The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language: Toros Dağları or Toroslar) are a mountain range 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.
Etymology
The mountain range under the current name was mentioned in
The Histories by
Polybius as (
Taûros).
Heinrich Kiepert writes in
Lehrbuch der alten Geographie that the name was borrowed into
Ancient Greek from the Semitic (
Old Aramaic) root (
ṭūrā), meaning "mountain".
[İçel Sanat Külübü Aylık Bülteni, Ekim 1995 – 40. Sayı ]
Geography
The Taurus Mountains are divided into three chains from west to east as follows;
-
Western Taurus (Batı Toroslar)
-
Central Taurus (Orta Toroslar)
-
Southeastern Taurus (Güneydoğu Toroslar)
Western Taurus
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 the Central Taurus Mountains. It has many peaks rising above . Mt. Kizlarsivrisi, , in the Bey Mountains is the highest peak in the Western Taurus.
[ "Mountaineering in Turkey" All About Turkey]
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Central 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 the principal
mountain 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:
-
Akçalı Mountains, western
-
Bolkar Mountains, central, highest peak Mt. Medetsiz
-
Aladaglar, central, highest peak Mt. Kızılkaya
-
Tahtalı Mountains or Anti-Taurus Mountains
-
Munzur Mountains, eastern, highest peak Mt. Akbaba
-
Mercan mountain range, within the Munzur
Southeastern Taurus
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 the watershed of the
Euphrates River and
Tigris River.
Geology
The Taurus Mountains were formed by the collision of the
African Plate and
Eurasian Plate . The predominant underlying rock is
limestone. In the Aladaglar and Bolkar mountains, limestone has eroded to form
landscapes of
, underground rivers, and some of the largest
of
Asia. The
Manavgat River originates on the southern slopes of the Beydaglari range.
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Climate
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.
Flora and fauna
At lower elevations, the predominant vegetation forest and woodland of evergreen oaks and
Pinus brutia (
Pinus brutia), and areas of
maquis shrubland. Above 1200 meters elevation are montane forests of
Pinus nigra (
Pinus nigra),
Cedrus libani (
Cedrus libani),
Abies cilicica (
Abies cilicica), and
juniper (
Juniperus spp.). The high peaks are home to alpine meadows.
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History
Pre-history and early Roman period
The bull 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.[Ravinell, Alberto and Green, Whitney The Storm-god in the Ancient Near East, p.126. ] Torrential thunderstorms in these mountains were deemed by the ancient Syrians to be the work of the storm-god Hadad to make the Tigris and Euphrates rivers rise and flood and thereby fertilise their land.[Saggs, H.W.F. The greatness that was Babylon: a survey of the ancient civilization of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, Sidgwick & Jackson, 2nd Revised edition, 1988, p.380. ] The Hurrians, probably originators of the various 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.[Yener, K.A. (2000) The Domestication of Metals: The Rise of Complex Metal Industries in Anatolia Brill, Leiden, p. 91] 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 is a natural frontier: west is Cilicia, east is Syria. There are several passes, like the Amanian Gate, 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.
Late Roman period to present
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 the Allies in the Armistice, which ended hostilities against the Ottoman Empire.[ Price, Ward (16 December 1918) "Danger in Taurus Tunnels" New York Times]
Attractions
In addition to hiking and mountain climbing,
The Varda Viaduct, situated on the railway lines Konya-Adana at Hacıkırı village in Adana Province, is a railway bridge constructed in the 1910s by Germany.
See also
External links
