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OUTDOOR TOURISM / 170
Dülükbaba Forest, mostly surrounded
by larch and cedar trees,
occupies a land size of 40 square
kilometers. In terms of land size,
it is considered as one of the biggest
forests in Turkey. Approximately,
each day 5,000 people
can use the place for picnics,
camping, etc. Picnic tables are
available for the use of visitors.
There is a small grocery store
with a butcher, a bakery which
only makes pita bread, and a restaurant.
It is about 4 kilometers
away from the city.
Twenty kilometers southeast of
Gaziantep in O¤uzeli District, there
is another recreational ground
called “Karpuzatan”. It is also an
ideal place with its refreshing ice
cold water. In this 25 square kilometers
land, there is also a trout
production facility.
Four kilometers south of the city,
there is another place called ed
Dutluk. It is also a perfect picnic
place. This place is surrounded by
all kinds of different fruit trees.
Also on the Gaziantep - O¤uzeli
highway, there is another place
called Nafak Mesire Yeri which is
also used for picnics. This place is
surrounded by plum trees.
When you go 18 kilometers south
of Gaziantep, you arrive to another
picnic ground in the vicinity
of Büyükflahinbey town called
Körkün Mesire Yeri. This facility
has an outdoor swimming pool,
rest and picnic area. During the
weekends, the place gets filled up
from people all over the city.
Also, Nizip District’s Nizip Karpuzatan
Mesire Alan› is a good
place to have picnics.
In Araban District of Gaziantep,
Karap›nar Mesire Alan› attracts
many visitors with its amazing
scenery.
OUTDOOR TOURISM / 171
Also, there is Burç Reservoir,
which is located at 3 kilometers
north of Burç town of Gaziantep.
Locals go there to swim in the
pond and to have picnics on the
side.
Two kilometers west of Gaziantep,
there is another picnic area
called Burç Forest. The total land
size of the forest is 350 acres. It
is surrounded with pine trees.
The site is also a good place to go
to exercise and have picnics.
Recreation Grounds
The Gaziantep Zoo
The Gaziantep Zoo is located in
Burç Forest on a 1,000 square
meters of land. It is part of Gaziantep
Metropolitan Municipality’s
project called “Preservation and
Recreation Project of Burc Forrest”.
In terms of land size and
variety of creatures, the zoo is
considered as the biggest in Turkey.
Currently, the zoo has 250
different species and over 4,000
animals. The Zoo consists of a
maintenance building, a cafeteria
building, an aquarium building,
big bird cage for a different variety
of birds, and a building for
monkeys. There are also winter
and summer shelters for kangaroos,
ostriches, horses, camels, gazelles,
deer, mountain goats, mountain
(bighorn) sheep, roe deer,
and Cameroon sheep.
The Kavakl›k (100th Year
Atatürk Culture Park)
The park is built around Gaziantep’s
famous Alleben Stream. It
occupies about 415,000 square
meters of land. It goes from one
part of the city to the other. Inside
the park, there are some picnic
areas, exercise parks, soccer fields,
playgrounds, water fountains,
swimming pools, cafeterias,
restaurants, and 1,000 people capacity
amphitheater.
The Story Park (Masal
Park›)
It was built
by Gaziantep
Metropolitan
Municipality
as part of
100. Y›l
Atatürk Culture
Park.
Gaziantep has become the only
member of the European Child
Friendly Cities Network in Turkey.
Therefore, Metropolitan Municipality
has decided to build a playground
to improve the children’s imagination
and their creativity. The
playground consists of two sections.
In the first part, there are some
statues and busts of Turkish
story characters. There is also a
seating area to listen to stories. In
the second part, there are playgrounds
and a water canal where kids
can ride in boats.