The banded travertine formations that are branded as Kırşehir Onyx are present in Terme (Central- Kırşehir), Avcı (Mucur-Kırşehir) and Bekdik (Aksaray) regions. These formations are observed as alternating textures of greenish, brownish, yellowish, greyish colors in veins and lenses in thicknesses ranging from a few centimeters to 75 cm in traverten levels reaching 10-50 m width and 1.5 km length in the study area. Formations in these three regions have been operated in the past; but the areas in Terme (Kırşehir Merkez) and Bekdik (Aksaray) is not operated because they are used as geothermal areas for terrestrial heating, thermal tourism, physical therapy and greenhouse. Avcı (Mucur-Kırşehir) has production potential and production was made in the past, but today production is out of question. While Kırşehir onyxes were very popular in the 1980s and used to make ornaments, today production has decreased considerably due to market constraints and lack of publicity. There are two workshops that produce ornaments (souvenirs and jewelery) of banded travertine with “Kırşehir Onyx” brand in Kirsehir. Because of there is no active production in the onyx areas in the region, these workshops procure raw materials from the environmental cities. It is thought that the re-operation of the onyx formations (banded travertine) of Avcı (Mucur-Kırşehir) area will contribute to the regional economy in general and to the country economy in particular.

Onyx, banded travertine, gemstone, souvenir, Kırşehir