Gazipaşa

Gazipasa is a town in the Antalya province, which is one of the leading tourism centers of Turkey and tbe Mediterranean as well. The town is on the border between Mersin and Antalya, both of them important cities on the Mediterranean. Gazipasa city center is 180 kilometers from Antalya. For the time being, the nearest airport to Gazipasa is in Antalya. However, there is a new airport under construction at Gazipasa which will be a hub for tourists arriving by air on their way to holiday resorts such as Alanya, Side and other famous tourism spots on the Anatolian coast. With the opening of the airport, tourism investment is expected to pick tip in Gazipasa too. The westernmost town in the Mersin province is Anamur. The Kaladran stream marks the border between Anamur and Gazipasa hence dividing the Antalya province from Mersin.

Gazipasa sprawls over a plain that is 10 kilometers long and 7 kilometers wide. The plain carries the same name as the town. In its east extends the Mediterranean Sea. The Taurus Mountains rise in the north of the town, Gazipasa has a coastline 50 kilometers long. Along this coastline there are three beaches: Pazarci, Koru and Selinus, 2 kilometers long each, and Yakacik (Kaledran) which is only 100 meters long. The rest of the coastline, that is 43,900 meters consist of rocks. However you can find very small rocky coves along the coastline and enjoy its privacy. Nobody else will come while you are there. It is so small! The western section that follows the coast in the west of the Taurus Mountains in the north is called the Akcal Mountain range. The highest peak of this range is “Deliktas” which is 2,253 meters above the sea level. Lower lands consist of alluvial plains canning parallel to the coast that is flat lands formed by gravel, silt and clay deposited by waters coming down from the mountains. From the plain on the coast, the geography rises steeply into mountain heights. There are cliffs in front of the promontory on which the ruins of Selinus are located. On both sides of the elevated promontory extending into the sea there are beaches. The sand on these beaches is very fine, formed of silica particles. Cliffs are mostly formed of limestone. Sometimes they rise as high as 50 to l00 meters from the sea level. The earth near the sea is in dark chestnut color. It is suitable for vegetable, citrus and banana cultivation. As you move inland, the earth changes color and becomes red, which the agriculturists call terrarossa. It is more convenient for grain cultivation. In the mountains animal husbandry is the most frequent economic activity.

Climate

Gazipasa displays the typical features of the Mediterranean climate on shores of which it is located. This pattern is characterized by dry and hot summers, warm and rainy winters. The amount of rain falling only in January and February equals that of Rize on the Black Sea coast, a record breaker in Turkey in terms of precipitation. But once the summer months arrive, there is almost no rain in Gazipasa for five months. Rain, which begins falling at the end of autumn, continues until April and May.

Flora

Maquis, the thick, scrubby underbrush so typical of the Mediterranean flora is also seen in Gazipasa up to 800 to 1000 meters altitude on the slopes of mountains overlooking the sea. They turn green with the rain during the winter and spring months. But when the summer heat settles in, they cannot grow much stay as squat trees. At the same altitude that is from 800 to 1,200 meters you can see pine forests intermingling with the bushes. Higher up, Austrian pines, cedars, spruce trees and junipers cover the slopes of the mountains as far as the upper border of the forest. The variety of flora changes according to altitude, the soil structure and other climactic and geographical conditions on the mountains.

Rivers

The Gazipasa plain owes its productive characteristics to the rivers and streams coming down from the mountains. Alluvial earth coming down with their waters has been deposited on the flat ground providing the farmers with a highly productive soil. The valleys where Gazipasa’s streams and rivers flow are deep and narrow. Where the inclination gets softer, the residue of gravel, silt and sand is quite deep. The rivers and streams of Gazipasa are numerous. They are Sedre Stream, Delice Stream, Bickici Stream, Gokceler Stream, Inceagri Stream, Kucuklu Stream and the most famous Haci Musa Stream where migrating birds stopover at the point where it flows into the Mediterranean.