Niğde

Niğde
Municipality
Niğde
Niğde
Coordinates: 37°58′00″N 34°40′45″E / 37.96667°N 34.67917°E / 37.96667; 34.67917Coordinates: 37°58′00″N 34°40′45″E / 37.96667°N 34.67917°E / 37.96667; 34.67917
Country	Turkey
Province	Niğde
Government
• Mayor	Faruk Akdoğan (AKP)
Area
• District	2,302.99 km2 (889.19 sq mi)
Elevation	1,229 m (4,032 ft)
Population (2012)
• Urban	118,186
• District	200,044
• District density	87/km2 (220/sq mi)
Website	www.nigde.bel.tr

Niğde is a town and the capital of Niğde Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,300 m. In 2010 the population was 109,724.

The town is located between the volcanic Melandiz Mountains, which include the Mount Hasan stratovolcano near the city of Aksaray to the north, and the Niğde Massif to the south-southeast. The massif is a metamorphic dome that contains abandoned antimony and iron mines. Several marble quarries are currently active in the pure white crystalline marble of the massif.

One of the most historically important places in Turkey is near Nigde, the Gumusler cave church, in a small village close to central Nigde.

See Niğde Province for a summary of the history of the region, which goes back a long way. This is rich farmland near a number of ancient trade routes, particularly the road from Kayseri (ancient Caesarea) to the Cilician Gates. Settlers throughout history include Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Romans, Byzantines and finally Turks from 1166 onwards. In the early Middle Ages, it was known as Magida, and was settled by the remaining inhabitants of nearby Tyana after the latter fell to the Arabs in 708/709. By the early 13th century Niğde was one of the largest cities in Anatolia. After the fall of the Sultanate of Rûm (of which it had been one of the principal cities), Niğde was captured by Anatolian beyliks such as Karaman Beylik and Eretna Beylik. According to Ibn Battuta, ruinous, and did not pass into Ottoman hands till the time of Mehmet II.

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Wikipedia