Mut (District), Mersin

Infobox Settlement

settlement_type = District
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = TUR
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
map_caption =Location of PAGENAME within Turkey.
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3

official_name = Mut


image_caption =
image_blank_emblem =
blank_emblem_type =

---

subdivision_type1=Region
subdivision_name1 = Mediterranean
subdivision_type2=Province
subdivision_name2 = Mersin| population_total =
population_urban =
population_as_of =
population_footnotes =
population_density_km2 =
area_total_km2 =
elevation_m =
latd = 36
latm = 38
latNS = N
longd = 33
longm = 26
longEW = E
postal_code_type=Postal code
postal_code = 33x xx
blank_info = 33|blank_name=Licence plate
area_code = + (90) 324
leader_name =
website = [http://www.mut.bel.tr www.mut.bel.tr]
leader_name1 =
gwebsite = [http://www.mut.gov.tr www.mut.gov.tr]

Mut is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.

Mut is a quiet rural district at the foot of the Sertavul Pass on the road over the Taurus Mountains from Ankara and Konya to the Mediterranean coast at Anamur or Silifke. Mut is known for its apricots (special aprikot variety; Mut şekerparesi) and the entrance to the town is decorated with a statue of a girl carrying a basket of them. The weather in summer is hot and the people of Mut retreat to high meadows even further up the mountainside. The forests up here are home to wild boar and the Gezende reservoir on the Ermenek River is a welcome patch of bule in this dry district. The dam has a hydro-electric power station built in Romania.

History

The area has probably been inhabited since the time of the Hittites (2000 BC), and was later part of ancient Cilicia, eventually part of the Roman Empire. The Romans were succeeded by the Kingdom of Armenia. In the 13th century the Armenians were replaced by the Turkish Karamanoğlu clan who founded the state of the same name. The mosque of Lal Pasha, and the Red Minaret (Kızılminare) are among the buildings from the Karamanoğlu that still stand in Mut today.

Well-known residents

* Mut is one of the places in the area that claims to be the burial place of the folk poet Karacaoğlan.
* The folk musician (saz and bağlama player) Musa Eroğlu was born in Mut.
* Anatolian leopard was last sighted near Mut, in the locality called "Dandi" in 2001

External links

* [http://www.mut.bel.tr/ District municipality's official website] tr icon