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.
15-492: Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park is located in the Kadirli and Düziçi districts of Osmaniye Province . The provincial roads P.80-75 , P.80-76 and P.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
30-400: A small church, the town maintained an Armenian school, attended by 85 students in 1900. There are many archaeological and touristic sites nearby such as: Osmaniye Province Osmaniye Province ( Turkish : Osmaniye ili ) is a province in south-central Turkey . It was named Cebel-i Bereket ( lit. ' Fertile Mountain ' ) in the early republic until 1933, when it
45-536: Is a vocational college connected with the Korkut Ata University, Osmaniye . The college offers two educational programs: Computer Programming and Industrial Electronics since 1997. Evliya Çelebi wrote that the town was mostly inhabited by Turcomans in his seyahatname . On the eve of World War I , before the Armenian genocide , the town had a population of 2,000 of which 1,800 were Armenians . In addition to
60-563: Is an archaeological site , an ancient walled settlement of the Neo-Hittites dating back to the 8th century. Excavated between 1946 and 1952, the artifacts, stone statues and reliefs inside the ruined fortification, are left at their original place. Lion statues on stone ( Turkish : Aslantaş ) give the site its name. The Karatepe Bilingual , inscriptions on stone with the same text in Phoenician alphabet and Hieroglyphic Luwian , which enabled
75-598: Is permitted at designated picnic locations only. Accommodation is available in Kadirli and Osmaniye. Kadirli Kadirli , historically Kars ( Armenian : Գարս ) or Karsbazar (Armenian: Գարս Փազար ), is a city in Osmaniye Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey . It is the seat of Kadirli District . Its population is 98,469 (2022). It is located in the Çukurova plain, 41 kilometres (25 miles) from
90-724: The Dulkadir lords, semi-autonomous barons during the Ottoman era, who ruled Gaziantep , Kahramanmaraş and Hatay for two centuries. They were dispersed after the land was captured by the Ottoman sultan Yavuz Sultan Selim I in 1517. Kadirli was occupied by French forces at the end of the First World War under the terms of the armistice signed by the Ottoman Empire. The French forces were resisted by local peoples and eventually withdrew from
105-530: The area. There is small scale industry. In the summertime, families move to the uplands of Taurus Mountains , mainly Plateau Maksutolugu, adjacent to Kahramanmaraş because of hot weather in a general manner, also working people staying in town join their families in the weekends. In recent times, inhabitants also prefer to spend their summertime at the sea side in Yumurtalık and Mersin during hot season as an alternative of moving to plateau. In Kadirli, there
120-820: 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
135-458: The decryption of the Anatolian hieroglyphs , is the most interesting piece of the open-air museum. The national park inhabits many typical flora species of the Mediterranean climate . Turkish pine ( Pinus brutia ) and oak ( Quercus ) form woodlands, and ( Quercus ) shrub groves in the national park. Other plants are turpentine tree ( Pistacia terebinthus ) and sumac ( Rhus ). Picnic areas of
150-435: The highest one at 538 m (1,765 ft). The national park comprises Turkey's first established open-air museum as its 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. The open-air museum
165-441: The national park were planted with umbrella pine ( Pinus pinea ), walnut tree ( Juglans ), plane tree ( Platanus ), mulberry tree ( Morus ), melissa and hortensia ( Hydrangea ). 15 mammal, 12 reptile, 5 amphibian and 22 fish species are observed in the national park The national park is open to visitors on daily basis. Opportunities offered as recreational outdoor activities are hiking , picnicking and camping. Camping
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#1732876000624180-404: 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
195-650: The province's capital, Osmaniye . It is located near the ancient site of Flaviopolis . The Cilicia/Çukurova plain is rich farmland and a place of strategic importance on an important trade route between the Middle East and Anatolia. It has been settled since the time of the Hittites and after by various civilizations: Assyrians , Romans (the Roman city of Flavius may have been located here), Byzantines, Armenians and finally Turks. The most prominent group of Turks to settle here were
210-560: The town in March 1920. Kadirli was a district (ilçe) in Kozan province between 1923-1926 and in Adana Province between 1926 and 1995. In 1996, it was attached to the newly created province of Osmaniye. Kadirli is a town providing the basic infrastructure, such as shops and schools, to an area of rich farmland, which produces grain and 75% of Turkey's radishes. There are two reservoirs for irrigating
225-480: Was incorporated into Adana Province . It was made a province again in 1996. Its area is 3,320 km , and its population is 559,405 (2022). The province is situated in Çukurova , a geographical, economical and cultural region. The capital of the province is Osmaniye . Other major towns include Kadirli and Düziçi . Osmaniye Province is mainly under hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa ) according to Köppen climate classification system. Osmaniye province
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