Mountaineering in Turkey A glance at a topographical map of
Turkey reveals that this is a country of mountains. Rising from
all four directions, mountains encircle the peninsula of
Anatolia. A part of the Alpine-Himalayan Mountain range, Turkey
has mountainous regions with different geological formations.The
North Anatolian range skirts the Mediterranean shore. Turkey's
magnificient mountains and forests are mostly undeveloped,
existing as wonderful natural preserves for an extraordinary
variety of wild life, flora and fauna. Two of Turkey's most
famous peaks are volcanos, both inactive, Mt. Erciyes in Kayseri
in Central Anatolia (3917 m) and Mt. Ağri; (Mt. Ararat 5137 m)
in the east. Other mountain ranges are the Rize Kaçkar (3932 m)
in the eastern Black Sea region, Niğde Aladağlar; (3756 m) in
the central Taurus range and the Cilo and Sat mountains (4136 m)
near Hakkari in the eastern Taurus. The mountainous nature of
the country has inflounced its cultural evolution. For
centuries, nomads and semi-nomadic