What is Marble?

Marble, Granulated limestone and its half dolomite (i.e. rock consisting of calcium-magnesium carbonate), recrystallized under the influence of pressure and aqueous solutions. Commercially, it includes all decorative calcium-rich rocks that can be polished, as well as certain serpentines.


Petrographically, the marbles are massive rather than thin-layered. Calcite grains, which rarely show traces of crystalline form under the microscope, are crossed by very small cracks consistent with the rhombohedral cleavage of calcite (fracture planes that intersect to give rhombohedral shapes). In more severely deformed rocks, grains show bands and may be elongated in a particular direction or even crushed.


Located in the Alpine-Himalayan belt, where the world's richest natural stone formations are located, Turkey has a wide variety of marble reserves.

In our country, marble has been used by different civilizations throughout history as a magnificent building material, especially in monuments, due to its durability and appearance; However, today it is generally used as a material for flooring (36%), interior (14%) and exterior cladding (10%), construction, cemetery (11%) and ornaments (8%).


Marbles are often found interbedded with metamorphic rocks such as mica schists, gneisses, and granulites, and are most commonly found in older layers of the Earth's crust buried deep in zones of igneous intrusion. The transition from fossil-rich limestones to true marbles is a common phenomenon in such metamorphic regions; Occasionally, recrystallization of the rock did not completely destroy organic structures, as in Afyon White, Turkey, and Carrara, Italy.

Although our country has many rich mineral and marble deposits, unfortunately it has not reached the desired level in international markets. Natural stone exports have a share of 18 percent in quantity and 38 percent in value in the mineral export group. In terms of reserves, our country ranks first in the world. However, due to their sales-marketing network and brand value, Turkey, Italy, Greece and Spain have become dominant countries in the world marble market. If our country can improve its production quality, reach its desired market targets, provide the necessary confidence in international trade in a stable manner, and most importantly, take steps to brand Turkish marble, it can easily reach the position that Italy has today.