Moving to the high plateaus in summer for the purpose of economic activity generally occurs with vertical rhythmic movements. Although migrations differ to some extent from region to region region, it generally starts in April or May and lasts 15-20 days. After three or four months on the high plateau and engaging in economic activities, people return to the lower areas where they settle in late August or September.

Because of the rise in elevation from coastal to inland areas, and from west to east, the natural plant coverage and differences in climatic conditions offer a suitable environment for economic activity on the plateaus. While the lower and flat areas in central latitudes, on which Turkey is located, experience great heat in the summers, theose areas located at an elevation of 1,000-2,000 meters offer a warm and restful environment with their rich natural surroundings and mild climatic conditions. While these places offer an attractive environment for resting, meadow areas and grasslands at the upper edges of the forests are ideal for animal husbandry as well.

Mountain pastures appear in northern Anatolia starting from the east of Artvin, near the border with the Commonwealth of Independent States, in the Çoruh valley and mountain ranges.

These mountains are mainly to be found in the northern region of Artvin and the mountains south of Findikli province near the Black Sea coast. Up to the Görele region, mountain pastures are more dispersed and do not present an orderly pattern of progression. They are most frequently found in Ünye and Ordu in particular. South of Gerze, the mountains located north of Boyabat and Tasköprü are also full of mountain pastures. The plateau belt moves inland at Mount Ilgaz after following the coast up to Kastamonu. Apart from the south of the eastern Black Sea mountain pastures belt, there is a second one: the Ardahan and Savsat high plateaus, the high plateaus south of Askale, in the more western part Koyulhisar, the high plateaus south of Susehri and to the north and east of Tokat, the high plateaus north of Gümülhacıköy, Ilgaz high plateaus and the high plateaus north of Ankara from Çankırı up to north of Eskişehir. The densest areas are located north of Gerede and Bolu and in the northern part of the high areas around Kızılcahamam. There are also a number of such pastures on the Sundiken Mountains.

The largest number of mountain pasture areas in central Anatolia are located in the mountains south of Ankara, the western and southern parts of Lake Tuz, and the western parts of Konya.

The Toros Mountains also have considerable numbers of mountain pastures, especially the area between Alanya and Sugla Lake.

Among the single high plateau areas, there are Erciyes, Sultan, the east of Eğirdir, Aladağ on the Toros Mountains and Mount Madran. Sheltered valleys near the mountains, coasts and plains of Anatolia are the main areas for sheltering in the winter. The branch of the Çoruh River, the upper parts of the Merehevi valley, the Dil area east of Mount Ararat, Doğu Beyazıt west of Mount Ararat, the area around Diyadin, the valleys east and north of Oltu, the Kızıl and Yeşil River deltas, the Mediterranean coast south of the Toros Mountains, the Adana and Amik plains, the area east and south of Sivas, the north and west of Hekimhan, the north of the Konya plain, the Ergene valley in Trace, Enez, and the area around Tekirdağ are all kışlaks.

These become permanent settlements ın time. Therefore, for example in Konya, many villages names have the word "kışla" appended to them (Kızılca, Ag, Kir, In, Kuyu, Kas, Bucak, Çay, Dere, Gökçe, Yeni, Kara, Aydin). Others have "kışla" at the beginning (Kışlaköy, Kışla Kariyyesi) and the names of some towns and cities have the word "kışla" at the end such as Ulukışla, Sarkışla, Baskışla.

In the beginning of this century, in the same way that every village had its summer areas, cities and towns had their own orchards. For example, Keçiören, Dikmen, Seyran, Etlik were the orchards in Ankara, Meram was orchard area ın Konya. There was Gesi in Kayseri, Erkilet in Sivas, Buzluk and Müridi in Elazığ and Kozanlı in Sereflikoçhisar. In these places people enjoyed the mild weather in the hottest days of summer while preparing fried meat, sausages, meat cured with garlic, dried vegetables and fruits for the winter. But as the cities developed and grew, these areas came within the borders of developed cities and were eventually buılt on. It is not necessary for plateaus and orchards to be in high places, although the orchards of Muğla are an exceptıon, being at high elevations lower than the town.

Lıfe on the mountain pastures is commonly seen in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, Aegean and East Anatolia regions. In fact, the real plateau activities occur in these places.

The Black Sea high plateaus are generally some 2,000-2,200 meters long, where mostly alpine meadows are seen at the upper parts of the forest. Some large families go to plateaus in summer and continue stockraising activities there.

The situation in the Mediterranean differs from other areas. Some of them, such as Çamliyayla, Ulas, Meselik; Çamalan, Damlama, Gözne, Belen, Kuzucubelen, Fındıkpınarı and Aslanköy, are used for economic activities and as recreation spots including daily tours, while others are used as mountain pastures by nomads called "yörük. Dwellings in these places are permanent, but most of the time they are made of animal hair. Places used for recreation purposes have modern dwellings, however.

There are no permanent high plateau dwellings in the Aegean region. The yaylacılık activities are carried out by the migrant yörüks. The people who migrate to high plateaus 1,800-1,990 meters high (Aydın, Honaz, Madran etc.) return ro their kışlaks after a while. Here as an another example of life on the plateau, migrants known as "kirli yörük" migrate from central Anatolia, and even from Konya, to the Aegean plains and coastal areas for the winter. In the summer they return back to their high plateaus which are located in the interior parts of Anatolia. As regards eastern Anatolia, migration to plateaus 2,000-2,700 meters high (the Tortum, Narman, Kars, Güllü, Karasu, Allahuekber, Aras high plateaus), starts in May-June and ends when people return to their homes after a period of three or three-and-a-half months. Between such plateau areas and villages there is little difference in height (the Meram orchards in Konya). In central Anatolia, taking the Upper Sakarya high plateaus (Sündiken and Türkmen Mountains) and the Mount Erciyes high plateaus as an exception, plateaus in flatter areas mean simple shepherd houses and the meadows around them.

Dwellings on the plateaus may be either permanent or temporary. Although the houses differ from each other depending on their owners' means and background, they are generally adapted to the requirements of the lıvestock raising economy. While the section for the family shelter consists of a raised bank for the bed, a fireplace and courtyard, sections such as a barn, sheep-pen and places for milking complete the house. The materials used in these dwellings are stone in the Mediterranean region, sun-dried brick in central Anatolia, a mixture of wood and stone in the Black Sea and stone in eastern Anatolia.

Modern buildings are erected in places which are used for recreational purposes (Sogukoluk, Belen, Zigana, Hamsi Village). In these buildings, which have two or three storeys floors, a kitchen and bath, you can also find all the equipment that might be necessary. However, since these houses are built for temporary purposes, they are much less carefully built than permanent ones.

There are approximately 26,000 plateau settlements in Turkey. This figure shows that there is more than one plateau settlement for every two villages. Most villages that have a population over 36,000 are not involved in plateau activities. Yet if one considers that in the Erzurum-Kars and Bolu areas one out of every two-three villages is engaged in plateau business, it is clear that that the village-plateau relationship in Turkey is very common. This, pf course, is the result of the importance of the economic function of plateau farming. Although in Turkey some some high plateaus are used for recreational and production, such as cultivation, these activities do not have much importance when compared with the large extended range of plateau economic activities. In short, the plateau business in Turkey is based on the livestock raising economy, and is a major source of revenue for the country's villages (especially in eastern Anatolia and the Black Sea) and balances their economies (including livestock, dried grass and wool).

Kastamonu - Ilgaz
Kastamonu’ya yolu düşen herkesin mutlaka uğradığı Ilgaz’da kayak mevsimi aralık ayında başlayıp nisan ayına kadar sürüyor. Kar kalınlığı ise 50 - 200 santimetre. Kayak pistleri de 1800 - 2000 metre yükseklikleri arasında. Merkezde, 700 metre uzunluğunda çift iskemleli telesiyej tesisi, 950 metre uzunluğundaki teleski tesisi ile 1700 kişiye bir saatte hizmet veriliyor.

>> The Western Black Sea Coast > Kartalkaya > Akcakoca > Safranbolu > Ilgaz >

>> The Eastern Black Sea Coast > Sinop > Trabzon > Rize > Artvin >