View source for Anamur

{{short description|Secondary municipality in Mersin, Turkey}}
{{Infobox Turkey place
| type                 = metro district
| name                 = Anamur
| image_skyline        = View of Anamur, Mersin.jpg
| image_caption        = 
| image_map            = Mersin location Anamur.svg
| map_caption          = Map showing Anamur District in Mersin Province
| coordinates          = {{coord|36|04|48|N|32|49|52|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| province             = Mersin
| leader_party         = CHP
| leader_name          = Durmuş Deniz
| leader_name1         = 
| area_total_km2       = 1430
| elevation_m          = 
| population_footnotes = <ref name=tuik/>
| population_total     = 66846
| population_as_of     = 2022
| postal_code          = 
| area_code            = 0324
| website              = {{url|http://www.anamur.bel.tr/}}
}}
'''Anamur''' is a municipality and [[Districts of Turkey|district]] of [[Mersin Province]], [[Turkey]].<ref>[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx Büyükşehir İlçe Belediyesi], Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023.</ref> Its area is 1,430&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.harita.gov.tr/uploads/files-folder/il_ilce_alanlari.xlsx|title=İl ve İlçe Yüz ölçümleri|publisher=General Directorate of Mapping|access-date=12 July 2023}}</ref> and its population is 66,851 (2022).<ref name=tuik>{{Cite web |title=Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports|url=https://biruni.tuik.gov.tr/medas/?kn=95&locale=en |access-date=12 July 2023|publisher=[[TÜİK]]|language=en|format=XLS}}</ref> It is the westernmost district of that province, bordering on [[Antalya Province]]. Anamur contains [[Anatolia]]'s southernmost point,<ref>The southernmost point of Turkey's [[Hatay Province]] is slightly more to the south.</ref> It is a coastal resort known for its [[banana]]s and [[peanut]]s.

==Etymology==
Anamur has mutated from the [[Ancient Greek]] "Anemourion" ({{lang|grc|Ἀνεμούριον}}), [[Latinisation of names|Latinized]] as "Anemurium", meaning "[[windmill]]".<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Da%29nemou%2Frion ἀνεμούριον], 
Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus project</ref>

==History==
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2013}}
[[Anemurium]] was in an area dominated by the [[Hittites]] and the [[ancient Assyrians|Assyrians]].

===Late Bronze===
During the Hittite period in the twelfth century BC, the ruler Tuthalia IV, granted Anemurium to Mattuvata who had taken refuge in his kingdom. Mattuvata took advantage of the Hittites’ weakness, establishing his own kingdom with Anemurium as its capital. His rule extended as far as [[Afyon]], in central [[Anatolia]].

===Iron Age===
At the end of the twelfth century the area was occupied by a nomadic tribe that had come from across the [[Caucasus]] mountains. The tribe was called by the ancient Greeks the "Wind people" (Ἀνέμου γένος) after whom the city was named.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} The exact reasons behind this name are lost in time. The most probable explanation however, is that they worshiped a god of wind, perhaps similar to the Greek [[Aeolus]], as their main deity.  Then the city came under the control of the Phoenicians, and later [[Greater Iran|Persians]]. In 333 BC [[Alexander the Great]] brought this coast within his Macedonian Empire, and he was succeeded by [[Seleucids]] and then [[Ancient Romans]]. The coast was given by [[Mark Antony|Mark Anthony]] to [[Cleopatra]] as a wedding present and Roman coins have been discovered in the course of excavation, dating to the years between Emperors Titus (AD 79–81) and Valerian (AD 253–259).
The Romans were succeeded by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]].

The city was first occupied by an [[Islam]]ic Army in the time of [[Umar ibn al-Khattab]].

In XI - XIII centuries it was a part of [[Cilician Kingdom]].

[[Turkish people]] reached the city in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. In the thirteenth century, the [[Karamanids]], a Turkish clan in Central Anatolia, expanded their borders towards the city, building the [[Ala Bridge|Alaköprü]] bridge (which can still be seen on the road to [[Ankara]]) and conquering the city in 1290 from [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|Cilicia Armenians]]. It was also ruled by the [[Seljuk Turk]]ish [[Sultanate of Rum]] between 1075 and 1099 and again between 1228 and 1246.

==Climate==
Anamur has a [[hot-summer Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Csa'') with long, hot and dry summers and cool and rainy winters.
{{Weather box
| location = Anamur (1991–2020)
| single line = yes
| metric first = yes
| Jan high C = 15.9
| Feb high C = 16.4
| Mar high C = 18.8
| Apr high C = 21.6
| May high C = 25.7
| Jun high C = 30.0
| Jul high C = 33.2
| Aug high C = 33.7
| Sep high C = 31.4
| Oct high C = 27.6
| Nov high C = 22.3
| Dec high C = 17.7
| year high C = 24.6
| Jan mean C = 11.7
| Feb mean C = 12.1
| Mar mean C = 14.3
| Apr mean C = 17.1
| May mean C = 21.0
| Jun mean C = 25.1
| Jul mean C = 28.4
| Aug mean C = 29.0
| Sep mean C = 26.3
| Oct mean C = 22.4
| Nov mean C = 17.4
| Dec mean C = 13.4
| year mean C = 19.9
| Jan low C = 8.5
| Feb low C = 8.6
| Mar low C = 10.3
| Apr low C = 12.9
| May low C = 16.8
| Jun low C = 20.7
| Jul low C = 24.1
| Aug low C = 24.5
| Sep low C = 21.6
| Oct low C = 18.1
| Nov low C = 13.7
| Dec low C = 10.1
| year low C = 15.9
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 192.0
| Feb precipitation mm = 135.6
| Mar precipitation mm = 82.0
| Apr precipitation mm = 45.8
| May precipitation mm = 28.2
| Jun precipitation mm = 3.5
| Jul precipitation mm = 0.8
| Aug precipitation mm = 1.2
| Sep precipitation mm = 13.0
| Oct precipitation mm = 56.3
| Nov precipitation mm = 135.4
| Dec precipitation mm = 208.7
| year precipitation mm = 902.5
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 11.4
| Feb precipitation days = 8.9
| Mar precipitation days = 7.0
| Apr precipitation days = 4.6
| May precipitation days = 3.0
| Jun precipitation days = 1.2
| Jul precipitation days = 1.3
| Aug precipitation days = 1.0
| Sep precipitation days = 2.1
| Oct precipitation days = 4.6
| Nov precipitation days = 5.9
| Dec precipitation days = 10.5
| year precipitation days = 61.5
| Jan humidity = 68.3
| Feb humidity = 66.2
| Mar humidity = 66.8
| Apr humidity = 70.3
| May humidity = 72.2
| Jun humidity = 72.3
| Jul humidity = 70.3
| Aug humidity = 69.2
| Sep humidity = 63.6
| Oct humidity = 61.3
| Nov humidity = 62.6
| Dec humidity = 68.0
| year humidity = 67.6
| Jan sun = 139.9
| Feb sun = 159.5
| Mar sun = 215.1
| Apr sun = 246.7
| May sun = 280.3
| Jun sun = 303.4
| Jul sun = 317.8
| Aug sun = 313.7
| Sep sun = 285.3
| Oct sun = 239.0
| Nov sun = 178.5
| Dec sun = 135.5
| year sun = 2814.7
| source = [[NCEI]]<ref name=WMOCLINO>{{cite web
| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Turkiye/CSV/Anamur_17320.csv
| title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020: Anamur |format=CSV | publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] | access-date = 18 August 2025}}</ref>}}

{{Weather box |metric first= Yes |single line= Yes |location= Anamur |collapsed=y
|Jan record high C= 21.5
|Feb record high C= 23.2
|Mar record high C= 26.4
|Apr record high C= 31.2
|May record high C= 37.0
|Jun record high C= 41.0
|Jul record high C= 42.0
|Aug record high C= 40.0
|Sep record high C= 38.2
|Oct record high C= 34.6
|Nov record high C= 30.3
|Dec record high C= 25.9
|Jan high C= 15.7
|Feb high C= 15.9
|Mar high C= 18.2
|Apr high C= 21.4
|May high C= 25.3
|Jun high C= 29.6
|Jul high C= 32.8
|Aug high C= 33.0
|Sep high C= 30.9
|Oct high C= 26.9
|Nov high C= 21.6
|Dec high C= 17.3
|Jan low C= 8.1
|Feb low C= 8.1
|Mar low C= 9.6
|Apr low C= 12.3
|May low C= 15.8
|Jun low C= 19.8
|Jul low C= 23.0
|Aug low C= 23.0
|Sep low C= 20.1
|Oct low C= 16.8
|Nov low C= 12.8
|Dec low C= 9.6
|Jan record low C= 0.3
|Feb record low C= -0.8
|Mar record low C= -0.7
|Apr record low C= 3.6
|May record low C= 8.6
|Jun record low C= 12.2
|Jul record low C= 16.2
|Aug record low C= 15.8
|Sep record low C= 10.8
|Oct record low C= 8.2
|Nov record low C= 2.3
|Dec record low C= 1.2
|Jan rain days= 13.2
|Feb rain days= 11.5
|Mar rain days= 9.5
|Apr rain days= 7.4
|May rain days= 4.1
|Jun rain days= 1.9
|Jul rain days= 1.0
|Aug rain days= 1.1
|Sep rain days= 2.5
|Oct rain days= 5.5
|Nov rain days= 8.4
|Dec rain days= 12.5
|Jan precipitation mm = 186.0
|Feb precipitation mm = 140.9
|Mar precipitation mm = 87.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 52.7
|May precipitation mm = 22.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 5.6
|Jul precipitation mm = 0.9
|Aug precipitation mm = 3.7
|Sep precipitation mm = 13.7
|Oct precipitation mm = 72.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 138.1
|Dec precipitation mm = 199.4
|humidity colour = green
| Jan humidity    =68.3
| Feb humidity    =66.2
| Mar humidity    =66.8
| Apr humidity    =70.3
| May humidity    =72.2
| Jun humidity    =73.3
| Jul humidity    =70.3
| Aug humidity    =69.2
| Sep humidity    =63.6
| Oct humidity    =61.3
| Nov humidity    =62.6
| Dec humidity    =68
| year humidity   =
|Jan sun= 145.7
|Feb sun= 154
|Mar sun= 213.9
|Apr sun= 246
|May sun= 303.8
|Jun sun= 327
|Jul sun= 344.1
|Aug sun= 337.9
|Sep sun= 306
|Oct sun= 251.1
|Nov sun= 192
|Dec sun= 145.7
|source 1= Devlet Meteoroloji İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dmi.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?m%3DANAMUR |title=İl ve İlçelerimize Ait İstatistiki Veriler- Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü |access-date=2011-03-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023222012/http://www.dmi.gov.tr/veridegerlendirme/il-ve-ilceler-istatistik.aspx?m=ANAMUR |archive-date=2010-10-23 }}</ref>
|source 2= [[NCEI]](humidity 1991-2020)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Turkiye/CSV/Anamur_17320.csv |title=WMO Climate normals for 1991-2020: Anamur |access-date=23 June 2024 |website=ncei.noaa.gov |publisher=[[NOAA]] |no-pp=y |format=CSV |quote=WMO station number: 17320}}</ref>
|date= March 2011
}}

==Anamur today==
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2013}}
The local economy depends on agriculture, especially bananas and strawberries. The summers are hot and this is the only part of Turkey that can sustain the growing of bananas. Greenhouses for growing bananas are found everywhere; other tropical fruits such as papaya, pineapple and avocado are grown here now too. Anamur produces 40% of Turkey's strawberries. A traditional local specialty is [[taro]] (known locally as ''[[wikt:gölevez|gölevez]]'').

Although there are places of historical interest, long beaches and a clean sea, there is no large scale tourism on this part of the coast, as the coast road in both directions is winding and really slow to drive. But there are major road works now into the direction of Mersin and Antalya. Many kilometers have four lanes now. It takes 5 hours to get here by bus from either [[Mersin]] or [[Antalya]]. Gazipasa Airport (near Alanya) opened in mid-2011 with Direct charter flights from Amsterdam (Netherlands) take place twice a week. German airliners will fly to this airport in 2012. There are other airports in Antalya and Adana. Although some people from central [[Anatolia]] as well as foreigners from Europe (Germans/Austrians/Dutch) have holiday homes here, Anamur itself is a quiet, isolated town with no night life, and in winter is very quiet. Anamur Iskele is a beach resort in this area. A lot of holiday flats and villa's are situated near the beach or more inland. Plenty of small and some bigger hotels offer good quality as well as the restaurants near the small boulevard. The beaches are important nesting grounds for the sea turtle [[caretta caretta]] and the rocky areas of coastline are inhabited by the [[Mediterranean monk seal]]. The Turkish military has a base on the coast. The island of [[Cyprus]] is a way offshore and there are no sea crossings to [[Kyrenia]]/[[Girne]] anymore. The Taşucu Ferryboat companies blocked it.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} Now [[Taşucu]], 2 hours east from Anamur by car, is the closest ferry terminal offering ferry service to Cyprus. The silhouette of the island of Cyprus is visible if there is no sea fog. It is just 40 miles away from Anamur.

== Sites to visit ==
[[File:Castle in Mamure, Anamur, Turkey.jpg|thumb|Mamure, the old Crusader castle.]]
* [[Mamure Castle]], the medieval castle, well-preserved, about {{convert|7|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} south east of Anamur. Originally built by the Romans in the third or fourth century AD, it was enlarged by the Byzantine Empire and the [[Crusaders]]. After the [[Seljuk Turk]]ish Sultan [[Kayqubad I|Alaeddin Kayqubad]] captured the castle in 1221, he had it rebuilt in its present form. It consists of three courtyards with 39 towers, surrounded by a moat. In one courtyard there is an ancient mosque with a minaret – built by Mahmud Bey of [[Karamanids|Karaman]] in 1300-1308 – which is still open for prayer. There are the ruins of a bathhouse on the opposite side.  The castle is in two sections with two lines of ramparts between them, a walkway along the ramparts links the two sides.
* [[Anemurium]], the remains of the ancient city, built between {{circa|100}} BC and AD 600 {{convert|6|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} southwest of Anamur, on the coast. The stone walls of the city are still partly intact and there are many mosaics. The small theatre or odeion is still largely intact across from the more poorly preserved large theatre and there are several bath buildings.  Enough left of the city's two-storey Roman bathhouse to give a good impression of what it was in its heyday, with changing rooms, a hot section, a warm section, and a hall with a pool. On the entrance gate a sign written Latin says “Welcome to the baths, have a good bath.” The city had an elaborate water supply system, as illustrated by the remains of the aqueducts. There is also an acropolis containing the ruins of a palace, which had its own private water supply. Around the city walls there are many Roman built tombs, which even have small entrance halls for visitors.  The site has been excavated by Canadian teams from the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia.
* Many caves including [[Çukurpınar Cave|Çukurpınar]], one of the longest in the world, (1420 m) and Köşekbükü (the air is said to be treatment for asthma or malaria).

==Composition==
There are 56 [[mahalle|neighbourhoods]] in Anamur District:<ref>[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx Mahalle], Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023.</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
* Akarca
* Akdeniz
* [[Akine, Anamur|Akine]]
* [[Alataş]]
* [[Anıtlı]]
* [[Aşağıkükür]]
* Bahçe
* Bahçelievler
* [[Boğuntu]]
* [[Bozdoğan, Anamur|Bozdoğan]]
* [[Çaltıbükü]]
* [[Çamlıpınar, Anamur|Çamlıpınar]]
* [[Çamlıpınaralanı]]
* [[Çarıklar]]
* [[Çataloluk, Anamur|Çataloluk]]
* [[Çeltikçi, Anamur|Çeltikçi]]
* [[Çukurabanoz]]
* [[Demirören, Anamur|Demirören]]
* [[Emirşah]]
* Esentepe
* [[Evciler, Anamur|Evciler]]
* Fatih
* [[Gercebahşiş]]
* Göktaş
* [[Güleç, Anamur|Güleç]]
* [[Güneybahşiş, Anamur|Güneybahşiş]]
* [[Güngören, Anamur|Güngören]]
* Güzelyurt
* İskele
* Kalınören
* [[Karaağa, Anamur|Karaağa]]
* [[Karaçukur, Anamur|Karaçukur]]
* [[Karadere, Anamur|Karadere]]
* [[Karalarbahşiş]]
* [[Kaşdişlen]]
* [[Kılıç, Anamur|Kılıç]]
* [[Kızılaliler]]
* [[Köprübaşı, Anamur|Köprübaşı]]
* [[Korucuk, Anamur|Korucuk]]
* [[Kükür, Anamur|Kükür]]
* [[Lale, Anamur|Lale]]
* [[Malaklar]]
* [[Ören, Mersin|Ören]]
* [[Ormancık, Anamur|Ormancık]]
* [[Ovabaşı, Anamur|Ovabaşı]]
* Sağlık
* Saray
* [[Sarıağaç]]
* [[Sarıdana]]
* [[Sugözü, Anamur|Sugözü]]
* Sultan Alaattin
* Toroslar
* [[Uçarı, Anamur|Uçarı]]
* Yalıevleri
* Yeşilyurt
* Yıldırımbeyazıt
{{div col end}}

== Twin towns and sister cities ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2025}}
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Bingen am Rhein]], [[Germany]]
*{{flagicon|Northern Cyprus}} [[Kyrenia|Girne]], [[Northern Cyprus]]
*{{flagicon|AZE}} [[Mingachevir]], [[Azerbaijan]]
*{{flagicon|BIH}} [[Konjic]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]

==See also==
*[[Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Anamur}}
{{Wikivoyage|Anamur}}
* [http://www.anamur.gov.tr/ District governor's official website] {{in lang|tr}}
* [http://www.anamur.bel.tr/ District municipality's official website] {{in lang|tr}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080413192919/http://www.supermersin.com/ About Mersin City and Anamur]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181123155935/http://www.mersinuniversitesi.net/ Mersin University]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100612041312/http://www.turkeygo.com/2010/05/anamur-and-anemurium.html Anamur and Anemurium]

* [http://www.pbase.com/dosseman/anamur Pictures of Anamur including its castle and Anemurion]

{{Districts of Turkey|provname=Mersin}}
{{Mersin Province}}
{{Anamur District}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Anamur| ]]
[[Category:Populated places in Anamur District]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Turkey]]
[[Category:Districts of Mersin Province]]
[[Category:Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey]]