A view out of this world
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Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 12, 2008 00:00
AYDIN - Karakaya Village that is located in Aydın is nowhere near being the most popular spot for tourism and real estate in the Aegean Region but its preserved natural beauty and historic values wait there to be explored
Known for its historic and natural riches, Karakaya Village in the Söke region of Aydın is one of the rarer villages in the Aegean region of Turkey.
Karakaya lies on the northern side of the Beşparmak Mountains, surrounded by wildlife with its pitch black rocks and amazing view, it has the feeling of another planet, according to Bahattin Sürücü, president for the Kuşadası Community of Nature Lovers for the Protection of the Ecosystem, or EKODOSD.
Sürücü said the Beşparmak Mountains Ğ which although have no flat land, are home to other residential areas like Karakaya Ğ offered hard conditions for local people, had to live without the many facilities of modern life. Sürücü also added that the village headman had made considerable effort to preserve the natural and historical richness. Like ever location on the Beşparmak Mountains, the Village of Karakaya is quite rich with the variety of plant life, he said.
Rich with mines
While the area makes for harsh living conditions, it is very suitable for mining due to its rich reserves, According to Sürücü: "There are quartz, albite and feldspar in these mountains where rocks like natural monuments are being dynamited and carried away on trucks". Sürücü said the mine, which lies very close to the village, was a threat to the health of villagers but as it provided so many jobs, nobody could say a thing. "Actually, this wild territory contains such treasures that if they were publicized and eco-tourism developed, it would both improve the local economy and preserve its nature and history," he said.
Dr Anneliese Peschlow, researcher at the Berlin Archaeology Institute and a member of EKODOSD, has been working in these mountains since the 1970’s and has made many important discoveries. According to Sürücü, Dr Peschlow found some unique cave paintings in the area that expressed the changes in the life of early humans by switching from a nomadic to settled lifestyle.
Göktepe Cave, where the paintings were found, is considered one of the holiest places in the area, said Sürücü. Since the first found paintings were of people dancing in groups, it thought a spring festival was held here. Sürücü said an exhibition was being organized to display the natural history, culture, mythology, rock formations and thousands of years old cave paintings in front of the Cave, near Karakaya.
"We are constantly working to preserve these paintings which are one of the most important prehistoric discoveries of Anatolia and the nature of Beşparmak Mountains"
Karakaya lies on the northern side of the Beşparmak Mountains, surrounded by wildlife with its pitch black rocks and amazing view, it has the feeling of another planet, according to Bahattin Sürücü, president for the Kuşadası Community of Nature Lovers for the Protection of the Ecosystem, or EKODOSD.
Sürücü said the Beşparmak Mountains Ğ which although have no flat land, are home to other residential areas like Karakaya Ğ offered hard conditions for local people, had to live without the many facilities of modern life. Sürücü also added that the village headman had made considerable effort to preserve the natural and historical richness. Like ever location on the Beşparmak Mountains, the Village of Karakaya is quite rich with the variety of plant life, he said.
Rich with mines
While the area makes for harsh living conditions, it is very suitable for mining due to its rich reserves, According to Sürücü: "There are quartz, albite and feldspar in these mountains where rocks like natural monuments are being dynamited and carried away on trucks". Sürücü said the mine, which lies very close to the village, was a threat to the health of villagers but as it provided so many jobs, nobody could say a thing. "Actually, this wild territory contains such treasures that if they were publicized and eco-tourism developed, it would both improve the local economy and preserve its nature and history," he said.
Dr Anneliese Peschlow, researcher at the Berlin Archaeology Institute and a member of EKODOSD, has been working in these mountains since the 1970’s and has made many important discoveries. According to Sürücü, Dr Peschlow found some unique cave paintings in the area that expressed the changes in the life of early humans by switching from a nomadic to settled lifestyle.
Göktepe Cave, where the paintings were found, is considered one of the holiest places in the area, said Sürücü. Since the first found paintings were of people dancing in groups, it thought a spring festival was held here. Sürücü said an exhibition was being organized to display the natural history, culture, mythology, rock formations and thousands of years old cave paintings in front of the Cave, near Karakaya.
"We are constantly working to preserve these paintings which are one of the most important prehistoric discoveries of Anatolia and the nature of Beşparmak Mountains"