Kemer

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Kemer
Picture of the beach and the marina
Picture of the beach and the marina
Location of Kemer within Turkey.
Location of Kemer within Turkey.
Coordinates: 36°36′N 30°33′E / 36.6, 30.55
Country Flag of Turkey Turkey
Region Mediterranean
Province Antalya
Government
 - Mayor Hasan Şeker
Elevation 4 m (13 ft)
Population (1990)
 - Total 9,740
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 07x xx
Area code(s) (0090)+ 242+814xxxx
Licence plate 07
Website: www.kemer.bel.tr

Kemer is a seaside resort and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, 40 km (25 mi) west of the city of Antalya.

Kemer is on the Gulf of Antalya, 53 km (33 mi) of sea coast with the skirts of the western Taurus mountains behind. The coast has the typical Mediterranean hot, dry weather and warm sea. Until the early 1980s this was a quiet rural district but today the town of Kemer and coastal villages in the district play a very important part in tourism in Turkey.

Contents

[edit] History

Research shows only that Kemer was the Lycian town of Idryos.

Kemer was called Eski Köy (old village) until in 1916 - 1917, a 23 km (14 mi) long stone wall was built to channel the mountain stream water and protect the town from flooding, which until then had been a persistent problem. The name Kemer refers to those walls.

Until the 1960s there was no coast road and the district was accessible only by boat. Then a road was built and from the 1980s onwards this was followed by a great investment in infrastructure, planned by the state and funded by the World Bank, aimed at developing a large tourist trade.

Moonlight beach near Kemer
Moonlight beach near Kemer

[edit] Demographics

The district has a population of 33.153 according to the 2007 census. [1] The town itself has 11.733 inhabitants. Kemer has 4 municipalities(Beldibi, Çamyuva, Göynük, Tekirova) and 4 villages.

The population of inhabited places are shown in the table(Municipalities are shown in bold)

Town/Village Population(2007)
Kemer 11.733
Beldibi 2.494
Beycik 317
Çamyuva 3.981
Göynük 5.666
Kuzdere 4.530
Ovacık 61
Tekirova 3.547
Ulupınar 824
Total 33.153

[edit] Tourism in Kemer

A park in the town center
A park in the town center

One of the major attractions of Kemer is its natural beauty; sea, mountains and pine forest combine in harmony. The shore from Beldibi to Tekirova consists of unspoilt beaches in bays of various sizes, mostly stoney rather than sand. With easy transportation, good communication and other municipal services Kemer has a large proportion of the hotel bed capacity of the Antalya region, and is a comfortable and peaceful holiday coast with internationally accepted reputation, attracting large numbers of visitors from countries such as Germany, The Netherlands and in recent years predominantly families from Russia. Many of the visitors come as part of low-cost all-inclusive package deals but tourism is still the mainstay of the local economy. There are so many visitors that most shops in Kemer are set up to sell things like leather jackets to overseas visitors and trade in the euro as well as the Turkish lira.

Göynük (Goynuk) Canyon, Ulupınar, Olympos, Chimera, Phaselis, Three Islands and Eco Park are the touristics points of Kemer Region.

The town of Kemer is vibrant with clubs, bars and restaurants, blue flag beaches and a 320 capacity yacht marina. Popular coastal villages include Beldibi, Kiriş, Çayova, Aslanbucak, Kuzdere, Beycik, Çamyuva, Göynük, and Çıralı.

Annual events in the area include art exhibitions in Phaselis, boat races, WRC (World Rally Championship), Turkey Offshore Championship, Turkey Motocross Championship,Phaselis Art Festival, and Kemer Carnival. International pop stars and Djs, such as Tarkan and Dj Tiesto, give summer concerts on this coast.

[edit] Places of interest

[edit] Sites of natural beauty

  • Adrasan Bay - 2 kilometres of beach
  • The Çıralı village and pristine 4 km (2 mi) beach. Popular for nature walks and sections of the Lycian Way
  • Üç Adalar (Three Islands) - popular with divers
  • The canyon of Göynük
  • İkiz Kayalar (Twin rocks)
  • The village of Ulupınar, with its mountain spring water.
  • There are a number of interesting caves including Beldibi, and the Molla hole in the east face of Tahtalı mountain.

And of course the Taurus mountains offer many places for walking or a tour by jeep.

[edit] Historical sites

  • Chimaera - the natural burning rock of Greek mythology.
  • The ancient cities of Phaselis and Olympos
  • The town of Kemer itself has some remains of antique Idryos, a Byzantine church and a Seljuk Turkish hunting lodge.

[edit] Twin towns

[edit] References

  1. ^ Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu

[edit] External links

[edit] Activities


Shows the Location of Antalya province Townships of Kemer District, Antalya, Turkey Flag of Turkey

Kemer | Beldibi | Çamyuva | Göynük | Tekirova
Beycik | Çıralı | Kuzdere | Ovacık | Ulupınar