Karaburun, Turkey

History

The oldest name known for the region was Mimas, in reference to the son of Gaia who was one of the Giants slain by Hephaistos during the war between Gods and Giants in Greek mythology. Homer mentions the "windy Mimas" mountain (present-day Bozdağ) in his Odyssey. The Mimas mountain is also associated with Iris, Leto and Narcissus. In Ionian through to Byzantine times, the region also carried the names Stelar or Stylarius, Caleberno by the Genoese and Ahırlı during the Ottoman era. There are different possibilities for the name Karaburun. One that is mentioned in the municipality web site is that it would be a modified form of Caleberno. Another possibility may have to do with the very translation of the Turkish name, which means "black cape", a fitting description especially for sailors who approach Karaburun Peninsula from open sea.

The region is rich in history although its only sizeable urban center from ancient Greek, Byzantine through to Ottoman times was in Erythrai. Today the village of Ildırı stands in the ancient town's location and the village is in Çeşme. Traces of smaller settlements can also be traced back to the Bronze Age.

Karaburun is the most recently constituted district of İzmir, although the town of Karaburun was made into a municipality already in 1902. From 1867 until 1922, Karaburun was part of Aidin Vilayet.

From the History section of Karaburun on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.