Kepez is a municipality and district governorate in Greater Antalya, Turkey. Antalya is one of the 16 metropolitan centers in Turkey with more than one municipality within city borders. In Antalya there are five intracity municipalities in addition of Greater Antalya (büyükşehir) municipality.
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Kepez at about is a part of Greater Antalya proper. The name Kepez means rocky area[1]referring to original (before urbanization) Kepez landscape which consisted of rocky plateau. The urban population as of 2010 was 399,006 [2] out of 1,001,318 total population of Greater Antalya.
Kepez, like the rest of Greater Antalya was wrested between the Seljuk Turks and the Byzantines during the 11th and 12th centuries. After 1216, Kepez was incorporated into Seljuk realm. After the disintegration of Seljuks the area was a part of the Turkmen beylik of Teke. In 1389, the city was captured by the Ottoman Empire. After the defeat of Ottomans in the Battle of Ankara in 1402, Kepez area was annexed by Karamanids, another Turkmen principality up to 1415. During this brief period a Turkmen tribe named Varsak was settled around Kepez.[3] After 1415 Antalya area became an Ottoman territory. During the Republican era the scattered population around Kepez increased. After Antalya was declared as the metropolitan center, Kepez municipality was incorporated into Greater Antalya in 1993 and the corresponding district governorate was established in 2008.
Antalya bus terminal and a cement factory as well as a hydroeletric plant are in Kepez. Although not a seaside district, nevertheless in Kepez there are a number of touristic attractions like Düden Waterfalls and zoo of Antalya. On several locations (like Kepezüstü) the tourists can enjoy the scenery of Antalya.
There are 6 villages in the rural area of Kepez district. The total population of the district (urban and rural) is 406819. [2]
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