Zeyne

Zeyne (Sütlüce)
Town
Zeyne mosque
Country	Turkey
Province	Mersin Province
District	Gülnar
Government
• Body	Zeyne Municipality
Elevation	360 m (1,082 ft)
Population  (2012)
• Total	1,882
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	33720
Area code	0324
Licence plate	33

Zeyne is a town in Mersin Province, Turkey

Geography

Zeyne at 36°26′N 33°32′E is a part of Gülnar district which in turn is a part of Mersin Province. It is 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) west of Göksu River with an altitude of 360 metres (1,180 ft) Distance to Gülnar is 26 kilometres (16 mi) and to Mersin is 151 kilometres (94 mi) The population was 1721 as of 2012.

History

History of Zeyne is more or less intermingled with that of Gülnar. During Middle Ages it was a part of the Karamanid beylik (principality). After Karamanids were defeated by the Ottoman Empire it was incorporated into Ottoman realm in the 15th century. In 1972 the town was renamed as Sütlüce and Sütlüce was declared a township. Nevertheless, the new name was not widely accepted and the government decided to return to former name in 2007

Sheik Ali Semerkandi (Ali of Semerkand) is an important figure of Zeyne history. He was a Muslim religious leader in Semerkand (modern Uzbekistan) He travelled to Anatolia and settled in Zeyne in 1434. He stayed in Zeyne and Karaman during the rest of his life and died in Zeyne in 1457. Today a mosque had been built next to his tomb in Zeyne. There is a spring just east of the town where very old trees so called monumental trees (Template:Lang-tr) have been grown. According to mitology that spring had been created by Ali Semarkandi.

Economy

The town is a typical agricultural town. Olives and various fruits like apricots, figs and grapes are produced. Dairying is also an important econonic activity.