Nigde Province
Encyclopedia
Niğde Province is a small rural province
in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey
. Population is 337.931 (2010 est) of which 100.418 live in the city of Niğde
. The population was 348,081 in 2000 and 305.861 in 1990. It covers an area of 7,312 km². Neighbouring provinces are Kayseri
, Adana
, Mersin
, Konya
, Aksaray
and Nevşehir
.
The province is surrounded on three sides by ranges of the Taurus Mountains
, including Mount Hasan
and the Melendiz mountains. To the west lies the plain of Emen, which opens up into the wide plain of Konya
. The plain is covered with nutritious volcanic soil and Niğde is a successful agricultural region, particularly apples and potatoes.
Surrounded by mountains and at a fairly high altitude the area has a dry and chilly climate and is exposed to snows brought by cold north winds in winter. Average rainfall 0.9 mm, 78.5 mm in April, practically zero in July and August. Therefore the hillsides are more or less bare of vegetation, with some forest at the higher altitudes.
(see Niğde
for more information about the provincial capital city).
(capital district in bold):
Some of the towns within these districts are Bademdere
, Bahçeli, Çiftehan
, Darboğaz
, Fertek
and Kemerhisar
.
, 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 a Luwian inscription of king Saruanis from Andaval as was pointed out by Gelb (Hittite Hieroglyphs II [1935] pp. 17-18). Then came Assyrians and Phrygians, Greeks
, 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 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.
and Adana
on the Mediterranean coast. Also because the province is near the tourist attractions of Cappadoccia it is close to 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.
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.
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 Cappadoccia and does attract some tourists to its historical sites, although nothing like as many as the centre of the area in Nevşehir. Sites of historical importance in Niğde include a large number of 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
.
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.
Provinces of Turkey
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, called il in Turkish .A province is administered by an appointed governor , and was formerly termed a "governorate" ....
in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Population is 337.931 (2010 est) of which 100.418 live in the city of Niğde
Nigde
Niğde is a small city and the capital of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 109,724 per the 2010 statistics...
. The population was 348,081 in 2000 and 305.861 in 1990. It covers an area of 7,312 km². Neighbouring provinces are Kayseri
Kayseri Province
The Kayseri Province , in central Turkey, is an area that has been linked with mythological stories as well as important figures in Turkish history. It is located in Anatolia, and surrounded by the Mount Erciyes, the Mount Hasan and the Mount Ali...
, Adana
Adana Province
Adana Province is a province of Turkey located in south-central Anatolia. With a population of 2,085,225, it is the fifth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78% of the residents of the province...
, Mersin
Mersin Province
The Mersin Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital is the city of Mersin and the other major town is Tarsus, birthplace of St Paul...
, Konya
Konya Province
Konya Province is a province of Turkey located in central Anatolia. The provincial capital is the city of Konya. It is the largest province by area of Turkey.-Districts:...
, Aksaray
Aksaray Province
Aksaray Province is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Konya along the west and south, Niğde to the southeast, Nevşehir to the east, and Kırşehir to the north. It covers an area of 7,626 km²...
and Nevşehir
Nevsehir Province
Nevşehir Province is a province in central Turkey with its capital in Nevşehir. It adjacent provinces are Kırşehir to the northwest, Aksaray to the southwest, Niğde to the south, Kayseri to the southeast, and Yozgat to the northeast. Nevşehir includes the area called Cappadocia - a very popular...
.
The province is surrounded on three sides by ranges of the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey 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...
, including Mount Hasan
Mount Hasan
Mount Hasan is an inactive stratovolcano in Aksaray province, Turkey. With an altitude of 3,253 m , it ranks as the second highest mountain of central Anatolia...
and the Melendiz mountains. To the west lies the plain of Emen, which opens up into the wide plain of Konya
Konya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
. The plain is covered with nutritious volcanic soil and Niğde is a successful agricultural region, particularly apples and potatoes.
Surrounded by mountains and at a fairly high altitude the area has a dry and chilly climate and is exposed to snows brought by cold north winds in winter. Average rainfall 0.9 mm, 78.5 mm in April, practically zero in July and August. Therefore the hillsides are more or less bare of vegetation, with some forest at the higher altitudes.
(see Niğde
Nigde
Niğde is a small city and the capital of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 109,724 per the 2010 statistics...
for more information about the provincial capital city).
Districts
Niğde province is divided into 6 districtsDistricts of Turkey
The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 957 districts . In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the kaza....
(capital district in bold):
- AltunhisarAltunhisarAltunhisar is a town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It has a population of 14,769 of which 2,899 live in the town of Altunhisar....
- Bor
- ÇamardıÇamardiÇamardı is a quiet town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at the foot of Aladağ in the Taurus Mountains and reached by winding mountain roads. Population is 15,245 of which 3,396 live in the town of Çamardı. Çamardı ıs well known with its being very green in...
- Çiftlik
- NiğdeNigdeNiğde is a small city and the capital of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The population is 109,724 per the 2010 statistics...
- UlukışlaUlukislaUlukışla is a town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It covers an area of 1,502 km², and the altitude is 1,427 m...
Some of the towns within these districts are Bademdere
Bademdere
-Geography:Bademdere is in the rural area of Çamardı district which is a part of Niğde Province. The distance to Çamardı is and to Niğde is . The town is on the northern slopes of Toros Mountains with an average altitude of The population of the town is 1,788 as of 2010.-History:The settlement...
, Bahçeli, Çiftehan
Çiftehan
- Geography :Çiftehan is a part of Ulukışla district which in turn is a part of Niğde Province. It is in the Toros Mountains at an altitude of about , north of the main passage of the mountain system known as Cilician Gates . At , it is east of Ulukışla and south of Niğde. The population is 1258...
, Darboğaz
Darboğaz
-Geography:Darbağaz is a part of Ulukışla district of Niğde Province. It is a mountain town with an average altitude of . The coordinates are . The highway distance to Ulukışla is and to Niğde is . The population is 2010 as of 2010-History:...
, Fertek
Fertek
- Geography :Fertek at about is almost merged with Niğde, the distance between Fertek and Niğde city center is being about . The town is situated at the eastern slopes of the mountains with an altitude of about The population of the town is 1900 as of 2010...
and Kemerhisar
Kemerhisar
- Geography :Kemerhisar at is a part of Bor district of Niğde Province. Distance to Bor is and to Niğde is . It is only west of Bahçeli another town of Niğde. The population is 5,449 as of 2010.- History :...
.
Etymology
Known in antiquity as Nakita or Nahita the named has mutated through Nekidâ, Nekide and Nikde to today's Niğde.History
The area has been settled since the Neolithic period of 8000-5500 BC, as proved excavations of burial mounds höyük in the district of BorBor, Turkey
Bor is a town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, north of the city of Niğde, on a high plain...
, and tin mines on the district of Çamardı
Çamardi
Çamardı is a quiet town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at the foot of Aladağ in the Taurus Mountains and reached by winding mountain roads. Population is 15,245 of which 3,396 live in the town of Çamardı. Çamardı ıs well known with its being very green in...
-Keste. The area was later settled by the Hittites
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
, 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 a Luwian inscription of king Saruanis from Andaval as was pointed out by Gelb (Hittite Hieroglyphs II [1935] pp. 17-18). Then came Assyrians and Phrygians, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, Persians, Alexander the Great, Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, who built the city of Tyana
Tyana
Tyana or Tyanna was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern south-central Turkey. It was the capital of a Luwian-speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom in the 1st millennium BC.-History:...
with its palaces and waterworks.
Roman rule persisted from the Eastern capital of Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
until the area was occupied by the Seljuk Turks from 1166 onwards. By the early 13th century Niğde was one of the largest cities in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and a number of impressive mosques and tombs date from this period. The area was brought within the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1471 and thus passed into the territory of the Turkish Republic in the 1920s.
Niğde today
Niğde benefits from its rich agriculture, its apples are particlularly famous, and its location between the wealthy regions of KonyaKonya
Konya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. The metropolitan area in the entire Konya Province had a population of 1,036,027 as of 2010, making the city seventh most populous in Turkey.-Etymology:...
and Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
on the Mediterranean coast. Also because the province is near the tourist attractions of Cappadoccia it is close to the airports of Kayseri
Kayseri
Kayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...
and Nevşehir
Nevsehir
Nevşehir, formerly Muşkara, , is a city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. According to the 2010 census, population of the district is 117,890 of which 85,634 631 live in the city of 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.
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.
Places of interest
The AladağlarAladag
Aladağ, formerly Karsantı, is a small city and a district in Adana Province, Turkey about 100 km north of the city of Adana, up in the mountains. This is an undeveloped area, the people live from agriculture and forestry...
and Bolkar
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey 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...
mountain ranges in the Taurus mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey 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...
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.
- The Aladaglar mountains in particular are one of the most popular climbing venues in Turkey. Although the Aladaglar mountains border on and are named after the Aladağ DistrictAladagAladağ, formerly Karsantı, is a small city and a district in Adana Province, Turkey about 100 km north of the city of Adana, up in the mountains. This is an undeveloped area, the people live from agriculture and forestry...
, in Adana ProvinceAdana ProvinceAdana Province is a province of Turkey located in south-central Anatolia. With a population of 2,085,225, it is the fifth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78% of the residents of the province...
, they are generally reached from the villages of Demirkazık and Çukurbağ in ÇamardıÇamardiÇamardı is a quiet town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at the foot of Aladağ in the Taurus Mountains and reached by winding mountain roads. Population is 15,245 of which 3,396 live in the town of Çamardı. Çamardı ıs well known with its being very green in...
. - The Bolkar mountains have a 7 km ski-run and a crater lake.
Niğde is part of Cappadoccia and does attract some tourists to its historical sites, although nothing like as many as the centre of the area in Nevşehir. Sites of historical importance in Niğde include a large number of churches, mosques and underground cities (safe-havens cut deep down into the soft volcanic rock). Another important site is the ancient city of Tyana
Tyana
Tyana or Tyanna was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern south-central Turkey. It was the capital of a Luwian-speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom in the 1st millennium BC.-History:...
and a number of Roman waterways in the district of Bor
Bor, Turkey
Bor is a town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, north of the city of Niğde, on a high plain...
.
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.