Gülnar 5.37

Gülnar is a district of Mersin Province of Turkey, 150km south-west of the city of Mersin.GeographyThe town of Gülnar is 32km inland on a plain high in the Taurus Mountains, attractive countryside known for its vineyards and its green meadows used for summer grazing. Gülnar is a small town providing high schools and other basic amenities to the surrounding villages.(Town population. 8 357) The road from central Anatolia to Anamur on the Mediterranean coast passes through here, one of the windiest roads imaginable, making Gulnar a remote district indeed.The land area of Gülnar is 1669km2 of which 351.1km2 is cultivated, 848.09km2 is forested hillside, 1.3km2 is high meadow, and 468.51km2 is rocky mountains. Much of the cultivated area is vineyards, other important crops are grains and chick peas. The high meadows are used for summer grazing.HistoryThe area has been occupied since the time of the Hittites, and was later settled by the Assyrians, Persians, Egyptians, the Greeks and later the Ancient Romans. The people of Gülnar today are descendents of the Turkmen tribes that came here from Central Asia in the 13th century. (Among older generation of Turkmens Gülnar is usually named as Anaypazarı )