Çukurova

Çukurova is the modern name for the ancient region of Cilicia in southern Anatolian peninsula. The region consists of the modern provinces of Adana, Osmaniye, Mersin and Tarsus.

When Seljuk Turks captured the region, many Turkmens, including Oğuz clans of Yuregir, Afshar and Chepni settled in the northern parts of the region. These nomadic Turkmens were named as "yoruk"s (Turkish for "walker") traditionally, and later on in the 19th century, they were settled in the city centers to provide developed farming and to improve the trading of Mersin port. As a result, these cities are improved in trading, farming and industry. Adana is the 4th largest city of Turkey, and a vital center of many agricultural products such as cotton, although it isn't as popular as in once today.

Çukurova is the largest alluvial plane in Turkey. The plain is formed the rivers Seyhan Ceyhan. It borders the Taşeli plateau in the west, where there are many natural formations of limestone.

Historically, the region was known as Kissuwadna by the Hittites. The region was divided into two parts, Uru Adaniya (flat Cilicia) and western Cilicia (Tarza), which was known as mountainous Cilicia. The gates which allow transportation through the Taurus Mountains are Gulek Bogazi (Cilician gates), Belen gate which combines the region to the southeast (modern province of Dörtyol, Hatay) and the gate of Sertavul. The region is included in the Mediterranean region of Turkey, and it borders Central Anatolia (historical Cappadocia) to the north, Southeastern Anatolian region to the east.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.