Karaburun
General Information
District: Izmir, State: Aegean Region, Turkey
Area: 415 km²
Languages Spoken: Turkish
Long Distance Code: (+90) 0232
Best Time to Visit: May to August
International Access: Izmir Adnan Menderes International Airport (ADB)
Description
Karaburun region is comparatively much less visited than Cesme located in its south, its rate of urbanization at 20 per cent is the lowest across İzmir Province, although it provides an anticlimax to its southern neighbor and the associated attractions especially for those who want to escape the trails of mass tourism. The coasts of the peninsula have beautiful bays and pebble or sand beaches as yet often undiscovered by outsiders, although there is one German vacation village slightly to the north of the district center. Taken as a whole, in contrast with Cesme, agriculture, fishing and livestock breeding, instead of tourism, remain the principal activities on which the district's economy is based. Karaburun's flora and fauna present particularities distinguishing it from the Anatolian mainland. Karaburun's name echoes in Turkey a very high variety of flower breeds present across its area, and especially narcissus and hyacinth. Main features The distance between Karaburun and 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 Cesme. 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 country road is traced northwards along the eastern coast of the peninsula to reach Mordogan first, which is, aside from Karaburun, the district's only other depending township with own municipality. After Karaburun, the same road continues towards the tip of the peninsula from where it heads west to reach the village of Kücükbahce. The climate of Karaburun in winter time is an average of 22°C and sunny all throughout the year, in spring it is 24 to 30°C and in summer 45°C, extremely hot and sunny no rain in the summer at all. Some rain in Autumn, spring and winter. The highest recorded temperature was 58°C, the lowest was 11°C. History The oldest name known for the region was Mimas, 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 Bozdag) in his Odyssey. The Mimas mountain is also associated with Iris, Leto and Narcissus. In Ionian through to Byzantine times, the region also carried the names Stelar or Stylarius, Caleberno by the Genoese and Ahirli during the Ottoman era. There are different possibilities for the name Karaburun. One that is mentioned in the municipality web site is that it would be a modified form of Caleberno. Another possibility may have to do with the very translation of the Turkish name, which means "black cape", a fitting description especially for sailors who approach Karaburun Peninsula from open sea. The region is rich in history although its only sizeable urban center from ancient Greek, Byzantine through to Ottoman times was in Erythrai. Today the village of Ildiri stands in the ancient town's location and the village depends Cesme. Traces of smaller settlements can also be traced back to the Bronze Age. Karaburun is the most recently constituted district of İzmir, although the town of Karaburun was made into a municipality already in 1902.Location
Karaburun is a district and the center town of the same district in Turkey's İzmir Province. The district area roughly corresponds to the peninsula of the same name (Karaburun Peninsula) which spears north of the tourism resorts of neighboring Cesme and its dependencies and west of the city of İzmir. In fact, the district area is one of the westernmost points of Anatolia. Karaburun town is situated close to the northern tip of the peninsula and checks the entry of the Gulf of İzmir with the town of Foca, another important tourism resort, across the waters. The district's administrative zone is bordered by the districts of Cesme and Urla in its south and faces the Greek island of Chios to its west.Climate
İzmir has a typical Mediterranean climate which is characterized by long, hot and dry summers; and mild to cool, rainy winters. The total precipitation for İzmir averages 706 mm (27.8 inches) per year; however, 77% of that falls during November through Ma