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The Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Türkiye has firmly denied recent allegations circulating on social media that claim a critical wildfire response base in Belek, Antalya, is being repurposed for hotel development. According to the ministry, the officially approved zoning plan preserves the area’s current status and boundaries as a fire command center.
The controversy stems from an 83-decare forest plot—equivalent to approximately 20 acres—that was allocated to the Serik Municipality in 1990. While it was originally intended for use as a camping area, the municipality later granted the site to a private company for hotel construction. The Ministry, citing a violation of the intended land use, revoked the allocation in 2013.
Following the revocation, both the municipality and the hotel operator contested the decision in court but ultimately lost. The legal dispute ended in favor of the Ministry, reinforcing the original land designation.
A statement by the Ministry also outlined a set of modifications made to the zoning plan in 2022. While the shoreline length of the camping area was reduced from 400 to 280 meters and rezoned as a tourism facility, the adjacent public beach was expanded significantly—from 270 to 500 meters—to enhance public access. The Ministry emphasized that the fire base itself remained unaffected by these changes.
Earlier reports, which have since been refuted, alleged that zoning amendments approved in 2020 turned the entire fire base into a tourism zone, which led to a legal challenge. Although the Antalya 5th Administrative Court annulled the plans in 2021 and later invalidated a related public property allocation notice, new plans were introduced in 2022. These included mixed-use zoning decisions—designating areas for daily-use facilities, hotels, open sports zones, and a clearly defined fire base section.
Despite these changes, the Ministry asserts that the wildfire response base in Belek continues to be safeguarded under the latest development framework.
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