Arslanköy (also called Efrenk) is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of

Toroslar Toroslar is a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,075 km2, and its population is 319,711 (2022). It covers the northern part of the city of Mersin and the adjacent countryside. Geography The district of Akd ...

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its population is 1,683 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''

belde Belde (literally "town", also known as ''kasaba'') means "large village with a municipality" in Turkish language, Turkish. All Turkish province centers and district centers have municipalities, but the Villages of Turkey, villages are usually too ...

'').

Geography

Arslanköy is a mountain town situated in the

Toros Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a ...

at an altitude of approximately . The distance by road to Mersin is .

History

Located about 3 kilometers south from the town is a small garrison fort that consists of several walls and a gate that block access to the summit of a limestone outcrop. The masonry indicates that it dates from the early Byzantine period with additions in the 12th or 13th century during the period of the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

. It is located in the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

near the junction of several strategic roads which lead from both

Çandır Castle Çandır Castle () the medieval Armenian site of Paperon (, also known as Barbaron), is a fortification in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography The castle is in the Toros Mountains at . It is situated to the east of Ayvagediği and Gözne Castle ...

(Papeṙōn) and the

Mediterranean Sea 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 Eur ...

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

. The fortification was surveyed in 1979. Among the early settlers were nomadic

Oghuz Turks The Oghuz Turks ( Middle Turkic: , ) were a western Turkic people who spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation conventionally named the Oghuz Yabgu State in Central Asia ...

(Turkmens) who began to use the vicinity as a summer camp () in the 14th century. Later a village was established. Some of the most influential folk poets like

Karacaoğlan Karacaoğlan was a 17th-century Anatolian Turkish folk poet and ashik. His exact dates of birth and death are unknown but it is widely accepted that he was born around 1606 and died around 1679. He lived around the city of Osmaniye. His tomb, wh ...

of the 17th century and

Dadaloğlu Dadaloğlu (Veli) (1785 ?–1868 ?) was a Turkish Ottoman, a folk poet-singer, known as ''ozan'' (bard). Background Two distinct literatures existed in the Ottoman Empire. Literature of the palace, so called divan literature used Ottoman Turki ...

of the 19th century are believed to have spent some years in Arslanköy. Arslanköy previously an ambiguous village, made news in 1947 local elections. The candidate of the opposition won the elections for village headman (). A civil servant supporting the governing party, tried to alter the official minutes . But residents of the village resisted and fought for their preference. Arslanköy was declared a seat of township in 1954.

Economy

Owing to high altitude, Arslanköy is one of the coolest parts of the province. The main crops are cereals and some fruits such as apples and peaches.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arslankoy Neighbourhoods in Toroslar District