Cappadocia Turkey: Geographical Formation and History

During the formation of the earth, in the 3rd geological period, when great changes were in effect, in the south, as the Taurus Mountains wrinkle and pucker, a chain of discountinued volcanic formation was created within the great Lycaonia drops in the north. (north-east of modern Konya). The Erciyes Mountain (Argeus 3912 m.) covering 1500 square kilometres in the south of Kayseri, the Hasan Mountain (Athar 3258 m.) located in the Karacadağ mountain group in the west and the northwest side of the Melendiz Mountain (2935 m.) representing a thrust volcanic area give the impression of a gigantic crater. The western summit looks like a very uniform of senes of conical volcanic formations. (These are Kuş Hill, Küçük Hasan Mountain and Büyük Hasan Mountain.) These look over the Lycaonia plateau from a height of 2000 m. Although between the hills there are drops of 1500 m in depth, some easy passages are formed. In the north, the hills are coming from the Melendir Mountains follow somewhat round shaped hills with decreasing heights (Dedi Mountain, Gullu Mountain 2142 m) In the north of Nenezi, the lavas of Melendiz and Hasan Mountains mixed with that of Erciyes and formed a small plateau and flown out of an other crater Both volcanic mountains repeatedly continueing activities forced the Central Anatolia to be formed under the succession of lavas and volcanic ashes.

The ortographic condition of the area can only be seen in Cappadocia. Kızılırmak is one of them. It receives water from many sources and its flow rate exceeds that of the other highest rivers. The river bend formed in the area plays an important role in draining the snowmelt. These waters probably meet in the wide basin of an ancient lake, the Melendiz plateau, from where it immediately turns north-west, passing between the villages of Ihlara and Selime (by erosion of soft tufa soil), forming a 10 km long canyon (Valley of Iblara). In the east, the decreasing height of the mountain range does not allow the formation of a watercourse; water in these areas is obtained through cisterns and very deep underground wells (Derinkuyu).

There are a number of crater lakes in the area such as Helvadere, Hamam Göl and Acıgöl. Also there are some natural springs (mineral water) along the border of soft white stone ground Some of them are 60 degrees of tigrade hot, in winter it snows heavily for there to four onths. In the high plateau the nights become very cold, because of the shielding effect of the mountains the rain is abundant in comparison to the lower areas. There is a sudden change of seasons. The erosion caused by these weather conditions has made special shapes of rock splits, lava and tufa over the different hardness and texture of the land. All these structures and easily carved rocks are used by the people for centuries as houses and resemble a mole’s nest by making stores, temples. shelters, graves and pigeon holes.

In 1961 excavations are started in Çatalhöyük which is located 50 kms southeast of Konya Çatalhöyük is believed to be the largest settlement area during 7100 – 6300 B.C. The Çarşamba stream starting from the Taurus Mountains and flowing into Konya plam divides Çatalhöyük into two Konya plain was a dish lake until about 16000 B.C. It was located where pasture lands and agriculturally fertile alluviums meet. In the Neolithic period, the grazing lands and marshes extended to words north, these lands were covered with forests and sheltered various wild animals. Today these forests no longer exist.

Çatalhoyuk houses are built next to each other and toey do not contain doors and windows on their outside laces. The maternal building material used was mud brick. The hand tools and weapons were made of obsidian and flint, volcanic stones still found in the area. The first examples of metalwork were found in Çatalhöyük, the largest Neolithic settlement and an area that sheds light on Anatolian culture. The murals found in the area are the oldest man-made ones. The oldest of them is an ancient map. It shows the plan of a settlement on the ridges of a volcanic mountain (probably Hasan Mountain).

Neolithic centres found in Anatolia are not only in Çatalhöyük. There are “Aşıklı Hoyuk”, “Can Hasan” and “Hacılar” within the area. During 4750-4000 В.С the Middle Calcolithic period continued its development. The most representative centre of the Late Chalcolithic (4000-2000 BC) is the settlement of Beycesultan. The buildings in this area are generally one-room houses with stone walls and storage rooms. These houses later became an example for the Megaron style houses. The graves are beginning to be located outside the settlement areas.

The Old Bronze Age (3000-2000 BC), with the spread of mining in Anatolia, is a result of the long lasting pernod of making use of copper and ores. (Karaoğlan, Etivokuşu, Alışar, Alacahöyük, Kültepe, Hasanhöyük) The monochrome pottery excavated by Prof. Nimet and Tahsın Özgüç ın Alacahöyük proves the progress of this art in the early Hittite periods in Central Anatolia. 3000 BC Hittite ceramics are found around Aksaray (Archelais).

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