Tufanbeyli is small city and a 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 ...
of
Turkey
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 ...
, 196 km north-east of the city of
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, it has a population of 2.26 million.
Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...
, on an uneven, sloping plateau high in the Tahtalı range of the
Toros
Toros may refer to:
Sports
*Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, an American soccer team in Edinburg, Texas
* Austin Toros (2005-2014) a minor league basketball team from Austin, Texas
*Western District Toros, a soccer club from Adelaide, South Australia
...
mountains. It has been bounded economically to
Kayseri, 178 km far. Its neighbors are
Sarız from North,
Göksun
Göksun ( gr, Κυκυσός, ''Kykysós'', or Κουκουσός, ''Koukousós''; Latin: ''Coxon'' or ''Cucusus;'' Armenian: ''Կոկիսոն'') is a town and district of Kahramanmaraş Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, near one of ...
from east,
Saimbeyli
Saimbeyli, alternatively known as Hadjin ( hy, Հաճըն, translit=Hajěn), is a township and a district in the Adana Province, Turkey. The township is located at the Taurus mountains of Cilicia region, 157 km north of the city of Adana. The dist ...
from south,
Develi
Develi, formerly known as Averak, is a town and district in Kayseri Province in Central Anatolia Region, Turkey.
History
The historical name of the town is Everek and it is called ''Averak'' (oren, ruin) in Armenian. The historian, geographer, ...
from south-west and
Tomarza
Tomarza, formerly known as Dumarza ( Armenian: Դումարզա), is a city of Kayseri Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is Davut Şahin ( AKP).
Toros Madaghjian (1890-1989) wrote the history of Tomarza in a book calle ...
from west.
Tufanbeyli is reached by crossing one of three high mountain passes. It's a struggle to reach but the views are incredible. The river
Göksu
The Göksu ( Turkish for "sky water" also called ''Geuk Su'', ''Goksu Nehri''; la, Saleph, grc, Καλύκαδνος, translit=Calycadnus) is a river on the Taşeli plateau (Turkey). Both its sources arise in the Taurus Mountains—the norther ...
, a tributary of the
Seyhan runs across the plateau. The climate is hot dry summers and cold winters. The mountains are forested but these are steadily being consumed by the local people.
History
During the Bronze Age, the area was part of the kingdom of
Kizzuwatna
Kizzuwatna (or Kizzuwadna; in Ancient Egyptian ''Kode'' or ''Qode''), was an ancient Anatolian kingdom in the 2nd millennium BC. It was situated in the highlands of southeastern Anatolia, near the Gulf of İskenderun, in modern-day Turkey. It enc ...
. In classical antiquity, the region of Tufanbeyli was in the southwestern corner of
Cappadocia
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 Re ...
(while the parts of the Adana region south of Tufanbeyli were in
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
). The city of
Comana was situated near Şarköy, some kilometers north of Tufanbeyli.
The area is now settled by descendants of Turks from the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
and the Avşar (
Afshar tribe; the former having come to
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 ...
as a result of the Russian influx into the Caucasus in the 18th and 19th centuries. The latter being one of the group of Turkish migrants from Asia that have preserved their clan identity in Anatolia. The Avşar played a key role in the Turkish conquest of the
Çukurova region and remained a local authority right up until the 19th century, especially in mountain strongholds like Tufanbeyli. Its former names were Höketçe before 1923 and Mağara between 1923 and 1967. It became a district in 1958 by separating from Saimbeyli.
Power station
Mercury air pollution from the coal-fired power station has been estimated at over 500 kg/year.
References
External links
Tufanbeyli District GovernorshipTufanbeyli MunicipalityShort introduction to the areaWebsite about the Avşar culture
Populated places in Adana Province
Cities in Turkey
Districts of Adana Province
{{Adana-geo-stub