Yamanlar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yamanlar is the name of a small village in Turkey within the municipal boundaries of Greater İzmir, administratively depending İzmir's metropolitan district of Karşıyaka, and it is situated near the summit of the same name, Mount Yamanlar (Dağı) overlooking the Gulf of İzmir from the northeast.
The mountain is an extinct volcano and there is a crater lake called "Karagöl" (literally the "Black Lake") on its top. Although it is geologically separate from the neighboring mass of the Mount Sipylus (Spil Dağı in Turkish), their flora, fauna and history have very much in common, and the two mountains have sometimes been viewed as extensions of each other.
Mount Yamanlar was the location of the first urban settlement that commanded the Gulf of İzmir circa 1440 BC, possibly named "Naulochon" and deriving its wealth from the mines of the region. The settlement was founded by Tantalus of Greek mythology fame. Two monuments from that period near the crater lake on top of Mount Yamanlar (the "Tomb of Tantalus" and an altar named the "Throne of Pelops", Tantalus's son), as well as a rock-cut carving in Karabel locality between Kemalpaşa and Torbalı, have reached our day and are, in fact, Hittite.
Yamanlar is a popular excursion spot for İzmir's inhabitants, being close to the city and easy to access, being served by a good road, which is nevertheless a steep climb.
Yamanlar College, a prominent high-school establishment of İzmir, is not situated in Yamanlar or is even close to it, but is in Örnekköy, another neighborhood depending Karşıyaka district, along a street named after the mountain (Yamanlar Caddesi).
