Geography

Although the original settlement is 2 km (1.2 mi) north of the Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 coast, the newer quarters of the town are being established at the coastal band. Arpaçbahşiş is located between Mersin and Erdemli, the distance to Erdemli is 5 km (3.1 mi) and to Mersin is 30 km (18.6 mi). The population is 6,160 as of 2010.

History

The area around Arpaçbahşiş was a part of historical Cilicia Pedias (eastern part of Cilicia

Cilicia

In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...

, the flat Cilicia). During the domination of Ramadanid principality (a Turkmen

Oghuz Turks

The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....

 dynasty between 13th and 16th centuries), a Turkmen tribe named Varsak settled in the area, north of the modern town of Tömük

Tömük

- Geography :Tömük is in the rural area of Erdemli district, which is a part of Mersin Province. Although the midtown is north of the seaside, newer quarters of the town are founded at the seaside just on the main highway connecting Mersin to the west. Highway distance to Mersin is and to...

, several kilometers northeast of Arpaçbahşiş. At about 1375, a certain Elvan Bey of Varsak began controlling the area around Arpaçbahşiş. But the settlement was established much later; probably at the beginning of the 18th century, during the Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 era. Sarıkeçili, a Turkmen tribe from Konya

Konya

Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...

, a city in central Anatolia, settled in the area. The town was named after Arpaç Hüseyin, the chief of the Sarıkeçili tribe.

In 1865, the settlement was established as a village of Mersin. In 1970, the village of Arpaçbahşiş was declared a town.

Economy

Like most towns around, Arpaçbahşiş is an agricultural town specialized in citrus

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

. But, lately the coastal band of Arpaçbahşiş became a summer resort. It is populated by summer houses, and services to summer houses constitute an ever increasing revenue for the town.