Durağan

Durağan

Durağan in 2012
Durağan
Coordinates: 41°25′N 35°03′E / 41.417°N 35.050°E / 41.417; 35.050Coordinates: 41°25′N 35°03′E / 41.417°N 35.050°E / 41.417; 35.050
Country Turkey
Province Sinop
Area[1]
 • District 1,035.59 km2 (399.84 sq mi)
Population (2012)[2]
 • Urban 7,667
 • District 20,703
 • District density 20/km2 (52/sq mi)
Climate Cfb

Durağan is a town and district of Sinop Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey.

The town is at the location where Kizil River joins its tributary Gökırmak just before crossing the last mountain range northwards to the Black Sea.

The name of the town is an altered version of the name of a building from 13th century for overnight stay of caravans, Durak Han, literally "station house" in Turkish. Another possible explanation is that the name originates from "Dura Han" where Dura is the name of a ravine nearby (Dura Deresi) down from a plateau dominating the two river valleys.

Gökırmak valley runs east west and constitutes a portion of the Silk road, together with a series of similar river valleys running east-west around 100 km inland from Black Sea cost.

Durağan has a past reaching into the antiquity being the nearest town to possibly worlds oldest underwater tunnel, terelek kaya tuneli,[3] a few kilometer downstream under the Kızıl River, now the upper part of a dam lake. Carved rock face graves,[4] and a mine nearby might be from similar periods in antiquity. The chemicals from the mine might have been shipped to Cyprus for use in very early cupper production.

Durağan has also a cave, Buzluk Mağarası, that naturally produces ice during summer time, near the villages of Bayatsekisi and Sarnıkalıncası, about 13 km from town.

References

  1. ↑ "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. ↑ "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  3. ↑ Blogcu http://terelek.blogcu.com/terelek-kaya-tuneli/319497
  4. ↑ http://terelek.blogcu.com/terelek-kral-kaya-mezarlari-duragan-sinop/319540 TERELEK KRAL KAYA MEZARLARI

External links


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