BOWLING LANES

A popular off-duty entertainment at Karamursel is bowling.  An 8-lane facility is open until 2.00 AM daily.  Leagues for adults and children are in full swing thruout the year.  The facility includes automatic pin spotters, balls, and shoes.  Instructions are given by skilled bowlers.  Karamursel is the only base in Turkey with the new 82-70 AMF pinsetter machines.  Overhead telescore machines have been installed.  A new construction grant has been prepared to enlarge present facilities to 12 lanes.

THEATER

The capacity of the base theater is 325 persons.  During a normal week, the theater schedules approximately 23 performances which permit attendance by everyone regardless of work schedule.

RECREATION CENTER

The Recreation Center provides a broad range of services, activities, social affairs, hobby clubs, and tours.

Services include hotel reservations; tour information; tour arrangements; and travel highlights on Turkey and the European and Middle Eastern countries; as well as recommendations on camping in the nearby area, Europe,
and the Middle East.  The weekly recreational tours go to the Istanbul Casino, Yesilkoy Beach, Topkapi Palace, Domabahce Palace, painting and sculpture museums, and many other places of interest in Istanbul.  Local tours are arranged to Bursa, Iznik, Hannibal's Castle, the rug factory, and the Princess Islands.  During the winter, weekly tours are arranged for Uladag skiing resort (the Mount Olympus of Asia Minor).  Every 3 months,
tours go to Troy, Bergama, Izmir, Ephesus, Ankara, Goreme, and Antalya. For the benefit of the shift workers, the tours of all these places are arranged on flight breaks.  There are special flights to the Holy Lands
during Christmas and Easter holidays.  Pan Am summer flights back to the United States are arranged thru the Center.

Facilities are provided for musical practice, letterwriting, meetings, pool, ping pang, darts, shuffleboard, horseshoes, slotcar racing, cardplaying, chess, checkers, etcetera.  Skis, ski boots, ski poles, and skisafety instruction booklets may be checked out during the ski season.  A limited number of musical instruments are also available for loan.

The Recreation Center sponsors Little Theater 324.  This group is very creative and performs eight to ten productions a year for general audiences.  They are always looking for new talent and ideas.  The Center sponsors special-interest groups such as square dance, stamp and coin collecting, the Archery Club, and Bridge Club.  A new ceramics shop has been added to the Center.  This shop has over 300 molds to select from.  Instruction classes in ceramics are given in all levels of skill.  Those who belong to the Tape Club may use the stereo equipment.  A record player, records, tape recorders and tapes, slide projectors and slides, and a film projector are available for everyone's use.  The Center also sponsors the following annual contests:  USAFE Talent, Arts and Crafts, Small Games, Best Christmas Decoration, and Photography.

Coffee and donuts are served every Sunday from 1000 to 1200.

GYMNASIUM

Karamursel's gymnasium is seldom empty.  Mediterranean Sports District Championships are frequently held and intramural play is scheduled almost nightly on a year-round basis with sports including 8-man tackle football,
basketball, volleyball, and softball.  The addition of a new weights room, sauna bath, and regulation handball court has greatly enhanced this facility which is open 7 days a week.  Exercise areas, lockers, and showers are
available.  Facilities outside include four tennis courts, five softball fields, one softball field with lights, and one football field with lights. New bleachers for softball and football have been added.  For a well-rounded sports program, programming includes USAFE clinics for major sports with top-name coaches from the United States and minor sports programs such as handball, paddleball, squash, wrestling, judo and karate classes, and a special ladies' exercise class.  Eight-man, full equipment, intramural tackle football is now played at Karamursel and creates an excellent spectator sport for the military and dependent population.

TENNIS AND VOLLEYBALL COURTS

There are four tennis courts conveniently located on the base and an outdoor volleyball court at the beach area.

GOLF COURSE

A 9-hole golf course is available for those station at Karamursel.  The greens are well kept (the course is watered by an underground sprinkling system) and there are rest stops provided.  The clubhouse offers refresh-
ments, golfing supplies, lockers, and golf-club carts.  The golf season begins in April and lasts thru November and there are many local tournaments for golfing aspirants.

An additional building has been constructed and will be expanded into a year-round pro shop and l9th hole lounge and snackbar facility.  The pro shop will carry a $15,000 inventory on all athletic and recreational
equipment.
 

LIBRARY The base library contains approximately 15,000 volumes, 225 magazine and newspaper subscriptions, a circulating phone-record collection, and a music room.  In addition, there is a children's section and a special collection of material on Turkey. The general collection emphasizes current popular fiction and non-fiction of the best-seller type, materials to supplement the graduate and undergraduate off- duty education program, as well as technical materials for self-directed study and books for recreational reading.

As part of the USAFE library system, interlibrary loan is extensively used to meet requests for books not on hand.  During the summer, a special reading club is available for children. The library is staffed by a
professional US civilian librarian with military and dependents as assistants.  Reference service and reader's advisory are available.

Hours of operation are 0900-2200, Monday thru Saturday, and 1300-2200 on Sunday and holidays.

HOBBY CENTER

The multipurpose hobby shop offers a 2-stall garage plus the neeessary equipment to facilitate a photo and wood hobby shop.  Trained instructors for advice on hobby-shop programs are always available.

OFFICERS' OPEN MESS

The Karamursel Officers' Open Mess is centrally located next to the BOQ with easy access to all base facilities.  The club recently underwent major renovation.  It features a well-equipped kitchen with an experienced staff who specialize in gourmet meals, a dining area, large banquet room, and a very attractive informal room with fireplace which is available for the wives' weekly card sessions.  Also, the club offers a large main bar which leads to the outdoor covered patio.  Nightly attractions include bingo,
International Revues, local bands, and patio barbecues.

AIRMEN'S CLUB

The Starlight Club features great food and entertainment set in a combination dining room, lounge, and dance floor area with an attractive and popular patio.  European bands and floor shows provide nightly entertainment
with an occasional Turkish dance troupe.

NCO OPEN MESS

The NCO Open Mess is the center of social activities for the NCOs and their families.  It provides a wide variety of services and special parties.  The dining room is open daily from 0700-2300 with a selection of specials and an exceptional ala carte menu.  A beautiful cocktail lounge, where you can relax in air-conditioned comfort, is located adJacent to the dining room.
The Stag Bar, where shuffleboard,  darts, and games are the main attractions, has an outside entrance.  The ballroom is large and attractive with a multi-colored marble floor for dancing.  Entertainment is provided nightly in the ballroom by European house and show bands.

OFFICERS AND CIVILIANS' WIVES' CLUB

Wives of members of the Officers' Open Mess meet at the club on the second Thursday of each month to enjoy luncheon and a special program.

NCO WIVES' CLUB

Wives of members of the NCO Open Mess meet in the NCO Open Mess Banquet Room the first and third Thursday of each month to enjoy luncheon and special programs.

SCOUTING

An active scouting program exists at Karamursel.  There is one Boy Scout troop on base which holds weekly meetings and conducts an active camping program.  The Cub pack on base has a den in Yalova.

There are four Girl Scout troops.  Parents of children currently participating in scouting are urged to bring transfer papers and all up-to-date records with them so their children can immediately Join local scouting
activities.

BATHING BEACH

The base is located on one of the finest bathing beaches in Turkey with facilities for more than 1,000 persons.  If you are a "sailor" or a water-skiing enthusiast, the necessary equipment and facilities are available.

Operated by Personnel Services, the beach has ten dressing stalls with showers, a large sandy beach area, life-guard station, snackbar, rest rooms, boat house and docks, covered pits, picnic area, a miniature golf
course, and a volleyball court.

The swimming area is marked with buoys and ropes and is protected by a sea wall.  An ESS snackbar serves hamburgers, hot dogs, cold sandwiches, soft drinks, and other cool refreshments.

More than 34 craft (sailboats, motor boats, and row boats) are available for use.  Personnel are required to go thru a short course in small boating before using this equipment.  Approved Red Cross courses are conducted
locally by Personnel Services.  A small-craft-handling course is offered.  Sailing classes are held twice monthly.  Water skiing classes are offered.  Beginner, intermediate, and advanced swimming lessons, as well as junior and senior Red Cross Life Saving courses, are conducted by qualified instructors.

SKIN DIVING

The Golden Horn Divers' Club is a self-supporting organization comprised of SCUBA enthusiasts.  Regular meetings consist of instruction pertaining to this hobby.  Skin divers will find the waters near the base ideal for
the pursuit of their hobby.  Costal regions near the base are abound with interesting formations and sea life. Resale scuba equipment will be availabl

---

---

Shotguns and rifles are authorized in Turkey; however, handguns are not allowed.

Rod and Gun Club facilities include a club house on base which offers refreshments and a variety of hunting supplies for sale plus a cabin site for hunting and fishing nearby.

If you are a hunting enthusiast, Turkey will offer a great variety of wild game for your pleasure.  The rugged terrain provides excellent cover for bear, wild boar, fox, and mountain goat (wild Ibex).  Numerous small game
are also abundant here.  Wild fowl - ducks, geese, doves, quail, and wild turkey - are so plentiful that the sportsman is allowed to hunt them with no bag limit.

Hunting licenses may be applied for at the Pass and ID Section, building 102.  The cost is about $2; two photos are required.

The fisherman in Turkey has a variety of choices in both fresh- and salt-water fish.  Many species of trout, perch, pike, and large catfish are stocked in most waterways.  For the deep sea angler, motorboats are avail-
able at the base  boathouse-  A fishing license is not required in Turkey.

YALOVA COMMUNITY CENTER

The Yalova Community Center is an annex of the Officers' Open Mess designedto serve all the base personnel.  It is located on the beach in the town of  Yalova which is 17 miles from the base.  It features a new patio addition which extends to the beach front where full facilities are available.  Movies are shown six nights a week.  Live entertainment is available on Saturday nights and barbecues are held in the summer.  As a convenience to personnel living in Yalova, religious services are held at the Center on Sundays.

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

Karamursel has a very active youth-activities program, with a small youth center located near the housing area.  A snackbar will soon go into operation.  A variety of activities is offered in an attempt to meet the needs
of the dependent youth.  Classes in arts and crafts and dancing (ballroom, tap, and ballet) are offered.  An excellent athletic program for both boys and girls is conducted year round.  There are separate meetings for teen and pre-teen groups.  During the summer, a track and field meet and bicycle rodeo are held.  Also, an employment program for teenagers is conducted.
 

The Little League field has recently acquired a new fence.  A Pony League has been established with a new fence and backstop.  Plans for youth football are being formulated.

Click to continue to the next section or return to the pamphlet index page or website index page