Via Tauri - Sağlıklı - 2 May 2022

    Via Tauri was a stone road built in the 1st century AD by the Romans. The exact course of the road is not certain. It is known the tract led from the Capaddocian city of Tyana, across the Taurus Mountains, to Tarsos in Cilicia. The other cities connected to Via Tauri were Faustinopolis and Podondos. There is an ongoing discussion as to the location of the former polis. Some scholars place it by the modern village of Başmakçi, other in the vicinity of another rural settlement called Porsuk (Turchetto 2012). Depending on the location of the city, Via Tauri was running either a bit more or a bit less to the west in its Cappadocian part. Today, the Roman tract is almost completely covered by modern ways as the topography of the region leaves now and then builders with the same limited options.

Via Tauri at Sağlıklı *

Gülek Castle - 2 May 2022

    Gülek Castle is an Armenian castle built in the 12th century on a mountain top some 2 km southwest of the Cilician Gates. Its function was to control the Tarsus road (Roman Via Tauri), and impose tolls on merchants. The Armenians were neither the first nor the last to exploit the natural potential of the place which is situated at the altitude of 1530 m. Coins found by local treasure hunters inform us on the presence of the Byzantines and Arabs.  The Mamluks, who put an end to the Armenian Kingdom in the 14th century, manned the castle as well. However, it seems that no one before the Armenians built any fortifications on site as there are no traces of a stonework predating them (Edwards 1987). 

Typical Armenian gate (A on plan) *