Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park occupation. Intensive land use, reforestation and the building of country estates transformed the appearance of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug over the centuries. The history of the region is reflected in the wide variety of soil types, relief and land use. The Utrechtse Heuvelrug is the second largest forest area in the Netherlands. In the forest some relics from the original post-glacial forests can be found, including oak and beech. In the park several marten species can be found, such as the European badger ("Meles meles") and the European pine marten ("Martes martes"). There are more than 100 bird species living in
River Meles no other traces with claim to antiquity was found in the area. Although Halkapınar corresponds admirably to ancient accounts, some scholars continue to doubt whether it is also the Meles of the early city of Smyrna. There is no natural cave at Halkapınar where Homer would have sat down to write, but there is one on the "Kemer – Caravan Bridge Meles", near the aqueducts in İzmir's Buca district and now known as "Kızılçullu Aqueducts", which were built by the Romans and extensively used and well preserved by their successors in the region. Because of the existence of the cave