Mount Karadağ

This article is about an extinct volcano in Karaman Province, Turkey. For various other Turkic Black mountains, see Kara Dag.

. Karadağ (literally: Black mountain) is an extinct volcano in Karaman Province, Turkey.

Geography

The crater of the volcano, which is now a lava plain, is approximately 25 km (16 mi) north of Karaman at 37°15′N 33°05′E / 37.25°N 33.08°E / 37.25; 33.08 (Karadağ) at 1,610 m (5,280 ft) AMSL. The peak of the mountain is 2.25 km (1.40 mi) east of this plain at an elevation of 2,271 m (7,451 ft). Since the average elevation of the Karaman plains is about 1,010 m (3,310 ft), the height of the peak with respect to surrounding area is more than 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

The shape of the mountain is roughly conical with a base diameter of 15 km (9.3 mi) .

History

The slopes of the volcano have always been inhabited.[1] In fact, Çatalhöyük (ca 7500 BC), one of the earliest neolithic settlements in Anatolia, is located at the north-west of the volcano, and there are Hittite inscriptions on the hills at the south-east of the mountain.[2] Ancient Derbe, which is one of the towns Paul the Apostle had visited, is situated on the east slopes of the mountain.[3] During the early ages of Christianity, the towns on the mountain were religious centers. There are ruins of early Byzantine settlements all around the mountain and the region is called Binbirkilise (English: Thousand and One Churches). However, after Christianity was well established in big cities, the settlements on the mountain lost their religious importance.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History of the city". Karaman Belediyesi.
  2. ↑ Lloyd, Seton (1998). Ancient Turkey(Trans: Ender Varinlioğlu) (in Turkish). Ankara: Tubitak Yayınları. p. 269.
  3. ↑
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