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21-694: The province is surrounded on three sides by mountain ranges: the Taurus Mountains , Mount Hasan , and the Melendiz Mountains . Niğde province is divided into 6 districts (capital district in bold ): Some of the towns within these districts are Bademdere , Bahçeli , Çiftehan , Darboğaz , Fertek and Kemerhisar . Known in antiquity as Nakita or Nahita the name derived from the Iranian goddess Anahita . It has mutated through Nekidâ , Nekide , Nikde and lastly to Niğde by

42-464: A külliye is a 17th-century structure. Niğde also has a number of mineral hot-springs and other attractions, so with a little investment in hotels and other infrastructure the province could attract more tourists than at present. 37°54′57″N 34°41′37″E  /  37.91583°N 34.69361°E  / 37.91583; 34.69361 Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish : Toros Dağları or Toroslar, Greek : Ταύρος) are

63-833: A mountain complex in southern Turkey , separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau . The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east. It is a part of the Alpide belt in Eurasia . The mountain range under the current name was mentioned in The Histories by Polybius as Ταῦρος ( Taûros ). Heinrich Kiepert writes in Lehrbuch der alten Geographie that

84-533: A 1,600 year-old octagonal church was discovered in the excavations of the ancient city of Tyana. The Aladağlar and Bolkar mountain ranges in the Taurus mountains are popular for winter sports, climbing and trekking through the high meadows and mountain villages. The mountains are particularly attractive when the hills are covered in spring flowers. Niğde is part of Cappadocia and does attract some tourists to its historical sites, although nothing like as many as

105-507: A Luwian inscription of king Saruanis from Andaval as was pointed out by Ignace Gelb (Hittite Hieroglyphs II [1935] pp. 17–18). Then came Assyrians and Phrygians , Greeks , Armenians , Persians , Alexander the Great , Romans , who built the city of Tyana with its palaces and waterworks. Roman rule persisted from the Eastern capital of Byzantium until the area was occupied by

126-471: A temple dating back to the late Persian era. In 2018, they discovered an ancient Hellenistic temple and a bull statue made from ceramics. Niğde benefits from its rich agriculture, its apples are particularly famous, and its location between the wealthy regions of Konya and Adana on the Mediterranean coast. Also because the province is near the tourist attractions of Cappadoccia it is close to

147-597: Is a natural frontier: west is Cilicia , east is Syria. There are several passes, like the Amanian Gate (Bahçe Pass) , which are of great strategical importance. In 333 BC at the Battle of Issus , Alexander the Great defeated Darius III in the foothills along the coast between these two passes. In the Second Temple period, Jewish authors seeking to establish with greater precision the geographical definition of

168-509: Is in the province. Niğde has a rich tradition of folk culture including song and dance and the famous proverb (the Turkish equivalent of "the early bird catches the worm") - "Bor's eastern market is over, ride your donkey to Niğde" . Another Niğde tradition is to plum someone (Erikletmek) meaning if you have visitors sit them in the garden and fill them up with plums (or other fruit) so you don't have to give them dinner. As recently as 2020,

189-756: The Promised Land , began to construe Mount Hor as a reference to the Amanus range of the Taurus Mountains, which marked the northern limit of the Syrian plain . During World War I , the German and Turkish railway system through the Taurus Mountains proved to be a major strategic objective of the Allies. This region was specifically mentioned as a strategically controlled objective slated for surrender to

210-809: The Seljuk Turks from 1166 onwards. By the early 13th century Niğde was one of the largest cities in Anatolia and a number of impressive mosques and tombs date from this period. The area was brought within the Ottoman Empire in 1471 and thus passed into the territory of the Turkish Republic in the 1920s. In 2016, archaeologists discovered in Kınık Mound, an archeological site located in Yeşilyurt village of Altunhisar district at Niğde province,

231-592: The Allies in the Armistice , which ended hostilities against the Ottoman Empire . In addition to hiking and mountain climbing, there are two ski resorts on the mountain range, one at Davras about 25 km (16 mi) from the two nearest towns of Egirdir and Isparta , the second is Saklıkent 40 km (25 mi) from the city of Antalya . The Varda Viaduct , situated on the railway lines Konya - Adana at Hacıkırı village in Adana Province ,

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252-783: The Central Taurus Mountains. It has many peaks rising above 3,000–3,700 m (9,800–12,100 ft). Mt. Kizlarsivrisi , 3,086 m (10,125 ft), in the Bey Mountains is the highest peak in the Western Taurus. The Central Taurus Mountains are roughly defined to include northern Mersin Province and northwestern Adana Province . The highest point in the Central Taurus is Mt. Demirkazık (3,756m). The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass has been

273-426: The airports of Kayseri and Nevşehir . As well as apples important crops include potatoes, cabbages, grain and sugar beet. Niğde is Turkey's biggest potato growing region and has the most apple trees (although newer plantings in other provinces are achieving greater production). Meat and dairy are also important activities along with beekeeping and more recently trout farms. The country's second largest solar farm

294-610: The centre of the area in Nevşehir . Sites of historical importance in Niğde include many churches, mosques and underground cities (safe-havens cut deep down into the soft volcanic rock). Another important site is the ancient city of Tyana and a number of Roman waterways in the district of Bor . An important underground city and ancient monastery is located in Gümüşler, Niğde , called Gümüşler Monastery . In Ulukışla, Öküz Mehmet Pasha Complex ,

315-592: The name was borrowed into Ancient Greek from the Semitic ( Old Aramaic ) root טורא ( ṭūrā ), meaning "mountain". The Taurus Mountains are divided into three chains from west to east as follows; The Western Taurus Mountains form an arc around the Gulf of Antalya . It includes the Akdağlar, Bey Mountains, Katrancık Mountain, Kuyucak Mountains, and Geyik Mountains. The East Taşeli Plateau and Goksu River divide it from

336-703: The principal pass through the Eastern Taurus since ancient times, connecting the coastal plain of Cilicia with Central Anatolia . The Tarsus-Ankara Highway ( E90 , O-21 ) passes through it. Mountain ranges in the Central Taurus include: The Southeastern Taurus Mountains form the northern boundary of the Southeastern Anatolia Region and North Mesopotamia . They include the Nurhak Mountains, Malatya Mountains, Maden Mountains, Genç Mountains, and Bitlis Mountains. They are in

357-513: The republican regime of Turkey. The area has been settled since the Neolithic period of 8000-5500 BC, as proved excavations of burial mounds höyük in the district of Bor , and tin mines on the district of Çamardı -Keste. The area was later settled by the Hittites , who lived here for a thousand years up until 800BC. The name Nig˘de first occurs in written sources in the form na-hi-ti-ia in

378-725: The southern slopes of the Beydaglari range. The mountains have a Mediterranean climate , with dry summers and rainy winters. Temperatures vary with elevation, with warm winters on the lower coastal slopes and cold winters in the high mountains and in the interior. At lower elevations, the predominant vegetation forest and woodland of evergreen oaks and Turkish pine ( Pinus brutia ), and areas of maquis shrubland . Above 1200 meters elevation are montane forests of black pine ( Pinus nigra ), Lebanon cedar ( Cedrus libani ), Taurus fir ( Abies cilicica ), and juniper ( Juniperus spp.). The high peaks are home to alpine meadows. The bull

399-541: The various storm-gods of the ancient Near East, were a people whom modern scholars place in the Taurus Mountains at their probable earliest origins. A Bronze Age archaeological site, where early evidence of tin mining was found, is at Kestel . The pass known in antiquity as the Cilician Gates crosses the range north of Tarsus . The Amanus range in southern Turkey is where the Taurus Mountains are pushed up as three tectonic plates come together. The Amanus

420-590: The watershed of the Euphrates River and Tigris River . The Taurus Mountains were formed by the collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates . The predominant underlying rock is limestone . In the Aladaglar and Bolkar mountains, limestone has eroded to form karstic landscapes of waterfalls , underground rivers , and some of the largest caves of Asia . The Manavgat River originates on

441-503: Was commonly the symbol and depiction of ancient Near Eastern storm gods , hence Taurus the bull, and hence the name of the mountains. The mountains are a place of many ancient storm-god temples. Torrential thunderstorms in these mountains were deemed by the ancient Syrians to be the work of the storm-god Adad to make the Tigris and Euphrates rivers rise and flood and thereby fertilise their land. The Hurrians , probably originators of

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