Geography of Cappadocia:
Nevsehir, Aksaray, Nigde, Kayseri and Kirsehir:
Rocky region of Cappadocia:
Uchisar, Goreme, Avanos, Urgup, Derinkuyu, Kaymakli and Ihlara
Strabon, a writer of antiquity, describes the borders of the
Cappadocia Region, in his 17-volume book “Geographika” (Geography) written
in his maturity in Rome during the reign of Emperor Augustus, as a very large
area surrounded by Taurus Mountains in the south, Aksaray in the west, Malatya
in the east and all the way up to the Black Sea coast in the north. Present day
Cappadocia is the area covered by the city provinces of Nevsehir, Aksaray, Nigde,
Kayseri and Kirsehir. The smaller rocky region of Cappadocia is the area around
Uchisar, Goreme, Avanos, Urgup, Derinkuyu, Kaymakli and Ihlara.
i
The interesting rock formations, known as "fairy
chimneys", have been formed as the result of the erosion of this tufa
layer, sculpted by wind and flood water, running down on the slopes of the
valleys. Water has found its way through the valleys creating cracks and
ruptures in the hard rock. The softer, easily erodable material underneath has
been gradually swept away receding the slopes and in this way, conical
formations protected with basalt caps have been created.
The fairy chimneys with caps, mainly found in the vicinity of
Urgup, have a conical shaped body and a boulder on top of it. The cone is
constructed from tufa and volcanic ash, while the cap is of hard, more resistant
rock such as lahar or ignimbrite. Various types of fairy chimneys are found in
Cappadocia. Among these are those with caps, cones, mushroom like forms, columns
and pointed rocks.
Fairy chimneys are generally found in the valleys of the
Uchisar- Ürgüp-Avanos triangle, between Urgup and Sahinefendi, around the town
of Cat in Nevsehir, in the Sogani valley in Kayseri, and in the village of
Selime in Aksaray. i
Mount Erciyes, Hasandagi and Golludag were active volcanoes in
the geological periods. Alongside with many other volcanoes, eruptions of these
volcanoes started in the Early Miocene (10 million years ago) and have continued
until the present day. The lava produced by these volcanoes, under the Neogene
lakes, formed a layer of tufa on the plateaus, which varied in hardness and was
between 100 and 150m thick. Other substances in the layer are ignimbrite, soft
tufa, tufa, lahar, ash, clay, sandstone, marn, basalt and other agglomerates.
Plateaus, having been essentially shaped with the lava from
the bigger volcanoes, were continuously altered with the eruptions of smaller
volcanoes. Starting in the Early Pliocene Period, the rivers in the area,
especially Kizilirmak (the Red River), and local lakes contributed to the
erosion of this layer of tufa stone, eventually giving the area its present day
shape. i
Another characteristic feature of the area is the sweeping
curves on the sides of the valleys, formed by rainwater. The array of colors
seen on some of the valleys is due to the difference in heat of the lava layers.
Such patterns can be seen in Uchisar, Cavusin/ Güllüdere, Goreme/ Meskendir,
Ortahisar/Kizilçukur and Pancarlik valleys.
i
About TransAnatolie
TransAnatolie
Tour (Multi-Lingual Cultural Tour Operator)
TransAnatolie Tour is a subgroup of Anadolu
and is a Multi-Lingual Cultural Tour Operator in Anatolia (Asia
Minor) Turkey.TransAnatolie Tour
has the ambition and the capacity to be become one of the leading provider and
operator of archaeological, historical, belief (biblical) and cultural
heritage tours and specialty travel with high Quality of Service (QoS)
concept.
TransAnatolie Tour develops its programs with a network of
Specialists, who are well recognized, local, regional, national, and international
professionals at the top of their fields. These Specialists share their
knowledge, insights and vision providing an in-depth insiders understanding of
what distinguishes a particular culture and what factors shaped its evolution.
TransAnatolie Tours are executed in five
languages (Dutch, English, French, German and Turkish) with high QoS concept
by Tourism Professionals of valuable experience, intelligence and high
intellectual capacity.
TransAnatolie Tour executive and operations
teams have been at the cutting edge of international tour (holiday) operations
and specialty travel since 1990s, working with organizations, universities and
museums to provide unique travel experiences, cultural and belief (biblical) tours
(holidays/trips) to their memberships.
Multi-Lingual TransAnatolie Tour team members
have many years of valuable experience in providing individuals and
organizations with high quality cultural, historical, belief/biblical,
archaeological, architectural tours and travel experiences with high quality of
service (QoS).
TransAnatolie has immersed travelers in
Anatolia's most fascinating ancient cultures and provided enriching travel
experiences.
TransAnatolie (International Multi-Lingual
Cultural Tour Operator) has also been in small boat cruises, building exciting
travel packages around these unique vessels.
TransAnatolie is now
expanding its distribution by making these high quality, unique travel
products and programs available to the public. Supported by our international
network of offices and affiliates worldwide, the aim of TransAnatolie Team of
travel professionals and passionate program specialists is to make your next
'vacation' a truly rewarding travel experience.
TransAnatolie Tour is a member of
-
Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Licence
No. 4938)
-
Ankara Chamber of Commerce (Trade registry under
No. 54/1024)
-
Turkish-French Cultural Association
-
Turkish Association at the United Nations
-
Union of Turkish Tour Operators (TÜRSAB)
-
Union of Multi-Lingual Professional Tourism Guides (TUREB-ARED)
-
Ankara Cultural Tourism Association (BATUDER)
-
Nigde Cultural Association
-
Aksaray Cultural Association
-
Arts & Cultural Association of Taspinar.
TransAnatolie info-webs
(pages)
On these webs you will find background
information about our company, our offices, our current job offers and more info
about current and future products and services.
If you could not find the information you need on these pages and/or
on our other
pages, or for inquires please do not hesitate to contact us at:
info[at]transanatolie.com
-
TransAnatolie Tour
-
Multilingual Cultural Tour Provider and Operator
- A - Group
License N°4938 - The Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism
|
