Gulf of Gökova (Turkish: Gökova Körfezi) or Gulf of Kerme (Turkish: Kerme Körfezi, Greek: Κεραμεικός κόλπος, Latin: Ceramicus Sinus, English: Ceramic Gulf or Gulf of Cos), is a long (100 km), narrow gulf of the Aegean Sea between Bodrum Peninsula and Datça Peninsula in south-west Turkey.
Administratively, Gulf of Gökova coastline includes portions of the districts of, clockwise, Bodrum, Milas, Muğla, Ula, Marmaris and Datça. The Greek island of Kos lies along the entry into the Gulf.
Bodrum, located in its northwest reaches, is the only large city on the gulf today. In ancient times, alongside Halicarnassus (modern-day Bodrum), the city of Ceramus, located midway along the gulf's northern shore and after which the gulf was named, was also an important urban center. Across Ceramus (the modern-day township of Ören, called under the name Gereme, a derivation of the ancient city's name, until recently), at a short distance from the gulf's southern shore and not far from its outlying waters, was another historical site of note, called Cedrae in ancient times, located in Sedir Island prized by visitors for its beach and of which some remains still exist.
The alluvial plain, also named Gökova, which extends to the Gulf's end, is the location of the townships of Akyaka and Gökova, with only a few kilometers separating the two. These settlements saw their populations increase considerably in recent years, with Akyaka, especially, becoming a rising center of tourism. The municipalities of both of these townships were recently created. They depend upon the town of Ula, which is accessed through Sakar Pass at an altitude of 670 meters and offers an impressive view of the Gulf. Until 1945, the hamlets across the plain, mostly marshlands ridden with malaria until that time, were collectively known as Gökabad. Consequently, one of the settlements and the gulf as a whole came to be called Gökova, a term which is often used to designate the whole area in which Akyaka, and not the neighboring township of Gökova, is actually prominent.
In sum, the name, Gökova, (possibly derived from Cova, the designation by which the area was known in Ottoman Ottoman times is mentioned as "Djova" in some English language recent navigation charts) is used alternatively for the gulf, for the plain at the end of the same gulf, for a township situated in the same plain, and as a casual term covering the emerging resort area centered in the coastal town of Akyaka, with a sea beach, accommodation, residences and amenities for visitors, seasonal residents and forested uplands. The Carian city of Idyma, with acropolis and famed rock tombs, is found at Kozlukuyu, Gökova town, inland from Akyaka. In ancient times, Akyaka was simply a suburb of Kozlukuyu.
|
||||||||||||||