Belde (literally "town", also known as kasaba) means "large village with a municipality" in Turkish.
All Turkish province centers and district centers have municipalities, but the villages are usually too small to have municipalities. The population in some villages may exceed 2000 and in such villages a small municipality may be established depending on residents' choice. Such villages are called belde. Up to 2014 the number of belde municipalities was about 1400.
Dalyan is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Ortaca, Muğla Province, Turkey. Its population is 5,829 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde). It is located between Marmaris and Fethiye on the south-west coast of Turkey.
Dalyan achieved international fame in 1987 when developers wanted to build a luxury hotel on the nearby İztuzu Beach, a breeding ground for the endangered loggerhead sea turtle species. The incident created major international storm when David Bellamy championed the cause of conservationists such as June Haimoff, Peter Günther, Nergis Yazgan, Lily Venizelos and Keith Corbett. The development project was temporarily stopped after Prince Philip called for a moratorium and in 1988 the beach and its hinterland were declared a protected area, viz. Köyceğiz-Dalyan Special Environmental Protection Area.
Side (formerly Selimiye) is a city on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. It includes the modern resort town and the ruins of the ancient city of Side, one of the best-known classical sites in the country. Modern Side is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Manavgat, Antalya Province, Turkey. Its population is 14,527 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde). It lies near Manavgat, 78 km from Antalya.
It is located on the eastern part of the Pamphylian coast, which lies about 20 km east of the mouth of the Eurymedon River. Today, as in antiquity, the ancient city is situated on a small north-south peninsula about 1 km long and 400 m across.
Ölüdeniz (literally "Dead Sea", due to its calm waters even during storms; official translation: Blue Lagoon) is a town of the municipality and district of Fethiye, Muğla Province, Turkey. Its population is 6,132 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde). It is a beach resort on the Turkish Riviera, at the conjunction point of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. It is located 14 km (9 mi) south of Fethiye, near Mount Babadağ.
It has a sandy bay at the mouth of Ölüdeniz, on a blue lagoon. The beach itself is a pebble beach. The lagoon is a national nature reserve and construction is strictly prohibited. The seawater of Ölüdeniz is famous for its shades of turquoise and aquamarine, while its beach is an official Blue Flag beach.
Sart is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Salihli, Manisa Province, Turkey. Its population is 4,756 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde). It is the location of ancient Sardis, the capital of Lydia.
Göreme (Turkish: [ɟœˈɾeme]; Ancient Greek: Κόραμα, romanized: Kòrama) is a town (belde) in the Nevşehir District, Nevşehir Province in Central Anatolia, Turkey. Its population is 2,034 (2022). It is well known for its fairy chimneys (Turkish: peribacalar), eroded rock formations, many of which were hollowed out in the Middle Ages to create Christian churches, houses and underground cities. Göreme was formerly known as Korama, Matiana, Macan and Avcilar.
Göreme sits at the heart of a network of valleys filled with astonishing rock formations. Being a centre of early Christianity, it also has the most painted churches, as well as hermitages and monasteries, in Cappadocia.
Ortahisar (Turkish: Middle Castle), previously known by its Byzantine name Potamía (Greek: Ποταμία), is a town (belde) in the Ürgüp District, Nevşehir Province, Turkey. Its population is 3,086 (2022). Ortahisar is located about 20 km east of the provincial capital, Nevşehir.
Until the mid-2010s Ortahisar was rather off-the-beaten-track when it came to Cappadocian tourism. It is now much better known and many boutique hotels have been created out of its fine old stone houses.
Tunceli (Armenian: Մամիկի, romanized: Mamiki; Kurdish: Kalan; Zazaki: Mamekiye) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Zaza majority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021.
Kınık is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Kaş, Antalya Province, Turkey. Its population is 6,120 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde).
Municipalities (Turkish: belediyeler) are the basic units of local government in Turkey. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute the population of Turkey was 76,667,864 as of 31 December 2013. The majority of the population live in settlements with municipalities. The number of municipalities in Turkey was 2,947 in 2009. But in 2013, most of the small town (Turkish: belde) municipalities were merged to district (Turkish: ilçe) municipalities by the Act 6360 which came into effect at the 2014 local elections sharply decreased the number of municipalities to 1,394.