Bitez is a town in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...

district of the Muğla Province.

Geography

It is situated in Bodrum Peninsula at . It is almost merged with Bodrum which is just east of Bitez. It is a coastal town and a popular summer resort. The settled population of Bitez is 8155 as of 2011. But during the summer months the population is much higher.

Economy

The climate in Bitez is suitable for all

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 ...

agricultural crops like olive, citrus, tobacco, etc. In the past fishing was also a part of the town economy. But at the present, the main economic activity is tourism. There are many hotels and restaurants in addition to blue flag beaches in Bitez which are mainly active during summers.

Bitez in popular culture

Bitez is famous for a popular song named '' Çökertme'' composed in the early years of the 20th century. There are two versions of the event upon which the lyrics refer to. But in both versions, the main theme is the struggle against

Regie Company The Ottoman Tobacco Company, also known as the Régie Company for its French official name ''Société de la régie co-intéressée des tabacs de l'empire Ottoman'', was a parastatal company or Regie formed in the later Ottoman Empire by the Otto ...

founded for

Ottoman Public Debt Administration The Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) ( ota, دیون عمومیهٔ عثمانیه واردات مخصصه اداره‌سی, script=Arab, Düyun-u Umumiye-i Osmaniye Varidat-ı Muhassasa İdaresi, or simply as it was popularly known), ...

which controlled the tobacco trade in Turkey. The producers had no right to sell their own products. This gave rise to smuggler traffic and the smugglers began smuggling tobacco to

Cos Cos, COS, CoS, coS or Cos. may refer to: Mathematics, science and technology * Carbonyl sulfide * Class of service (CoS or COS), a network header field defined by the IEEE 802.1p task group * Class of service (COS), a parameter in telephone sys ...

island of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

(the distance to Cos island is only ). According to lyrics, Bodrum governor (so called Circassian governor, ''Çerkez kaymakam'') arrested two smugglers named Halil Efe and İpram Efe in Bitez shore ( tr, Bitez yalısı) and then executed them without trial. In another version of the story Halil Efe and his sweetheart were trying to escape to Cos island when they were arrested. The governor was furious because he had an eye on Halil’s sweetheart Çakır Gülsüm (Güssüm) Story of Çökertme

References

Populated places in Muğla Province Mediterranean Region, Turkey Towns in Turkey Bodrum District Populated coastal places in Turkey Articles containing video clips {{Turkey-geo-stub