Karaman is a historic city and province in south-central Turkey, celebrated as the birthplace of written Turkish and the seat of the powerful Karamanoğulları dynasty that ruled much of Anatolia from the 13th to the 15th century. Ringed by the Taurus Mountains to the south and the volcanic Karadağ plateau to the north, the province combines medieval fortresses, Byzantine rock-cut monasteries, and Seljuk caravanserais with sweeping steppe landscapes, cherry orchards, and sugar-beet fields that define the Anatolian interior.