Aksaz Naval Base ( tr, Aksaz Deniz Üssü) is a base of 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 establi ...

on the south-east coast of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans an ...

Marmaris Marmaris () is a port city and tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, located in Muğla Province, southwest Turkey, along the shoreline of the Turkish Riviera. Although Marmaris is known for its honey, its main source of income is interna ...

Muğla Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dist ...

. In addition to the military buildings, the base houses apartment-like

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are ...

and social facilities stretched over of land. Six helicopters are also stationed at Aksaz.

History

To meet the requirements of the Turkish Navy's power presence in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

and

, extensive planning was started in the late 1960s for the search of the location of a naval base. The selected area was Karaağaç Bay at Aksaz, east of Marmaris in Muğla Province. The place had been mentioned by

Piri Reis Ahmet Muhiddin Piri ( 1465 – 1553), better known as Piri Reis ( tr, Pîrî Reis or '' Hacı Ahmet Muhittin Pîrî Bey''), was a navigator, geographer and cartographer. He is primarily known today for his maps and charts collected in his ''K ...

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

historical documents as the most appropriate

natural harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

capable of hosting a large naval fleet. Construction of the naval base started in 1983. With the completion of the infrastructure in 1992, units and vessels of the navy started to move in. The base reached its final stage in 2000. Naval Base Aksaz is today a modern facility, preferred for logistic support also by foreign navies.

Operations

At the Aksaz Naval Base, the Southern Sea Area Command of the Turkish Navy maintains special units as: * Su Altı Savunma (SAS) (Underwater Defense) * Su Altı Taaruz (SAT) (Underwater Attack)

References

{{reflist Turkish Navy bases Economy of Muğla Military in Muğla Buildings and structures in Muğla Province Marmaris