Geography

Çiftehan is a part of Ulukışla

Ulukisla

Ulukışla 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...

 district which in turn is a part of Niğde Province. It is in the Toros Mountains at an altitude of about 1000 m (3,280.8 ft), north of the main passage of the mountain system known as Cilician Gates

Cilician Gates

The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m....

 . At 37°31′N 34°11′E, it is 30 km (18.6 mi) east of Ulukışla and 80 km (49.7 mi) south 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 is 1258 as of 2010.

History

The vicinity was the southern gate of the Roman Province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...

, Cappadocia

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...

 . The thermal baths around were famous during Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 era and according to unproven claims Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt

Ptolemaic dynasty

The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...

 also visited the baths. The spa pools constructed by the Seljuk Turks (11th century-13th century) still survive. But there were no permanent settlements. The village was formed as recently as the first half of the 20th century and after the rapid increase of population the village was decleared town.

Economy

Because of intense forests around Çiftehan, the agricultural income is low. The main economic activity of the town is domestic tourism based on hot springs. There are many spa hotels. The advantage of the town is its location on the state road connecting Central Anatolia to Mediterranean Region

Mediterranean Region, Turkey

The Mediterranean Region is one of Turkey's seven census-defined geographical regions . It is bordered by the Aegean Region to the west, the Central Anatolia Region to the north, the Eastern Anatolia Region to the northeast, the Southeastern Anatolia Region to the east, Syria to the southeast, and...

.