Site · Preservation of Cultural Heritage
The Latmos Mountains and the area around Lake Bafa are among the rare landscapes that nature and people have shaped together over thousands of years.
Photo: Akdeniz Koruma Vakfı Arşivi
Covering an area of approximately 52,000 hectares within the borders of Aydın and Muğla provinces, the Latmos Mountains and the area around Lake Bafa are, with their geological structure, biodiversity and multi-layered cultural heritage, among the most distinctive landscapes in Türkiye.
The region holds traces of approximately 8,000 years of continuous human settlement.
Within research conducted since 1994, more than 170 rock painting sites have been documented in the region.
In recent years, human pressures on the Latmos Mountains have been steadily increasing.
The scientific assessment prepared by the Mediterranean Conservation Society and the Mediterranean Conservation Foundation demonstrates the need to protect the Latmos (Beşparmak) Mountains with National Park status, given their unique natural and cultural values. Covering an area of approximately 52,000 hectares within the borders of Aydın and Muğla provinces, the Latmos Mountains and the area around Lake Bafa are, with their geological structure, biodiversity and multi-layered cultural heritage, among the most distinctive landscapes in Türkiye.
The Latmos Mountains are a significant uplift area within the tectonic structure of Western Anatolia. With distinctive rock formations and vast rock blocks produced by granitic rock masses through millions of years of erosion and weathering, the region has the character of a geological heritage area that attracts attention internationally.
The relationship between Lake Bafa and the mountainous area is an important example that reveals the palaeogeographic history of the region. Today a lake, Bafa was once a bay of the Aegean Sea and became a lagoon thanks to the alluvium carried by the Büyük Menderes River. This process is one of the rare natural formations that demonstrate the interaction of marine and terrestrial systems.
The granitic rocks of Latmos have been decisive in shaping not only the natural landscape but also human settlement; rock shelters, caves and natural hollows have been used throughout history as places of settlement and worship.
The Latmos Mountains stand out in particular for their high species richness and rate of endemism among invertebrates, reptiles and some bird species. The presence in the region of many species with narrow distributions and high habitat dependence shows that the area is ecologically highly sensitive.
Lake Bafa, for its part, is of great importance particularly for waterbirds. Thanks to its wetland ecosystem, the lake serves as an important stopover, breeding and wintering area for migratory birds.
1994Year in which rock painting research began
Protecting the Latmos Mountains therefore means protecting not only natural areas but also an important heritage of human history.
Proposal to Designate the Latmos (Beşparmak) Mountains as a National Park
This scientific study prepared by the Mediterranean Conservation Society is an important step towards developing a management model that will protect the natural and cultural integrity of Latmos and placing the area under protection with National Park status.
This scientific study prepared by the Mediterranean Conservation Society is an important step towards developing a management model that will protect the natural and cultural integrity of Latmos and placing the area under protection with National Park status.
