province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Niğde Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty ...

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin Province, Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and dis ...

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

Aksaray Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς ''Arhelays'', Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια ''Koloneya'', Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα ''Garsaura'') is a city in the Central Anatolia Region, Turkey, Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the ca ...

Nevşehir Nevşehir (from the Persian compound ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city"), formerly Neapolis (Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις) and Muşkara, is a largely modern city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of ...

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir ...

Mount Hasan Mount Hasan ( tr, Hasan Dağı) is a volcano in Anatolia, Turkey. It has two summits, the high eastern Small Hasan Dagi and the high Big Hasan Dagi, and rises about above the surrounding terrain. It consists of various volcanic deposits, includ ...

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Altunhisar Altunhisar is a town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. In 2012, it had a population of 14,416 of whom 2,969 lived in the town of Altunhisar.Bor *

Çamardı Çamardı is a quiet town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at the foot of Aladağ in the Taurus Mountains and reached by winding mountain roads. Population is 15,245 of which 3,396 live in the town of ...

* Çiftlik *

Niğde Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty ...

*

Ulukışla Ulukışla is a town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It covers an area of 1,502 km², and the altitude is 1,427 m. Population is 22,728 of which 5,594 live in the town of Ulukışla. The town of Ulu ...

Some of the towns within these districts are Bademdere, Bahçeli, Çiftehan,

Darboğaz Darboğaz is a village in Ulukışla District, Niğde Province, Turkey. Its population is 1,479 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (''belde''). Geography Darboğaz is a mountain town with an average altitude of . The highwa ...

, Fertek and

Kemerhisar Kemerhisar is a belde (town) in Niğde Province, Turkey Geography Kemerhisar at is a part of Bor district of Niğde Province. Distance to Bor is and to Niğde is . It is only west of Bahçeli another town of Niğde. The population is 5, ...

.

Etymology

Known in antiquity as ''Nakita'' or ''Nahita'' the name derived from the Iranian goddess ''Anahita''. It has mutated through ''Nekidâ'', ''Nekide'', ''Nikde'' and lastly to ''Niğde'' by the republican regime of Turkey.

History

The area has been settled since the Neolithic period of 8000-5500 BC, as proved excavations of burial mounds höyük in the district of Bor, and tin mines on the district of

Çamardı Çamardı is a quiet town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at the foot of Aladağ in the Taurus Mountains and reached by winding mountain roads. Population is 15,245 of which 3,396 live in the town of ...

-Keste. The area was later settled by the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...

, who lived here for a thousand years up until 800BC. The name Nig˘de first occurs in written sources in the form na-hi-ti-ia in a Luwian inscription of king Saruanis from Andaval as was pointed out by

Ignace Gelb Ignace Jay Gelb (October 14, 1907, Tarnau, Austria-Hungary (now Tarnów, Poland) - December 22, 1985, Chicago, Illinois) was a Polish-American ancient historian and Assyriologist who pioneered the scientific study of writing systems. Early life ...

(Hittite Hieroglyphs II

935 Year 935 ( CMXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Arnulf I ("the Bad") of Bavaria invades Italy, crossing through the Upper ...

pp. 17–18). Then came Assyrians and

Phrygians The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people, who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity. They were related to the Greeks. Ancient Greek authors used ...

,

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

,

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

,

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ns,

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

,

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, who built the city of

Tyana Tyana ( grc, Τύανα), earlier known as Tuwana (Hieroglyphic Luwian: ; Akkadian: ) and Tuwanuwa ( Hittite: ) was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was ...

with its palaces and waterworks. Roman rule persisted from the Eastern capital of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

until the area was occupied by the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

from 1166 onwards. By the early 13th century Niğde was one of the largest cities in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and a number of impressive mosques and tombs date from this period. The area was brought within the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1471 and thus passed into the territory of the

Turkish Republic Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

in the 1920s. In 2016, archaeologists discovered in Kınık Mound, an archeological site located in Yeşilyurt village of Altunhisar district at Niğde province, a temple dating back to the late

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

era. In 2018, they discovered an ancient

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

temple and a bull statue made from ceramics.

Niğde today

Niğde benefits from its rich agriculture, its apples are particularly famous, and its location between the wealthy regions of

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

and

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

on the Mediterranean coast. Also because the province is near the tourist attractions of

Cappadoccia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revolt ...

it is close to the airports of

Kayseri Kayseri (; el, Καισάρεια) is a large Industrialisation, industrialised List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality area is comp ...

and

Nevşehir Nevşehir (from the Persian compound ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city"), formerly Neapolis (Ancient Greek: Νεάπολις) and Muşkara, is a largely modern city and the capital district of Nevşehir Province in the Central Anatolia Region of ...

. As well as apples important crops include potatoes, cabbages, grain and sugar beet. Niğde is Turkey's biggest potato growing region and has the most apple trees (although newer plantings in other provinces are achieving greater production). Meat and dairy are also important activities along with beekeeping and more recently trout farms. Niğde has a rich tradition of folk culture including song and dance and the famous proverb (the Turkish equivalent of "the early bird catches the worm") - ''"Bor's eastern market is over, ride your donkey to Niğde"''.Geçti Bor'un pazarı sür eşeğini Niğde'ye Another Niğde tradition is to ''plum'' someone (Erikletmek) meaning if you have visitors sit them in the garden and fill them up with plums (or other fruit) so you don't have to give them dinner.

Places of interest

The

Aladağlar The Anti-Taurus Mountains (from el, Αντίταυρος) are a mountain range in southern and eastern Turkey, curving northeast from the Taurus Mountains. At , Mount Erciyes ( Turkish: Erciyes Dağı) is the highest peak not just in the ran ...

and Bolkar mountain ranges in the

Taurus mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar'') are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir ...

are popular for winter sports, climbing and trekking through the high meadows and mountain villages. The mountains are particularly attractive when the hills are covered in spring flowers. *The Aladaglar mountains in particular are one of the most popular climbing venues in Turkey. Although the Aladaglar mountains border on their namesake Aladağ District, in

Adana Province Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...

, they are generally reached from the villages of Demirkazık and Çukurbağ in

Çamardı Çamardı is a quiet town and district of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey, at the foot of Aladağ in the Taurus Mountains and reached by winding mountain roads. Population is 15,245 of which 3,396 live in the town of ...

. *The Bolkar mountains have a 7 km ski-run and a crater lake. Niğde is part of Cappadoccia and does attract some tourists to its historical sites, although nothing like as many as the centre of the area in Nevşehir. Sites of historical importance in Niğde include many churches, mosques and ''underground cities'' (safe-havens cut deep down into the soft volcanic rock). Another important site is the ancient city of

Tyana Tyana ( grc, Τύανα), earlier known as Tuwana (Hieroglyphic Luwian: ; Akkadian: ) and Tuwanuwa ( Hittite: ) was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was ...

and a number of Roman waterways in the district of Bor. An important underground city and ancient monastery is located in Gümüşler, Niğde, called Gümüşler Monastery. In Ulukışla, Öküz Mehmet Pasha Complex, a

külliye A külliye ( ota, كلية) is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa ("cl ...

is a 17th-century structure. Niğde also has a number of mineral hot-springs and other attractions, so with a little investment in hotels and other infrastructure the province could attract more tourists than at present.

Districts

Etymology

History

Niğde today

Places of interest

See also

References

External links