Aksaz Naval Base () is a base of the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

on the south-east coast of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

Marmaris Marmaris () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Muğla Province, Turkey. Its area is 906 km2, and its population is 97,818 (2022). It is a port city and tourist resort on the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean coast, along the shorel ...

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

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

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

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 Muhiddin Piri ( 1470 – 1553), better known as Piri Reis (), was an Ottoman cartographer, admiral, navigator, corsair, and geographer. He is primarily known today for his cartographic works, including his 1513 world map and the '' Kitab-ı ...

in Ottoman historical documents as the most appropriate

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

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 The Underwater Defence (), or SAS, is the one and only EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit of the Turkish Navy, based in the Foça Naval Base near İzmir, on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Turkey The missions of the Su Altı Savunma (SAS) ...

(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