The Casemates of Ibrahim Pasha ( tr, İbrahim Paşa Tabyaları), are a number of

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

s built by

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha ( tr, Kavalalı İbrahim Paşa; ar, إبراهيم باشا ''Ibrāhīm Bāshā''; 1789 – 10 November 1848) was an Ottoman Albanian general in the Egyptian army and the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised ...

in 1833 to the north of

Gülek Pass The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m. The Cilician Gates hav ...

in southern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Background

Ibrahim Pasha's father Mehmet Ali Pasha of Kavala was a rebellious Ottoman governor in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in the 1830s. He asked for the governorship of

Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...

(

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

) in addition to his semi autonomous possessions in

. But he was refused. He revolted and his son Ibrahim Pasha invaded Çukurova. During his brief stay in Çukurova in 1830s, Ibrahim Pasha tried to support the defense of the region by fortifications to the north of Gülek Pass the only gate to

Central Anatolia The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is bordered ...

Casemates

The casemates are situated at the Toros Mountains almost on the border line between the Tarsus district of Mersin Province and

Pozantı Pozantı ( gr, Πενδοσις, Pendhòsis, formerly ar, الْبَدَندُون, el-Bedendûn) is a town and a district in the Adana Province of Turkey. The town is in the highlands of Çukurova, and is a major gateway to the Mediterranean co ...

district of

Adana Province Adana Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey located in central Cilicia. With a population of 2.26 million, it is the sixth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 79% of the r ...

. There are two high castles and several ground emplacements constructed to protect Gülek Pass. One of the castles (Aktabya) is to the southeast of the town

Akçatekir Akçatekir is a town in Adana Province, Turkey. Geography Akçatekir is in the rural area of Pozantı District which is a part of Adana Province. The town is from Pozantı and from Adana. Akçatekir is situated along the valley of Çakıt on ...

. The other one is to the west of Akçatekir and to the north of

Gülek Gülek is a town in Mersin Province, Turkey. Geography Gülek is situated along a valley on the Taurus Mountains. The main pass of these mountains, which is known as Gülek Pass (ancient ''Cilician Gates''), is just east of the town. The aver ...

town. The ground emplacements are to the south of each castle.

Transportation

The sites are about offside from the motorway exit Tekir on the O.21 (Tarsus-Ankara Motorway) or from the state road D.750. At the moment, the historical place is accessible only through walking. It is planned to restore the castles, and provide means of transportation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casemates of Ibrahim Pasha Forts in Turkey Buildings and structures in Mersin Province Buildings and structures in Adana Province Infrastructure completed in 1833