Gözcüler (former Alakop) is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of

Arsuz Arsuz (; ) is a municipality and district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 462 km2, and its population is 101,233 (2022). It covers the southwestern part of the agglomeration of İskenderun and the adjacent countryside and coast. In anc ...

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

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 6,565 (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 ...

''). Also in 2013, it passed from the district of

İskenderun İskenderun (), historically known as Alexandretta (, ) and Scanderoon, is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is 247 km2, and its population is 251,682 (2022). It is on the Mediterranean coas ...

to the new district of Arsuz. It is situated to the south of İskenderun and to the east of Arsuz (Uluçınar). Although not a coastal town, the distance to

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 ...

coast is only . The distance to İskenderun is and to

Antakya Antakya (), Turkish form of Antioch, is a municipality and the capital Districts of Turkey, district of Hatay Province, Turkey. Its area is . Prior to the devastating 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, 2023 earthquakes, its population was recorded ...

(province center) is . After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

most of Hatay province was occupied by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the settlement was named as ''Elvehep'' referring to a certain Abdülvahap Pasha who owned most of the territory around. After Hatay became a part of Turkey in 1939, the settlement was renamed as ''Alakop'' and after 1960 as ''Gözcüler'' (literally “watchmen”). Gözcüler was declared a seat of township in 1988. Although most of town revenue is from agriculture, the touristic potential is promising.

References

Neighbourhoods in Arsuz District {{Hatay-geo-stub