Yumurtalik
General Information
Other Name: Ayas, District: Adana, State: Mediterranean Region, Turkey
Area: 553 km²
Languages Spoken: Turkish
Long Distance Code: (+90) 0322
Best Time to Visit: May to August
International Access: Adana Sakirpasa Airport (ADA)Description
Yumurtalik's population does not exceed 5,000 in winter, but in summer, it rises to 30 to 40,000 people since many inhabitants of Adana have holiday homes here. There are also many daily visitors during the holiday season. Yumurtalik has a large free zone housing the production units of up to thirty companies presently in operation or in phase of being built. Fields of activities include industries ranging from petrochemicals, synthetic fibers and steel industry, and there are also plans for establishing a major shipyard. In the past, the city was named Ayas, and that name is still used by local people. The sea is clean and there is still a relaxed feel to this coast, so Ayas is a holiday and weekend retreat for the people of Adana and of other cities in Cukurova region, who come to stay in seaside holiday flats generally built in compounds. There are also small hotels and guest houses for occasional visitor who can swim during the day and stroll along the beach or into the village in the evenings. The public beaches are not very well kept by the municipality, and they are sometimes covered with litter. But the holiday villages have private beaches which are kept clean and can also be used by outsiders for a small daily entrance fee. A number of beaches in Yumurtalik are also the nesting places for loggerhead sea turtle caretta caretta breed, and these ladies don't come to Yumurtalik with credit cards. In fact the amount of beach-front holiday property is also part of the problem, even though the sand is clean the turtles won't lay eggs in these busy beaches with neon-lit discothèques blasting out all night. Adequate protection for the turtle's nesting habitat continues to remain a critical question. These endangered species lay eggs only in Yumurtalik, in Akyatan beach in in neighboring Karatas district and in İztuzu Beach in Dalyan in southwestern Turkey. In fact, the very name Yumurtalik means, among other things, egg nest in Turkish language. As well as tourism, the fertile agricultural lands that extend behind the coast are also a key factor in local economy and quality tomatoes, watermelons and other fruits and vegetables are extensively produced in Yumurtalik. Just outside Yumurtalik is the Botas oil and natural gas terminal. It is the end of the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline from Northern Iraq, which was opened in the 1970s. Refined oils are also imported through here by sea. Immediately to the southwest, there is the oil terminal for crude oil pipeline from Baku, opened in 2006. Further in the same direction, there is a recently built and coal-fired power plant.Location
Yumurtalik (meaning "egg nest") is a small city and a district in Adana Province of Turkey. It is a Mediterranean port at a distance of about 40 km (25 mi) from Adana center.Climate
Typical Mediterranean climate