Yahyali
Encyclopedia
Yahyalı is a town and district in Kayseri Province
of Turkey
. It is the southernmost district of the province and its area is defined by the steep lines of the Taurus Mountains
, named Aladağlar in their section through this region, and is crossed by the River Zamantı.
A 300 km² (115.8 sq mi) section within the subprovince area corresponds to Aladağlar National Park
, mostly covered in forests and which also extends into the neighboring districts of Çamardı
(Niğde Province
) and Aladağ
(Adana Province
), although its main part is in Yahyalı.
Yahyalı is increasingly becoming more focused on tourism with Zamantı River's growing popularity across Turkey and from beyond as a rafting
center, mostly done within the national park area and already among the top half-dozen favorite destinations in Turkey for this sports activity as the region is. The entire extension of the national park is also a popular trekking and alpinism area, starting with the seven glacier lakes at 3,500 meter altitude near its point of entry. The mountain ranges also possess rich iron
, zinc
and lead
deposits, which are mined more intensively in recent years.
Closer to the town centre on the slopes of Aladağlar, Kapuzbaşı waterfalls recently started to gain more popularity and found its way into the guidebooks. The biggest waterfall interesting in one point, is formed by an underground river coming through the rocks and can have quite a lot amount of water in spring.
After the recession in the mining industry, leading economic activities are standing as agriculture and animal husbandry. Yahyalı is also known for its traditional handmade rugs and carpets, which are produced by natural dying techniques.
There are many words and phrases that are used in daily life by the inhabitants of the town that does not exist in dictionaries and seem like unique to Yahyalı. Origin of these words are unknown but most of them follow the general harmony rules of the Turkish language
.
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...
of 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...
. It is the southernmost district of the province and its area is defined by the steep lines 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...
, named Aladağlar in their section through this region, and is crossed by the River Zamantı.
A 300 km² (115.8 sq mi) section within the subprovince area corresponds to Aladağlar National Park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
, mostly covered in forests and which also extends into the neighboring districts 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...
(Niğde Province
Nigde Province
Niğde Province is a small rural province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Population is 337.931 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...
) and Aladağ
Aladag
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...
(Adana Province
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...
), although its main part is in Yahyalı.
Yahyalı is increasingly becoming more focused on tourism with Zamantı River's growing popularity across Turkey and from beyond as a rafting
Rafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
center, mostly done within the national park area and already among the top half-dozen favorite destinations in Turkey for this sports activity as the region is. The entire extension of the national park is also a popular trekking and alpinism area, starting with the seven glacier lakes at 3,500 meter altitude near its point of entry. The mountain ranges also possess rich iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
and lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
deposits, which are mined more intensively in recent years.
Closer to the town centre on the slopes of Aladağlar, Kapuzbaşı waterfalls recently started to gain more popularity and found its way into the guidebooks. The biggest waterfall interesting in one point, is formed by an underground river coming through the rocks and can have quite a lot amount of water in spring.
After the recession in the mining industry, leading economic activities are standing as agriculture and animal husbandry. Yahyalı is also known for its traditional handmade rugs and carpets, which are produced by natural dying techniques.
There are many words and phrases that are used in daily life by the inhabitants of the town that does not exist in dictionaries and seem like unique to Yahyalı. Origin of these words are unknown but most of them follow the general harmony rules of the Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
.