Karamürsel
| Karamürsel | |
|---|---|
 Karamürsel
|
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| Coordinates: 40°41′21″N 29°36′54″E / 40.68917°N 29.61500°ECoordinates: 40°41′21″N 29°36′54″E / 40.68917°N 29.61500°E | |
| Country |
 Turkey
|
| Province | Kocaeli |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | İsmail Yıldırım |
| Area | |
| • District | 289.22 km2 (111.67 sq mi) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Urban | 47,433 |
| • District | 52,621 |
| • District density | 180/km2 (470/sq mi) |
Karamürsel is a town and district located in northwestern Turkey, in the province of Kocaeli. The mayor is İsmail Yıldırım (AKP).
Karamürsel is on the coast of Izmit Bay and has beautiful shores. It has a famous basket known as Karamürsel basket, which is mainly used in collecting fruit like cherries, etc.. The characteristic of this handwoven basket is that it looks small to the eye but has a much bigger capacity than one would think.
Karamürsel is historically known as The Town of The Wrestlers, and was called for centuries Praenetos (Πραινετός in Greek) before its conquest by the Ottomans. It has also been well-known with its fish restaurants that also attract customers from nearby area. Handmade silk carpet production (the famous Hereke rugs are produced here too), fruit production (cherry, peach, plums, figs, pears, apples), and olive production are sources of income for the locals. It is not heavily industrialized like other parts of the province, and therefore Karamürsel's natural beauties are more intact compared to the rest of the province of Kocaeli.
The people living in Karamürsel and its villages are mainly Muslim Manav Turks and immigrants known as Muhacir in Turkish. On the other hand some immigrants came from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Lazistan, Georgian, Circassia and Crimea, and arrived in the country during/after the fall of Ottoman Empire. Due to its rich ethnic structure it displays a wide array of cultures, heavily influenced by that of Balkan and Caucasus. Recently the town has also started attracting immigration from other parts of Turkey, especially from the Black Sea region.
Karamürsel was heavily damaged during the devastating 1999 İzmit earthquake (August 17, 1999) which rocked the eastern part of Marmara Region. 164 people lost their lives in Karamürsel in the earthquake, and many were left homeless. After the earthquake many people left this town for other parts of Turkey, and the place had a resemblance of a ghost-town for the winter of 1999. It is now returning to its old days, with the houses being repaired and the business being reopened. During the earthquake, a considerably damaging tsunami hit both the northern and southern sides of the İzmit bay in about one minute. Even the tsunami was not very large, subsidence and coastal landslides, have left a substantial portion of the towns of Gölcük, Degirmendere and Karamürsel inundated by the sea (Altinok et al., 1999). The coast of Karamürsel is now repaired and reconstructed.
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Wikipedia