Niğde Province

Niğde Province (Turkish: Niğde ili) is a province in the southern part of Central Anatolia, Turkey. Population is 341,412 (2013 est) of which 141,360 live in the city of Niğde. The population was 348,081 in 2000 and 305,861 in 1990. It covers an area of 7,312 km². Neighbouring provinces are Kayseri, Adana, Mersin, Konya, Aksaray and Nevşehir.

The province is surrounded on three sides by ranges of the Taurus Mountains, including Mount Hasan and the Melendiz mountains. To the west lies the plain of Emen, which opens up into the wide plain of Konya. The plain is covered with nutritious volcanic soil and Niğde is a successful agricultural region, particularly apples and potatoes.

Surrounded by mountains and at a fairly high altitude the area has a dry and chilly climate and is exposed to snows brought by cold north winds in winter. Average rainfall 0.9 mm, 78.5 mm in April, practically zero in July and August. Therefore, the hillsides are more or less bare of vegetation, with some forest at the higher altitudes.

Niğde

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.

History

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.

Niğde (electoral district)

Niğde is an electoral district of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. It elects three members of parliament (deputies) to represent the province of the same name for a four-year term by the D'Hondt method, a party-list proportional representation system.

Members

Population reviews of each electoral district are conducted before each general election, which can lead to certain districts being granted a smaller or greater number of parliamentary seats.

Niğde is a shrinking electoral district, having for many years been represented by five members. Since the 1999 general election it has had three members of parliament in Ankara.

General elections

2011

Presidential elections

2014

References

Coordinates: 37°50′N 34°45′E / 37.833°N 34.750°E / 37.833; 34.750