Kemer is a

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

, municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Antalya Province Antalya Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. It is located on the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taur ...

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 area is 412 km², and its population is 49,383 (2022). It is on the

Mediterranean coast 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 Eu ...

, west of the city of

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, on the

Turkish Riviera The Turkish Riviera (), also known popularly as the Turquoise Coast, is an area of southwest Turkey encompassing the provinces of Antalya and Muğla, and to a lesser extent Aydın, southern İzmir and western Mersin. The combination of a ...

. Kemer is on the

Gulf of Antalya The Gulf of Antalya () is a large bay of the northern Levantine Sea, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea south of Antalya Province, Turkey. It includes some of the main seaside resorts of Turkey, also known as the "Turkish Riviera". References ...

, of sea coast with the skirts of the western

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 ...

behind. The coast has the typical Mediterranean hot, dry weather and warm sea. Until the early 1980s this was a quiet rural district, but today the town of Kemer and coastal villages in the district play a very important part in

tourism in Turkey Tourism in Turkey is focused largely on a variety of historical sites, and on seaside resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean Sea coasts. Turkey has also become a popular destination for culture, spa, and health care. In 2023, Turkey was the ...

History

Kemer was the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

city of Idyros, member of the

Lycian League Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğla ...

, which after the Ottoman era was called Eski Köy (''Old Village'') until a long stone wall was built in 1916 - 1917 to channel the mountain stream water and protect the town from flooding, which until then had been a persistent problem. The name ''Kemer'' refers to those walls. Before the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, Greek families lived in the area with the Turks of the area peacefully coexisting. A water mill still exists in the village of Aslanbucak that used to belong to the Greeks of the village of Kemer and Aslanbucak, but the mill is currently located in private property. Until the 1960s there was no road connection and the district was accessible only by boat. Then a road was built and from the 1980s onwards this was followed by a great investment in infrastructure, planned by the state and funded by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, aimed at developing a large tourist industry.

Demographics

The municipality is divided into 12 neighbourhoods, shown in the table below with populations:

Economy

The economy of Kemer district is mostly based on tourism. In the district, which has been declared a first-degree tourism area, there are generally touristic businesses on the coast. Especially orange, lemon and tangerine are grown in the region where agriculture and fruit growing. Recently, pomegranate cultivation has also become widespread.

Healthcare

Health services in Kemer, Antalya have been developed to meet the needs of both locals and tourists. In Kemer, there are public hospitals as well as private hospitals and clinics. These healthcare facilities offer a variety of services, such as emergency services, outpatient clinics, diagnostic and treatment units.

Tourism in Kemer

One of the major attractions of Kemer is its natural environment, including the sea, mountains and pine forests. The shore from Beldibi to Tekirova consists of a number of beaches in bays of various sizes, mostly stoney rather than sand. Supported by transport and communication links, and related municipal services, Kemer has a large proportion of the hotel bed capacity of the Antalya region, and attracts visitors from countries such as

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and in recent years families from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Many of the visitors come as part of low-cost all-inclusive package deals but tourism is still the mainstay of the local economy. There are so many visitors that most shops in Kemer are set up to sell things like leather jackets to overseas visitors, and trade in the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

as well as the Turkish lira. Kemer's 320 berth marina offers several restaurants for the tourists as well as being a wintering-over marina for liveaboard sailors from the US, England and other parts of Europe. Göynük (Goynuk) Canyon, Ulupınar, Olympos,

Chimaera Chimaeras are Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous fish in the order (biology), order Chimaeriformes (), known informally as ghost sharks, rat fish (not to be confused with rattails), spookfish, or rabbit fish; the last two names are also applied to B ...

Phaselis Phaselis () or Faselis () was a Greek and Roman city on the coast of ancient Lycia. Its ruins are located north of the modern town Tekirova in the Kemer district of Antalya Province in Turkey. It lies between the Bey Mountains and the forests ...

, Three Islands and Eco Park are the touristic sites of the Kemer area. The town of Kemer has a number of clubs, bars and

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s, blue flag beaches and a 320 capacity yacht marina. Coastal villages include Beldibi, Kiriş, Çayova, Aslanbucak, Kuzdere, Beycik,

Çamyuva Çamyuva is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Kemer, Antalya Province, Turkey. Its population is 6,067 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde Belde (literally "town", also known as ''kasaba'') means "larg ...

, Göynük, and

Çıralı Çıralı is an agricultural village in southwest Turkey, in the Kemer district of Antalya Province. It is walking distance from the ancient ruins of Olympos and Chimaera permanent gas vents, located in the ancient Lycia region of Anatolia. ...

. Annual events in the area include art exhibitions in Phaselis, boat races, WRC (World Rally Championship), Turkey Offshore Championship, Turkey Motocross Championship, Phaselis Art Festival, and Kemer Carnival. International pop stars and DJs, such as

Tarkan Tarkan may refer to: People * Tarkan (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Tarkan (singer) (born 1972), Turkish pop singer Other uses

* Tarkhan, an ancient Turkic and Mongol nobility title * Tarkan (comics), a fic ...

and DJ Tiesto, give summer concerts on this coast. The

Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey The Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey () is a professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in Turkey since 1963. In 2005 the race became part of the UCI Europe Tour, rated as a 2.2 event, before being upgraded to 2.1 in 200 ...

() is a professional

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The ...

stage race held each spring. In recent years there is a rising number of outdoor enthusiasts visiting Kemer for trekking the

Lycian Way The Lycian Way () is a marked Long-distance trail, long-distance hiking trail in southwestern Turkey around part of the coast of ancient Lycia. It is approximately in length and stretches from Hisarönü (Ovacık, Fethiye, Ovacık), near Fethiy ...

and for mountain biking.

Climate

Kemer has a hot

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

with very hot, long and dry summers with cool, rainy winters. In the height of summer temperatures frequently exceed .

Transport

Kemer Bus Terminal, which was put into operation in 1990, has facilitated the transportation of the district. There are bus services to Kemer Bus Terminal from almost every city in Turkey. There are regular shuttles from the surrounding districts to Kemer Bus Station every day.

Places of interest

Sites of natural interest

* Adrasan Bay - 2 kilometres of

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

* The

village and beach. Used for nature walks and sections of the

. * Üç Adalar (Three Islands) - visited by

scuba divers Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scuba'' is an acronym for ...

* Göynük Canyon * İkiz Kayalar (Twin Rocks) * The village of Ulupınar, with its mountain spring water * There are a number of caves including Beldibi, and the ''Molla hole'' in the east face of Tahtalı mountain. * The

offering

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

or tours with

SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definition ...

s * The 2069 ± 500 years old oriental pane can be found in Gedelme village.

Historical sites

- the natural ''burning rock'' of Greek mythology * The ancient cities of

and Olympos * The town of Kemer itself has some remains of antique Idryos, a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

church and a Seljuk Turkish hunting lodge.

International relations

Kemer hosted the 2007

World Youth Chess Championship The World Youth Chess Championship is a FIDE-organized worldwide chess competition for boys and girls under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. History Twelve world champions are crowned every year. Since 2015 (OR 2016), the event has been s ...

Kemer is twinned with *

Schwabach Schwabach () is a German city of about 40,000 inhabitants near Nuremberg in the centre of the region of Franconia in the north of Bavaria. Together with the neighboring cities of Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen, Schwabach forms one of the three me ...

''(since 1998)'' * Lapta,

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

''(since 2012)''

References

External links

Kemer Municipality website

Kemer Kaymakamlığı website

Kemer Tourism Foundation official website

Kemer Travel Guide

Weather forecast for 4 days

Kemer Marina website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemer Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Turkish Riviera Populated coastal places in Turkey Populated places in Antalya Province Tourist attractions in Antalya Province Kemer District Districts of Antalya Province