ARMENIAN - Erevangala500

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These drawings were done by proto-Turkish tribes living in
eastern Anatolia thousands of years ago. Nomadic Turkish
tribes still dominate the landscape o f the mountainous regions
of eastern Anatolia. (Below: rock-drawings from the
Kurbanaga Cave, not far from Cami§li, in the district o f Kars.)
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There exist some very clear indications. Similar rock-
drawings have been found in eastern Azerbaijan, in
Kobistan, in the Altai region, and in Siberia. The density
with which these rock-drawings occur shows beyond a
doubt that they are of proto-Turkish origin. The people
who made these drawings belonged to early nomadic and
semi-nomadic Turkish tribes. A similar conclusion can be
drawn in the case of the stylized drawings from the Geva-
ruk Valley (Hakkari) and those on the Plateau o f Tirshin.
The rock-drawings of Gevaruk and Tirshin are o f particular
significance because they bear a strong resemblance to
the drawings and symbols in the Cunni cave, near Erzurum,
and on the stone blocks of the temple o f Zeus in
Aizani (Cavdarhisar, near Kutahya). They were done by
ancient Turkish clans of the region. The latest discoveries
demonstrate clearly that there was already a connection in
prehistoric times between eastern Anatolia and the artistic
and cultural centers of the steppes o f Azerbaijan and
Siberia, as well as the mountainous regions of the Altai -
the original homeland of the Turkic peoples. From prehistoric
days right up to modem times, wandering and semi-
nomadic Turkish and proto-Turkish tribes have formed a
living tie between Inner Asia and Anatolia.
Asia is the home of the yurts. "Yurt" is a Turkish word
meaning both "tent", "home" and motherland. Bee-hive
houses, similar to yurts, can be seen in Anatolia. They are
a creation o f the Hurrians, predecessors of the Urartians,
whose realm lay between the Caucasus, Lake Urmia, and
the region around Malatya-Elazig. Various local names
have been given to this cultural zone. These include
"Kura-Aras Culture" and "Karaz Culture". The creators
and upholders of this culture spoke a language belonging
to the Ural-Altaic family, to which Turkish also belongs.
Early Hurri Culture together with Hurri Culture formed
the foundation for the Urartian kingdom which followed.
A characteristic feature of Hurrian culture was the round
house, similar to the round tents of the semi-nomadic
Hurrians. Round houses o f the Hurrian type can still be
seen today in the region o f Urfa and Haran. The later
Turkish domed buildings of the Ottoman period would
appear to be a logical development from the yurt and the
bee-hive house. It was the Greeks and the Romans who
developed the techniques for constructing large domes,
but the enthusiasm with which the Ottomans adopted
these techniques is undoubtedly related to the ancient
preference o f the Turkic peoples for round houses and
yurts.
Eastern Anatolian landscape above Lake Van. In Urartian times
thick forests still covered these hills, but they were cleared long
ago.
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