Kaş | |
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 Kaş town seen from the sea | |
 Map showing Kaş District in Antalya Province | |
  Kaş Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates:36°12′00″N29°38′30″E / 36.20000°N 29.64167°E /36.20000; 29.64167 | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Antalya |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Erol Demirhan (CHP) |
Area | 1,750 km2 (680 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[1] | 62,866 |
| • Density | 36/km2 (93/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Area code | 0242 |
| Website | www |
Kaş (Turkish pronunciation:[kaʃ]) is a small fishing, diving, yachting and tourist town, and a municipality anddistrict ofAntalya Province,Turkey.[2] Its area is 1,750 km2,[3] and its population is 62,866 (2022).[1] It is 168 km west of the city ofAntalya. As a tourist resort, it is relatively unspoiled.
Although theTeke peninsula has been occupied since the Stone Age, it seems Kaş was founded by theLycians, and its name in Lycian language wasHabesos orHabesa. It was a member of theLycian League, and its importance during this time is confirmed by the presence of one of the richest Lyciannecropoleis.[citation needed]
In theHellenistic period and under theRoman Empire it served as the port ofPhellus calledAntiphellus (Greek:Αντίφελλος,romanized: Antífellos), the name by which it was known at that time.[citation needed]
The town suffered because ofArab incursions,[citation needed] then was annexed (under the name ofAndifli) to theAnatolianSultanate of Rum, led by theSeljuks. After the demise of the Seljuks, it came under theOttomans.[citation needed]
In 1923, because of the forcibleexchange of populations between Greece and Turkey after theGreco-Turkish War, population of Greek origin in the area left for Greece.[4]
In the early 1990s tourism started booming in Kaş, with visitors mainly from the UK and Germany. This growth of tourism brought an explosion in apartment building (often without license), which is seriously threatening the landscape and the environment. Particularly affected is theÇukurbağ Peninsula, west of the town, which now has luxury hotels built on it.[citation needed]
As the tenth most populous district of Antalya as of 2022,[1] Kaş is on a hill running down to theTurquoise Coast of southwestern Turkey. The district has a typicalMediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, which allows the growth of oranges, lemons and bananas.[citation needed] The lowland areas are also planted with cut flowers and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Many are grown all year round under glass.[citation needed] The hillsides producehoney andalmonds, while at high altitudes there are extensive pine forests. The weather is drier at high altitudes. Although agriculture is still important, tourism is the main source of income in the district, which has many hotels and guest houses.
About 6 km (4 mi) offshore from Kaş is theGreek islet ofKastelórizo (inTurkishMeis Adası)[5][6][7] served by a Turkish ferry daily with the option of same day returns.
| Climate data for Kaş (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 15.9 (60.6) | 16.1 (61.0) | 18.1 (64.6) | 21.1 (70.0) | 25.2 (77.4) | 29.5 (85.1) | 32.5 (90.5) | 32.9 (91.2) | 30.2 (86.4) | 26.3 (79.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 17.5 (63.5) | 24.0 (75.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) | 12.4 (54.3) | 14.2 (57.6) | 16.9 (62.4) | 21.0 (69.8) | 25.2 (77.4) | 28.3 (82.9) | 28.7 (83.7) | 25.9 (78.6) | 22.1 (71.8) | 17.7 (63.9) | 13.9 (57.0) | 19.9 (67.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) | 9.9 (49.8) | 11.4 (52.5) | 14.0 (57.2) | 17.9 (64.2) | 22.1 (71.8) | 25.1 (77.2) | 25.7 (78.3) | 23.0 (73.4) | 19.6 (67.3) | 15.1 (59.2) | 11.0 (51.8) | 17.0 (62.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 179.07 (7.05) | 122.84 (4.84) | 74.81 (2.95) | 40.61 (1.60) | 15.83 (0.62) | 2.54 (0.10) | 0.89 (0.04) | 0.15 (0.01) | 14.7 (0.58) | 74.12 (2.92) | 111.31 (4.38) | 197.27 (7.77) | 834.14 (32.84) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 11.3 | 9.0 | 6.3 | 4.8 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 5.8 | 10.5 | 59.9 |
| Source:NOAA[8] | |||||||||||||
There are 54neighbourhoods in Kaş District:[9]
The tourist industry is centered on the pleasant town of Kaş, but many other coastal towns and villages in the district have plenty of accommodation for visitors includingKalkan and Gelemiş. The district can be reached from bothAntalya andDalaman airports, as there is no airport in Kaş.
Kaş itself is a town with its turquoise blue sea and narrow streets scented with jasmine flowers. Kaş has an annual arts festival, jazz concerts in the Hellenistic theatre and theKiln Under the Sea arts collective have held underwater ceramics exhibitions here.
Kaş is one of the leading spots forscuba diving in Turkey. Its visited by beginners as well as advanced divers.[10] There are more than 15dive centers and diving schools, mostly located at the local port. They offer guided diving trips to the 50 dive spots in the vicinity. Diving in Kaş offers an array of fish and other sea creatures likeoctopus and sea turtles.[citation needed]
Besides the biological diversity, Kaş offers a vast variety of underwater cultural heritage. Among various wreck sites, six artificial wrecks are worth visiting. These wrecks are submerged to createartificial reefs and touristic diving spots. There are two historically important wreck sites, an airplane from World War II and a cargo ship from the 1950s sunk near the small islands in the extremities of Kaş. One last important diving spot is the "Kaş Archaeopark Site", an experimental archaeology project conducted by the Underwater Research Society (Sualtı Araştırmaları Derneği-SAD) in 2006.[11] In this scientific project, an interpretative reconstruction of theUluburun wreck and its cargo is placed underwater.[citation needed]
Outdoor sport activities attract the more adventurous visitors of Kaş, especially small group holidays from Europe and independent travellers[citation needed]. Popular adventures include:
On Fridays, Greek visitors fromKastelorizo visit the markets of Kaş, including the central city market full local products and produce grown in the surrounding villages.[citation needed]
The district has a population of 62,866 (2022).[1] The town itself has 9,084 inhabitants.[12] Other larger settlements areKınık andOva.
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