CAPPADOCIA
Cappadocian region is the place
where nature and history come together most
beautifully within the world. While geographic events
are forming Peribacaları (fairy chimneys), during the
historical period, humans had carried the signs of
thousand years old civilizations with carving houses
and churches within these earth pillars and decorating
them with frisks.
During the Roman Emperor, Augustus period, territories
of Cappadocian Region as a wide region lying till to
the Toros Mountains at south, Aksaray at west, Malatya
at east and Eastern Black Sea shores at north within
the 17 volume book named 'Geographika' of Strabon, one
of the Antic Period writers. Today's Cappadocian
Region is the area covered by Nevşehir, Aksaray,
Niğde, Kayseri, and Kırşehir cities. More limited area,
rocky Cappadocian Region is composed of Üçhisar,
Göreme, Avanos, Ürgüp, Derinkuyu, Kaymaklı, Ihlara and
environment.
Traditional Cappadocian houses and dovecotes carved
into stones are showing the uniqueness of the region.
These houses are constructed on the feet of the
mountain via rocks or cut stones. Rock, which is the
only construction material of the region, as it is
very soft after quarry due to the structure of the
region, can be easily processed but after contact with
air it hardens and turns into a very strong
construction material. Due to being plentiful and easy
to process of the used material, regional unique
masonry is developed and turned into an architectural
tradition. Materials of neither courtyard nor house
doors is wood. Upper parts of the doors built with
arches are decorated with stylized ivy or rosette
motifs.
Dovecotes within the region are small structures
constructed within 18th century and end of 19th
century. Some of the dovecotes, which are important
for showing Islamic picture art are constructed as
monastery or church. Surfaces of dovecotes are
decorated with rich inscriptions and adornments by
regional artists.
Almost in the center of Anatolia,
which forms a compact plateau area at an altitude of
some 1000 meters above sea level extending from the
Aegean coast to the Black Sea in the north and the
outliers of the Taurus in the south, is the region
known to the Assyrians as Katpatuka and in
classical times as Cappadocia . Although the exact
boundaries of the region varied over the centuries its
essential nucleus was always the same. This area (Fig.
12,14), bounded on the south and east by a line
of volcanic structures with Erciyes Dağ (Mt Argaeus,
3916 m.) at one end and Hasan Dağ (3253 m.) at the
other, extends north in a series of deeply indented
valleys which run down towards the middle valley of
the Kızılırmak (Red River) and westward to the
depression of the Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake).
The most striking feature of the
landscape is the volcanism which has created dramatic
morphological contrasts and produced a wide range of
features, from the spur of volcanic cones to the
sciare on the lower slopes and the extensive
plateau of lava flows. It is a typical example of an
area of recent volcanic activity, with the geological
structures perfectly preserved, including both the
basic features and the whole range of secondary
craters and the pyroclastic deposits associated with
them.
After the initial
volcanic convulsion the action of atmospheric agencies
led to the formation of a dense and intricate pattern
of valleys, ravines and gullies diversified by a
variety of individual features-rock clefts and
cavities, free-standing stacks and isolated pinnacles.
Climatic factors have also produced a range of
contrasting colours which enhance the picturesque
effect, and the processes of oxidation, acting
differently on different types of rock, have added to
the variety of pattern. The rough-textured violet-toned
andesites, the smooth ochreous rocks, the white
tufaceous cliffs in the valleys, the hillsides of gray
ash and the black pillars of basalt combine to form an
alternating pattern reflecting the upheavals which the
landscape has undergone since the rocks were first
laid down.
The variety of
scenery which results from Turkey's mountain structure
is still further accentuated by climatic differences.
Although each natural region has a climate of its own,
these climates can be classified into a number of
different types: a temperate climate in the Black Sea
area, a Mediterranean climate along the Aegean and the
south coast, a continental and subdesertic climate in
the interior, a mountain climate in Eastern Turkey.
The area with which we are more particularly concerned,
situated centrally in relation to the plateau, has in
general a continental and subdesertic climate, with
local variations according to the height and structure
of the bills. There is a transition from the sub-desertic
conditions of the Salt Lake depression to the
continental climate of the plateau between the Salt
Lake and the Kızılırmak and the main volcanic mountain
ridges.
The highest snowfall is in the
months of December, January and February; the main
rainfall occurs in March, April and May, reaching its
maximum in May. The period of lowest rainfall is in
July, August and September. Humidity follows a similar
pattern, with the highest levels in the winter months
and the lowest in summer. The highest temperatures are
attained in the period from May to September, with
sharp fluctuations during the day.
The vegetation pattern is closely
related to climatic differences and the nature of the
soil. In the Salt Lake area vegetation is almost
completely absent, such plants as there are being of
desert species; on the plateau the vegetation is of
steppe type, with a few stunted trees. The ridges of
volcanic rock are usually without vegetation, but the
granites and limestones have a sparse growth of
conifers. The tuffs along the sides of the valleys and
in the basins offer favourable conditions for the
growing of vines.
The hydrographic
structure of Cappadocia comprises three main catchment
areas - to the north the Kızılırmak basin, to the
south-west the basin of the Melendiz Suyu, to the
south-east the Mavrucan basin. The Kızılırmak
basin is drained on the right bank by a small number
of mountain streams, the most important of which are
in the area between Kırşehir, Mucur and Hacibektaş.
The slopes on the left bank, however, have a much more
elaborate drainage system, thanks to more favourable
lithological and structural conditions. Among the
numerous tributaries on this bank the most important
are the Çirdikinözü Dere, flowing down from Kara Dağ;
the Acısu Çay, coming from the Erdas Dağ massif near
Nevşehir; the Damsa Çay, which flows past Ürgüp and is
fed by various streams coming down from Avla Dağ; and
the Karasu, a substantial river which drains the
northern slopes of Erciyes Dağ.
The Melendiz Suyu drains an area of
some 2000 km². on the northern slopes of the Hasan Dağ
and Melendiz Dağ massifs and flows on to provide
abundant irrigation for the Salt Lake plain. The
Mavrucan Çay drains the southern slopes of Avla Dağ
and Kara Dağ.
The tributaries of these three
rivers are mainly mountain streams whose flow is
regulated by seasonal variations in rainfall and other
precipitations; and this factor, combined with the
lithological characteristics of the rock (mainly
pyroclastic deposits), has led to a high rate of
erosion and transport of material, producing
considerable deposits of detritus and a progressive
deepening of the valley.
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