Taurus Mountains

The Taurus Mountains (Turkish: Toros Dağları or Toroslar) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east. It is a part of the Alpide belt in Eurasia. The mountain range under the current name was mentioned in The Histories by Polybius as Ταῦρος (Taûros). Heinrich Kiepert writes in Lehrbuch der alten Geographie that the name was borrowed into Ancient Greek from the Semitic (Old Aramaic) root טורא ṭūrā, meaning "mountain". The Taurus mountains are divided into three chains from west to east as follows; Western Taurus (Batı Toroslar) Central Taurus (Orta Toroslar) Southeastern Taurus (Güneydoğu Toroslar) The Western Taurus Mountains form an arc around the Gulf of Antalya. It includes the Akdağlar, Bey Mountains, Katrancık Mountain, Kuyucak Mountains, and Geyik Mountains. The East Taşeli Plateau and Goksu River divide it from the Central Taurus Mountains. It has many peaks rising above . Mt. Kizlarsivrisi, , in the Bey Mountains is the highest peak in the Western Taurus. Image:Termessos - Theater.jpg| [[Termessos]] is an ancient city in the western Taurus Image:AntalyaSunset.JPG | [[Antalya]] with the sunset and mountains in the west Image: Крепость Аланья.JPG | [[Alanya]], and the surrounding mountains The Central Taurus Mountains are roughly defined to include northern Mersin Province and northwestern Adana Province. The highest point in the Central Taurus is Mt. Demirkazık (3,756m). The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass has been the principal pass through the Eastern Taurus since ancient times, connecting the coastal plain of Cilicia with Central Anatolia. The Tarsus-Ankara Highway (E90, O-21) passes through it. Mountain ranges in the Central Taurus include: Akçalı Mountains, western Bolkar Mountains, central, highest peak Mt. Medetsiz Aladaglar mountain range, central, highest peak Mt.