Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park
| Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park | |
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| Karatepe-Aslantaş Milli Parkı | |
A view of the national park seen from Karatepe. Ancient fortification wall at the open-air museum (left) and Aslantaş Dam reservoir (right).
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 Karatepe-Aslantaş NP
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| Location | Kadirli-Düziçi, Osmaniye Province, Turkey |
| Coordinates | 37°18′29.04″N 36°15′01.10″E / 37.3080667°N 36.2503056°ECoordinates: 37°18′29.04″N 36°15′01.10″E / 37.3080667°N 36.2503056°E |
| Area | 4,145 ha (10,240 acres) |
| Established | May 29, 1958 |
| Governing body | Ministry of Forest and Water Management |
| Website | www |
Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park (Turkish: Karatepe-Aslantaş Milli Parkı), established in 1958, is a national park in southern Turkey. Situated on the banks of a dam reservoir, it contains an archaeological open-air museum.
Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park is located in the Kadirli and Düziçi districts of Osmaniye Province. The provincial roads 80-75, 80-76 and 80-77 from Osmaniye to Kadirlı pass through the national park. The protected area is located at 30 km (19 mi) from north of Osmaniye and 22 km (14 mi) southeast of Kadirli. The nearest airport is Adana Şakirpaşa Airport at 125 km (78 mi) distance form the national park.
The national park was established on September 28, 1958 as the country's second protected area of this type after the discovery and excavations of important archaeological finds here.
The national park is located on a slightly rugged terrain between the foothills of Taurus Mountains and the plains of Çukurova, where Ceyhan River runs through. The national park is partly on the banks of a reservoir formed by the Aslantaş Dam. The streams Hillik Creek, Kırağı Creek, Kışla Creek and Kaplan Creek, which are all tributes of the Ceyhan River and flow into the Aslantaş Dam reservoir, are at the boundaries of the protected area.
Elevation of the national park area varies between 65–538 m (213–1,765 ft) above mean sea level, including notable hills as İncirlitepe: 377 m (1,237 ft), Kalitepe: 345 m (1,132 ft), Karadağtepe: 492 m (1,614 ft), Garzedetepe: 479 m (1,572 ft), Gavurtaştepe: 401 m (1,316 ft), Bocayücetepe: 338 m (1,109 ft), and Karatepe being the highest one at 538 m (1,765 ft).
The national park comprises Turkey's first established open-air museum as irs centerpiece with the same name. It is situated atop Karatepe, on a peninsula of the Aslantaş Dam reservoir. The site, called locally "Hitit Yarımadası" ("Hittite Peninsula"), is reached by a 1,200 m (3,900 ft)-long stone-paved trail from the entrance of the national park.
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Wikipedia