Taurus Mountains
The Taurus (Toros) Mountains are a folded limestone range lying between the Dalaman and Seyhan Rivers in southern Turkey. The range forms a horizontal S-shape, lying parallel to the Mediterranean coast, bordered on the south by an irregular level coastal strip and on the north by the central plateau, at an altitude of 1000 meters. The Taurus range is up to 150 kilometers wide from north to south and encompasses Turkey's lake district, including the freshwater lakes of Beysehir and Egirdir and the salt lakes of Burdur, Aci, and Salda. The main subsidiary ranges are (from west to east) the jagged Beydaglar (maximum height 3,070 meters), the Sultan Daglari (maximum height 2,610 meters), the Dedegol Daglari (maximum height 2,998 meters), the Bolkarlar (maximum height 3,585 meters), and the rose-pink Aladaglar (maximum height 3,756 meters).
In Greek and Roman times the southern plain was extensively cultivated and linked to the interior by roads running north from Antalya, Perge, and Tarsus. Control of the Cilician Gates, the major pass through the Taurus, was always of vital importance to local rulers. The Seljuks made Alanya their major port, and a network of caravan roads, some still in use, with inns (kervansaray), linked the capital at Konya to the south coast. Present-day main roads cut the range north from Antalya, Aksu, Manavgat, Silifke, and Adana.
The sparse population inhabiting the Taurus is mainly Yoruk, an original Turkish ethnic group with a distinctive highland culture. They practice transhumance, moving in spring with their flocks of goats and sheep from the coastal strip to high summer pastures. Many have settled permanently in the lowlands, where tomatoes, cotton, and cut flowers under glass are grown, or around the lakes, where apples are grown; mountain villages are being abandoned. The Forestry Ministry (Orman Bakanligi) owns over 50 percent of the land in the Taurus and provides employment by cultivating pines. Mineral deposits of chrome, with some iron and lead, are either worked out or uneconomic. The southern coast is a popular tourist destination; not many venture into the mountains, but the Koprulu and Goksu Rivers are seasonally used for white-water rafting; trekking is important in the Beydaglari and Aladaglari.
Further Reading
Dubin, Marc, and Enver Lucas. (1989) Trekking in Turkey. Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet.
This is the complete article, containing 373 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
