East Taurus

The Taurus Mountains form a broad complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean lowlands along the Levantine Sea from the central Anatolian Plateau. Its long arc begins near Lake Eğirdir and reaches the upper Euphrates and Tigris in the east. This eastern sector belongs to the Southeastern Taurus, one of the three chains into which the range is divided. It traces the northern edge of southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia and therefore links the plateau with the river routes descending into Mesopotamia.

Limestone is the predominant rock. The range rose through collision of the African and Eurasian plates, and erosion elsewhere has produced underground rivers, waterfalls and large caves. Elevation shapes the climate: dry summers and rainy winters give way to cold winters in the high mountains and interior. Evergreen oaks, maquis and Turkish pine cover lower slopes; above 1,200 metres, black pine, Lebanon cedar, Taurus fir and juniper form montane woodland. Alpine meadows occupy the highest ground.

Mountain storms also shaped regional belief. Ancient Syrians attributed the torrential downpours that made the Tigris and Euphrates rise to the storm god Adad, and the bull became a symbol of Near Eastern storm gods as well as the name of the range. The eastern Taurus thus combines a high watershed, dense forest belts and a long role as a barrier and corridor between Anatolia and Mesopotamia.