Yeşiltepe (former Çatalkeli) is a town in Mersin Province, Turkey.

Yeşiltepe (Çatalkeli)
Town
Yeşiltepe Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 36°51′N 34°54′E
Country	Turkey
Province	Mersin Province
District	Tarsus
Elevation	3 m (10 ft)
Population  (2012)
• Total	2,242
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	33400
Area code(s)	0324
Licence plate	33

Geography

Yeşiltepe at 36°51′N 34°54′E is a town in Tarsus district of Mersin Province. It is about the half way from Tarsus to Mediterranean Sea coast being 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north of the coast and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Tarsus in the plains of Çukurova. Karabucak Forest is slightly at the north. The population is 2242 as of 2012.[1]

History

No document exists about the deep history of the settlement. But probably before the project of Karabucak forest during the republican era, it was only a small village because of the marshes around the village which made the otherwise fertile plains unarable. After the World War I the village (then known as Çatalkeli) was occupied by the French army. After the treaty of Ankara (1921) and the project of Karabucak forest, the population of the village began to increase. The name of the village was changed to Çataltepe in 1965 and to Çatalkuyu after a merger with another settlement. In 1989, the village was declared a township and renamed as Yeşiltepe.[2]

Economy

The town enjoys triple cropping income. Main products are vegetables such as leek, cabbage and tomato. Water melon is another important crop.

References