constituted district of İzmir, although the town of Karaburun was made into a municipality already in 1902.
The most dramatic feature across the peninsula is the setting, with villages and orchards clinging to steep rock slopes, making it a popular destination among trekkers.
The distance from İzmir center by way of land is 100 km (approximately 60 miles) and there are regular bus services and a three-lane modern highway until the toll near Çeşme. The rest of the road is narrow and curvy in some places and it may take up to two hours to reach Karaburun from İzmir.
The town is very quiet during winter when the population falls back to the usual 2500, with the owners of summer houses gone.
Apart from Karaburun center, the district has one township with own municipality, Mordoğan, which is situated more to the south in the peninsula and which offers visitor's attractions of its own. There is talk since years on starting ferry services in partance of İzmir to these two centers of the peninsula, which would be quite practical by allowing visitors to avoid the difficult end-portion of the land route, but the project meets the opposition of the dolmuş lobby.
Karaburun is also the district off the western coasts of which a Hellenic Coast Guard ship from Chios had discharged illegal immigrants to the sea on 26 September 2006, literally throwing them overboard in an event that made international headlines, causing six immigrants to drown while three others had disappeared and 31 could be saved by Turkish gendarmes and fishermen. [1].
[edit] References
- ^ Delete the Border quoting Khaleej Times; ADN Kronos Survivors of the immigrant boat tragedy accuse Greeks (in English) - [1] [2] [3] The newspaper Hürriyet (in Turkish).
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Municipalities of Karaburun District, İzmir, Turkey |  |
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Karaburun | Mordoğan |
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 Karaburun in İzmir Province (in the Aegean region) of Turkey |
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| Urban districts | İzmir - (Balçova - Bornova - Buca - Çiğli - Gaziemir - Güzelbahçe - Karşıyaka - Konak - Narlıdere) |    |
| Rural districts | Aliağa - Bayındır - Bergama - Beydağ - Çeşme - Dikili - Foça - Karaburun - Kemalpaşa - Kınık - Kiraz - Menderes - Menemen - Ödemiş - Seferihisar - Selçuk - Tire - Torbalı - Urla | |
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Regions
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| Aegean | ||
| Black Sea | ||
| Central Anatolia | ||
| East Anatolia | ||
| Marmara | ||
| Mediterranean Sea | ||
| Southeastern Anatolia | ||
