Bor is a town in

Niğde Province Niğde Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Its area is 7,234 km2, and its population is 365,419 (2022) of which 170,511 live in the city of Niğde. The population was 348,081 in 200 ...

in the Central Anatolia region of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, to the southeast of the city of

Niğde Niğde (; ; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and is located in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Niğde Province and Niğde District.Bor District The Bor District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image ...

.İlçe Belediyesi
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Its population is 41,999 (2022). The area is situated just north of the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

, not far from the

Cilician Gates The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m. The Cilician Gates ...

(Gülek Boğazı), the mountain pass leading to Cilicia and Syria, and has long been a place of commercial and military importance.

Etymology

The

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

and

Assyrians Assyrians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to Mesopotamia, a geographical region in West Asia. Modern Assyrians share descent directly from the ancient Assyrians, one of the key civilizations of Mesopotamia. While they are distinct from ot ...

gave the area the name Tuwanuwa. In the times of

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( ''Kūruš''; ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his ...

and

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

it was named Dana and then by the Romans, ''

Tyana Tyana, earlier known as Tuwana during the Iron Age, and Tūwanuwa during the Bronze Age, was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was the capital of a Luwia ...

'', (Θυάνα in

Ancient greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

). The remains of these civilizations can be found in the village of Kemerhisar. Bor is a more modern settlement nearby.

History

The plain has been settled since the time of the

, and subsequently controlled by

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. Ancient Greek authors used "Phrygian" as an umbrella term t ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ns and

Ancient Macedonians The Macedonians (, ) were an ancient tribe that lived on the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Vardar, Axios in the northeastern part of Geography of Greece#Mainland, mainland Greece. Essentially an Ancient Greece, ancient ...

. The Romans (and from 395 AD onwards

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () 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'' continued to be used as a n ...

) built the ancient city of

the most southernmost centre of Cappadocia. During the Byzantine period the town was the eastern Mediterranean region's most important Christian centre, as indicated also by its former Turkish name of Kilisehisar (‘City of the Churches’). Turks began to settle in the area in the wake of the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

after 1071. In the course of time the fortifications of ancient Tyana vanished among the towns of Bor,

Kemerhisar Kemerhisar is a town (''belde'') in the Bor District, Niğde, Bor District, Niğde Province, Turkey. Its population is 5,463 (2022). Geography The distance from Kemerhisar to Bor, Niğde, Bor is and to Niğde is . It is only west of Bahçeli, ...

and Bahçeli. Today the economy of Bor depends on grazing animals, plus some carpet weaving and leather-making. The countryside is too dry for planting crops, although there are vineyards and orchards (mainly apple and apricot) in Kemerhisar. This is a relatively poor district and many people have migrated to Europe or the larger cities of Turkey in search of jobs.

Places of interest

*Alâeddin Bey (Ulu Cami) Mosque - on the riverbank in the town centre. *Şeyh İlyas or Kale Camii - 16th century Ottoman mosque. *The rocks where the

worshipped the storms gods, in the village of Gökbez. *The ruins of

(ancient Tuvanuva, Dana, Tyana) and a number of Roman waterways scattered over three hills between the villages of Bahçeli and Kemerhisar. These include the remains of a complex of Roman baths (Roma Hamamı) and a limestone aqueduct dated from the reign of

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

(211-217 A.D.). The original supply of the aqueduct, the monumental pool of Bahçeli (Roma Havuzu, 5.5 km NE) is still well preserved. It sits at the foot of ''Köşk Höyük'', a Hittite settlement excavated in 1981 that is turning out to be of great historical value. There are also other massive foundations of several large buildings, shafts, pillars, and one handsome column (replaced) still standing. *The mineral water and therapeutic mud-baths just south of Kemerhisar. The hot spring (15 °C) mentioned in ancient writings still bubbles into a cold swamp. The mineral water is drunk for its healing powers and the site (İçmeler) also includes a bathing pool.

Gallery

File:Bor Sultan Alaaddin mosque 1085.jpg, Bor Sultan Alaaddin Mosque File:Bor Haci Kasim Sari Camii 1056.jpg, Bor Haci Kasim Sari Mosque File:Bor Sokullu Mehmet Pasha mosque 1017.jpg, Bor Sokullu Mehmet Pasha Mosque File:Bor Sokullu Carsisi 1022.jpg, Bor Sokullu çarşısı File:Bor Seyh Ilyas (Kale) mosque 1076.jpg, Bor Seyh Ilyas (Kale) Mosque File:Bor Old Hamam 1045 Panorama.jpg, Bor Old Hamam File:Bor Erkekler Hamam 1003.jpg, Bor Erkekler Hamam File:Bor Clock Tower 1016.jpg, Bor Clock Tower File:Bor Bilgin cultural centre 0999.jpg, Bor Bilgin cultural centre File:Bor View 1081.jpg, Bor View File:Bor Ahmet Kuddusi Hazreti mausoleum 1089.jpg, Bor Ahmet Kuddusi Hazreti mausoleum

References

External links