Erciyes and its Plateaus

Erciyes is like an island in a vast ocean.

The highest mountain in Central Anatolia, and the only mountain higher to the west within Türkiye's borders: the majestic Erciyes.

Erciyes is a love, a passion; once you've tasted it, it's a flavor you can never give up.

Erciyes is the region's water reservoir, cloud generator, moisture retainer, life-giver, majestic, high, ancient god; in short, Erciyes is life itself.

I have much more praise to offer for Erciyes, much more to say, but pages wouldn't be enough; this is sufficient for now, let's get into the matter.

Its summit is said to be 3917 meters above sea level. The summit of Erciyes is very different; one feels like they've climbed onto the roof of the world, a state of indecision arises, but at the same time, an incredible sense of peace.

There is always snow at the summit; some years, when the summer is very hot, the snow disappears, but you will always see snow or glaciers on the way to the summit.

There are also glaciers near the summit of Erciyes, glaciers that don't melt in summer or winter, and water always flows from beneath them as they melt; one feels like drinking from them to their heart's content. I said that Erciyes is a water reservoir.

According to some sources, Erciyes, or Argeus as it was formerly known, is an extinct volcano, while others say it's dormant. Either way, Erciyes is a massive volcano, and traces of its former existence can be found everywhere on the mountain and in the region: lava domes (which the locals call "kartın"), molten rocks, hills rising abruptly from the ground, lava vents, and tuff – in short, volcanic remains are everywhere. According to Strabo, the mountain was still burning fiercely in the 230s BC.

Erciyes has a natural lake at high altitude that captivates with its yellow color: Sarı Göl (Yellow Lake). (I expanded on this in another article.)

While hiking in the mountains, you'll see freshwater springs at every turn; it's as if the water reservoirs are overflowing.

Several relatively small mountains are located on the cone of Erciyes, these are: Kefeli Mountain, Yanık Mountain, Küçük Kefeli Mountain, Bokluca, Süt Donduran, Lifos, Pire Kartın, Taşlı Kartın, Üç Tepeler, Koç Mountain (the oldest of them)

In Erciyes, you don't come across many caves in terms of structure; apart from one or two barn-like caves and the hermitage caves of Byzantine monks at the summit, there are no other caves.

Erciyes has dozens of plateaus that are vital for the villagers: Gelengilik, Bey Yurdu, Kırkpınar, Ağalar, Boyun, Serçer, Aksu, Dikenli, Uzun, and Zambık Plateaus.

To protect their animals, which remain inactive during the winter, from disease, villagers are obliged to take them to high altitudes for at least one or two months each year, to access fresh grass, clean air, and water. In this sense, Erciyes is an invaluable resource.

In the Erciyes highlands, which used to be covered in a blanket of white as if it had snowed due to the density of tents, the total number of tents in recent years does not even reach 50, the average number of tents found in a single highland area in the past.

According to legend, in the old days, instead of transporting the milk they milked from their animals to the city every day using mules, the shepherds would transport it to a depot they built on the summit of Mount Lifos. From there, the milk was transferred to Talas through man-made, terracotta troughs, underground, thus ensuring the milk reached the city very quickly and fresh. Because the troughs were made of terracotta and were underground, the milk remained fresh for a long time.

There are many villages at the foot of Mount Erciyes, villages that draw their life from the mountain's water, grass, and stones. As the altitude increases, the number of villages decreases and eventually disappears.

Erciyes is said to have once been the region's timber depot; according to information obtained from the ruins in the area, a total of 50 different types of trees grew in these forests. Today, Erciyes is a barren mountain, except for a few small forests, which are being reborn from the ashes. If this continues, Erciyes could become a forested mountain again within 200-300 years. Today, wild poplar, pear, apple, plum, willow, oak, juniper, and cypress trees grow in the forests of Erciyes. Although the forests are small, wildlife has begun to revive, and there is an increase in the number of wild animals such as wild boar, wolf, squirrel, rabbit, skunk, and fox.