Kemer

Kemer is a seaside resort and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, 40 km (25 mi) west of the city of Antalya, on the Turkish Riviera.

Kemer is on the Gulf of Antalya, 53 km (33 mi) of sea coast with the skirts of the western Taurus Mountains 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.

History

Kemer was called Eski Köy (Old Village) until a 23 km (14 mi) 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.

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, aimed at developing a large tourist industry.

Kemer railway station

Kemer railway station (Turkish: Kemer İstasyonu) is a railway station in İzmir. The station is the oldest railway station in Turkey, built in 1857.

History

In 1856 the Ottoman Empire granted a concession to an English company to build a railway from İzmir to Aydın. The Oriental Railway Company (ORC) started construction in late 1856 and completed a 2.17 km (1.35 mi) line, from the start at Alsancak to Kemer, in 1857. Kemer station was opened. Kemer was chosen to be the main freight depot of the ORC in İzmir. When the railway reached the town of Torbalı in 1860, the first trains started to operate on the line. Freight trains carrying mainly figs, would unload at Kemer depot and would be distributed in İzmir via horse pulled wagons. Freight trains from the south as well as horse pulled caravans from the east and north would unload at Kemer. In its early years Kemer station was the main freight depot in İzmir. When the railway reached Aydın in 1866, most freight would be unloaded in Alsancak. The Turkish State Railways became the new owners of the station in 1935, when they bought the ORC. The station was electrified with 25 kV AC catenary in 2001. In 2006 the station was closed to passenger traffic and rebuilt in 2008, to be re-opened to service in 2010.