Pozantı (, formerly ) is a municipality and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of Adana Province,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 899 km², and its population is 19,852 (2022). The town is in the highlands of

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

, and is a major gateway to the Mediterranean coasts. Pozantı stands in the foothills, at the bottom of one of the few passes through the mountains. The mayor is Ali Avan ( MHP).

History

Pozantı has had a number of names. In antiquity it was ''Pendonsis'' or ''Pendosis'', to the Arabs ''El Bedendum'', and finally ''Bozantı'' and ''Pozantı'' in Turkish. Standing at the entrance to a pass across the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

, Pendonsis was strategically important, as the gateway between the high plain of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and the low plain of Cilicia or

and the Middle East beyond. Pozantı has passed through the hands of

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ns,

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

. Muslim forces moved through the area in the period of the Abbasids, followed by the Turks after the

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, Iberia (theme), Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army ...

in 1071. During the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

, control of the pass was returned to the Byzantines, then the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

and the Mamluks, before finally being brought under Ottoman control by

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

in 1517. Pozantı is windy and bleak, and for most of its history was a fort and a road-house, but more people began to live in the area permanently when a railway was built in 1917. However, passing trade on the road is still a major driver of the local economy. Pozantı was briefly occupied by French forces at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Composition

There are 21 neighbourhoods in Pozantı District:Mahalle
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 July 2023. * Akçatekir * Alpu * Aşçıbekirli *

Belemedik Belemedik is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Pozantı, Adana Province, Turkey. Its population is 77 (2022). It was one of the important settlements on Toros Mountains during the early years of the 20th century and especially the ...

* Çamlıbel * Cumhuriyet * Dağdibi * Eskikonacık * Fındıklı * Gökbez * Hamidiye * İstiklal * Kamışlı * Karakışlakçı * Kurtuluş * Ömerli * Yağlıtaş * Yazıcık * Yenikonacık * Yukarıbelemedik * Zafer

Transportation

Pozantı Gar is the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

of Pozantı, served by three main line services, connecting Pozantı to

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

, Niğde,

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and Karaman. As the gateway to Çukurova, Pozantı is a stopping point for several coach companies that operate routes from Central Anatolia to

and further east.

Landmarks

The only historical building in the city center is the mosque and fountain of Ottoman general Cemal Paşa, built in 1919 and since repaired and extended. At the entrance to the pass are the old and new castles of Anhşa. The Casemates of İbrahim Pasha, the remains of a 19th-century fort, are located on the hill named Tekir, next to the modern highway D.750. The ruins of the Byzantine town of Fenese lay near the village of Aşçıbekirli. More ruins have been found near the village of Kamışlı in the high meadows (''yayla'') of Ören and Asar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pozanti Populated places in Adana Province Yaylas in Turkey Districts of Adana Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey

History

Composition

Transportation

Landmarks

See also

References