Small Town Series: Turkey

Good Morning :)

Here is another installment of the Small Town series. Today's country is Turkey. All of these small towns have 50,000 inhabitants or less. I will be covering 10 different towns in today's post. I have included as much as I can about each small town.

Population numbers come from worldpopulationreview.com

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Kulu- 47,037 inhabitants

Kulu is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Many former residents live abroad and work in western European countries like Germany, Denmark and especially Sweden. It is one of the fastest developing cities in Turkey due to its strong ties with its communities in Europe. Kulu is a town in which many kurds live in. Kulu is situated approximately 110 km from Ankara and 150 km from the city of Konya.

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Çumra- 45,657 inhabitants

Çumra is a town and district of Konya Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Neolithic (c. 8000 BC) archaeological discoveries have been found at Çatalhöyük. In the 12th century the Konya plain experienced its second great cultural period, when the city became the capital of the Seljuk Turks.

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Şereflikochisar- 44,101 inhabitants

Şereflikoçhisar is a town and district of Ankara Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, 148 km south of the city of Ankara. The district covers an area of 2,034 km², and the average elevation varies between 900 and 1,200 m, with the highest point being Mt. Karasenir at 1,650 m.

The area is a flat dry plain, the only water being Hirfanlı reservoir and the salt lake Lake Tuz. The countryside is inhospitable, with minerals extracted from the salt lake being a major source of income. Therefore, the rural population is migrating to nearby towns or abroad.

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Afşin- 39,613 inhabitants

Afşin is a town and district of Kahramanmaraş Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.

Its economy consists mainly of agriculture although in recent years the industry has been developing slowly.

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Yalvaç- 39,145 inhabitants

Yalvaç District is spread on the skirts of Sultan Mountains. The district is neighbor with Akşehir in the east, Senirkent in the west and Çay district in Afyon, Sultandağı in the north and Şarkikaraağaç and Gelendost in the south. Its average height from the sea is 1,100 m. The highest point is Gelincik Ana Hill, located on the Yalvaç-Çay border with 2,531 meters . Akköprü and Sel Çays are two important flowing waters. Yalvaç, Kumdanlı Hüyük and the Yağcılar plains are the main plains within the boundaries of the district. Hoyran Lake is the only lake in the district. The climate of Yalvaç district is a transition between the Mediterranean climate and the land climate. The highest amount of precipitation occurs in the winter season and the least amount of precipitation in the summer months. The dominant wind in the region is the hub. Typical vegetation of the region are grasslands that resemble steppe communities, depending on the climate , and tree communities consisting of shrubs, pine, juniper and oak, typical of the Mediterranean Region . Starting from prehistoric times, it is seen that Yalvac and its surroundings are an important settlement center . As a result of prehistoric researches conducted in Yalvaç, many settlements have been identified. However, in the region, a settlement center that dates back to the Neolithic period was not found.

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Sinop- 34,834 inhabitants

Sinop is a city near Cape Sinope which is situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of the Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey. The city serves as the capital of Sinop Province. Over a period of approximately 2,500 years, Sinope has at various times been settled by Greeks (in the late 7th, late 5th, and 4th–3rd centuries BC), by Romans in the mid-1st century BC, and by Turkic people beginning in the 12th century. Sinope was strategically located among the trade routes that were developing on the southern Coast of the Black Sea, but remained relatively isolated from other inland communities until the 4th century BC. There is literary evidence of early links between Colchis and Sinope in mythological tradition.

Strabo's writings link the legendary founder of Sinope, Autolycus, with Jason and the Argonauts. Polybius described Sinope as being "on the way to Phasis". The Persian Achaemenid Empire's northward expansion in the 4th century disrupted Sinope's control over its eastern colonies, including Trapezus (present day Trabzon). The satrap Datames briefly occupied the city around 375 BC. There is archaeological evidence of increased economic activity between the port city of Sinope and the surrounding inland areas during between 4th and 1st c. BC. Sinope appears to have maintained its independence from the dominion of Alexander the Great, and with the help of Rhodes turned back an assault led by Mithridates II of Pontus in 220 BC. Sinope eventually fell to Pharnaces I in 183 BC, after which it became the capital of the Pontic Kingdom.

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Imamoğlu- 31,916 inhabitants

İmamoğlu is a city and district in Adana Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, a small agricultural community on a small plain in the hills between the cities of Adana and Kozan, 45 km from Adana, 27 km from Kozan.

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Yakuplu- 28,811 inhabitants

Yakuplu is a city and municipality located in the Istanbul Province of the Marmara region of Turkey.

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Geyve- 20,199 inhabitants

Geyve is a town in Sakarya Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is the third largest town of Sakarya Province in terms of area. Geyve is located at the foot of Geyve Gorge, which is set between two mountain ranges and lies along the Sakarya River. Geyve region has an impressive green landscape and productive nature. Geyve is relatively close to many important cities in Turkey.

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Başkale- 14,516 inhabitants

Başkale is a town and district located in south-eastern Turkey in Van Province. There is one municipality in the Başkale district, the town centre, which was established 1937. Başkale was founded by Urartians as the town of Adamma. Since the 2nd century BC it was known in Armenian language as Adamakert and was the main fortress of the Medz Aghbak district of the Armenian kingdom. Since 385 AD control of the area alternated between Parthia and the Roman Empire. In the 3rd century AD the Sassanid (Persian) Empire took control of district from the Roman Empire.

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Hope you enjoyed today's post. Have ideas for a post, comment below with your idea and I might use it :)

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