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Gulf of Gökova (Turkish:Gökova Körfezi) orGulf of Kerme (Turkish:Kerme Körfezi;Greek:Κεραμεικός κόλπος;Latin:Ceramicus Sinus,lit. 'ceramic gulf'; orGulf of Cos), is a long (100 km), narrow gulf of theAegean Sea betweenBodrum andDatça peninsulas in south-westTurkey.
Administratively, the Gulf of Gökova coastline includes portions of the districts of, clockwise, Bodrum,Milas,Muğla,Ula,Marmaris and Datça. TheGreek island ofKos lies along the entry into the Gulf.
Bodrum, located in its northwest reaches, is the only large city on the gulf today. In ancient times, alongsideHalicarnassus (modern-dayBodrum), the city ofCeramus, located midway along the gulf's northern shore and after which the gulf was named, was also an important urban center. Across Ceramus (Gereme) (in the modern township ofÖren [tr]), at a short distance from the gulf's southern shore and not far from its outlying waters, was another historical site of note, calledCedrae in ancient times. Cedrae was located inSedir Island, which was prized by visitors for its beach and of which some remains still exist.
Thealluvial plain that extends to the Gulf's end, also named Gökova, is the location of the townships ofAkyaka andGökova, with only a few kilometers separating the two. Until 1945, the hamlets across the plain were mostly marshlands ridden with malaria until that time and were collectively known asGökabad. Consequently, the gulf and one of the settlements came to be calledGökova, a term which is often used to designate the area in which Akyaka, and not the neighboring township of Gökova, is actually prominent.
The name,Gökova, (possibly derived fromCova, the designation by which the area was known inOttoman times) is mentioned as "Djova" in some recent English navigation charts and alternatively is used for: the gulf, for the plain at the end of the same gulf, for a township situated in the same plain, and as a casual term covering the emerging resort area centered in the coastal town of Akyaka.
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36°59′57″N28°09′43″E / 36.99917°N 28.16194°E /36.99917; 28.16194
