Nigde
Encyclopedia
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. Elevation is 1,300 m.
The city is located between the volcanic Melandiz Mountains, including the Mount Hasan
stratovolcano near the city of Aksaray
to the north, and the Niğde Massif to the south-southeast. The massif
is a metamorphic dome that contains abandoned antimony and iron mines. Several marble quarries are currently active in the pure white crystalline marble of the massif.
for a summary of the history of the region, which goes back a long way. This is rich famland near a number of ancient trade routes, particularly the road from Kayseri
(ancient Caesarea) to the Cilician Gates
. Settlers throughout history include Hittites
, Assyrians, Greeks
, Romans
, Byzantines
and finally Turks
from 1166 onwards. By the early 13th century Niğde was one of the largest cities in Anatolia
. After the fall of the Sultanate of Rûm
(of which it had been one of the principal cities), Niğde became independent, and, according to Ibn Battuta
, ruinous, and did not pass into Ottoman hands till the time of Mehmet II.
More recent immigrants include Turkish people from Bulgaria and other Balkan countries, who were settled here by the Turkish authorities in the 1950s and 60s.
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...
Province
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 Central Anatolia region 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...
. The population is 109,724 per the 2010 statistics. Elevation is 1,300 m.
The city is located between the volcanic Melandiz Mountains, including the 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...
stratovolcano near the city of Aksaray
Aksaray
Aksaray is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital district of Aksaray Province. According to 2009 census, population of the province is 376 907 of which 171,423 live in the city of Aksaray. The district covers an area of , and the average elevation is , with the highest...
to the north, and the Niğde Massif to the south-southeast. The massif
Massif
In geology, a massif is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole...
is a metamorphic dome that contains abandoned antimony and iron mines. Several marble quarries are currently active in the pure white crystalline marble of the massif.
History
See Niğde ProvinceNigde 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...
for a summary of the history of the region, which goes back a long way. This is rich famland near a number of ancient trade routes, particularly the road from 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...
(ancient Caesarea) to the 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....
. Settlers throughout history include 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...
, Assyrians, 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....
, 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....
, Byzantines
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
and finally Turks
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
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...
. After the fall of the Sultanate of Rûm
Sultanate of Rûm
The Sultanate of Rum , also known as the Anatolian Seljuk State , was a Turkic state centered in in Anatolia, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals...
(of which it had been one of the principal cities), Niğde became independent, and, according to Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
, ruinous, and did not pass into Ottoman hands till the time of Mehmet II.
More recent immigrants include Turkish people from Bulgaria and other Balkan countries, who were settled here by the Turkish authorities in the 1950s and 60s.
Climate
Niğde has a semi-arid climate. Niğde has hot and dry summers and cold and snowy winters.Niğde today
Nigde University opened in 1992 and is starting to bring more cultural and social amenities to what is essentially a largish town with a very rural feel to it, providing schools, basic shopping, and other necessities to the surrounding villages. The city is small and there is still plenty of green space and gardens around the houses. The people generally tend to be religious and conservative.Sight seeing
- Aladağlar and Bolkar Mountains, which are used for mountaineering and trekking
- Aladağlar National Park
- Çiftehan thermal springs
- Gümüşler Monastery, which has been built by Byzantines http://voyageanatolia.blogspot.com/2011/04/gumusler-monastery-at-cappadocia.html
- Ancient TyanaTyanaTyana 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:...
City, (Tyana aqueducts and Rome Pool) whose history comes from the B.C. 3. century.
Name etymology
- Nigde means Nowhere in SerbianSerbian languageSerbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
and RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
languages (нигде in Cyrillic script). These are Slavic languages, related between themselves, but totally unrelated to TurkishTurkish languageTurkish 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,...
.