Karamürsel is a town and district located in northwestern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, on the coast of the Bay of
Izmit in the province of
Kocaeli. Before its conquest by the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
it used to be called by the Greek name of Praenetos (Πραινετός in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
). The modern name commemorates Kara Mürsel who founded the Ottoman navy and designed distinctive
galley ships, called ''kadırgas,'' for it.
Karamürsel holds special significance for the
Turkish Navy
The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.
The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establ ...
, as it was here in 1323 that the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
first established an outlet to the sea, thus laying the foundations for the
Ottoman Navy which would go on to dominate the
eastern Mediterranean
Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern approximate half, or third, of the Mediterranean Sea, often defined as the countries around the Levantine Sea.
It typically embraces all of that sea's coastal zones, referring to commun ...
for several centuries.
The Karamürsel area is not as heavily industrialised as other parts of Kocaeli province,.
Ferry services link Karamürsel to İzmit/Kocaeli and Hereke on the northern side of the Bay of İzmit.
Population
According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82-1893, the
kaza
A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough')
* bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза
* el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also ()
* lad, kaza
, ...
of Karamürsel had a total population of 25,322, consisting of 11,023
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
, 10,732 Muslims, 3,549
Armenians and 18 foreign citizens. In 1923 the Greeks were obliged to leave Turkey under the terms of the
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the confl ...
that concluded the
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
.
Today the people living in Karamürsel and its villages are mainly Muslim Manav Turks and immigrants known as ''muhacir'' in
Turkish. Some of these immigrants arrived from
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
,
Lazistan
Lazistan ( lzz, ლაზონა, Lazona; ka, ლაზეთი, Lazeti, or ჭანეთი ''Ç'aneti''; ota, لازستان, Lazistān) is a historical and cultural region of the Caucasus and Anatolia, traditionally inhabited by the Laz ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Circassia
Circassia (; also known as Cherkessia in some sources; ady, Адыгэ Хэку, Адыгей, lit=, translit=Adıgə Xəku, Adıgey; ; ota, چرکسستان, Çerkezistan; ) was a country and a historical region in the along the northeast ...
and
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...
during and after the fall of Ottoman Empire; a particularly large number of
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
settled in the area after the
1877-78 Russo-Turkish war. Many Muslim refugees from all around the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
settled in the region and this ethnic structure has resulted in a culture influenced by that of the
Balkans and
Caucasus. More recently Karamürsel has also attracted settlers from other parts of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, especially the
Black Sea Region
The Black Sea Region ( tr, Karadeniz Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Samsun. Other big cities are Trabzon, Ordu, Tokat, Giresun, Rize, Amasya and Sinop.
It is bordered by the Marmara Region to the w ...
.
The 1999 İzmit Earthquake
Karamürsel was badly damaged on 17 August 1999 during the devastating
İzmit earthquake, which rocked the eastern part of the Marmara Region. in Karamürsel alone 164 people lost their lives and many were left homeless. After the earthquake many people left for other parts of Turkey and Karamürsel resembled a ghost-town over the winter of 1999. Since then houses have been repaired and business reopened. During the earthquake, a tsunami struck both sides of the Bay of İzmit in about a single minute. Although the tsunami was not particularly large, substantial portions of the towns of
Gölcük,
Degirmendere and Karamürsel were inundated by the sea (Altinok et al., 1999). The coast of Karamürsel has now been repaired and reconstructed. There is a monument to those who died on the waterftont in Karamürsel.
The military
Karamürsel has a long history as an important naval base. The first Ottoman shipyard was built in Karamürsel in 1327. The ships built there formed the nucleus of the first Ottoman Naval Forces.
American base
Due to its strategic and naturally protected location, Karamürsel has been used as a naval base to help control access to the Black Sea. During the Cold War a U.S. military base was also located in Karamürsel for many years to intercept Russian radio transmissions. The station, containing a 500-foot-diameter antenna array
AN/FLR-9
The AN/FLR-9 is a type of very large circular "Wullenweber" antenna array, built at eight locations during the cold war for HF/DF direction finding of high priority targets. The worldwide network, known collectively as "Iron Horse", could locate ...
, called Elephant Cage, was in place from 1957 until 1979; this huge landmark was visible from everywhere in Karamürsel, from villages on the hills surrounding the town and even from the shores across the Bay of Izmit. After the US military left the base was transferred to the Turkish Navy and is still in operation today. However, the US military removed an important chip from the antenna so that it would not be used after they left. The antenna was demolished in the mid-1990s.
In 1958, a
USDESEA Educational System school for the dependents of the U.S. military opened at th
Karamürsel Air StationStarting as an elementary school, it was expanded to take middle school students and eventually both junior and senior high school students. In 1961, a new school building was constructed and served the educational needs of the military personnel's children until the base itself closed in 1979.
In addition to the students who lived on the base with their parents, the American dependents' school at the Karamürsel Air Station (KCDI) became a regional
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
that took students from grades nine through twelve. High-school-aged students whose parents were stationed in other Turkish locations, those stationed in
Iraklion Air Station
Iraklion Air Station was a United States Air Force facility located east of the city of Iraklion near the village of Gournes, in the north central section of the Greek island of Crete.
History
Major commands to which assigned
Detachment 2, 3 ...
in Crete, and the children of civilian federal employees working for the VOA (
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
) radio station in Xanthi, Greece now attended high school in Karamürsel.
Sport
The
2012 European Junior Open Water Swimming Championships were held in Karamürsel, with 117 swimmers from 21 countries taking part.
Notable natives
*
Hakan Arıkan
Hakan Arıkan (born 17 August 1982) is a Turkish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Club career Raising to fame
Arıkan had begun his career at Petkimspor, an amateur team based in western Turkish city of İzmit. He then joined Kocaeli ...
(born 1982), footballer for
Kayserispor
Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits.
The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also finish ...
*
Necdet Calp (1922-1998), civil servant and politician
*
Merih Demiral
Merih Demiral (born 5 March 1998) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Atalanta and the Turkey national team.
Club career Early years
A product of the Fenerbahçe youth system, Demiral was signed by Portugue ...
(born 1998), footballer for
Juventus
)''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback)
, founded = as Sport-Club Juventus
, ground = Juventus Stadium
, capacity = 41,507
, owner = Agnelli ...
*
Sermet Erkin (born 1957), stage magician
See also
*
Caramoussal
References
External links
BelediyeDistrict's governorKaramürsel(Paul Dion's Karamürsel Website)
Karamursel American SchoolThe American Military in TurkeyKaramürsel PhotographsKaramürselCity Local Web SiteKaramürsel Photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karamursel
Towns in Turkey
Populated places in Kocaeli Province
Populated coastal places in Turkey
Districts of Kocaeli Province