Geography

Gülek is situated along a valley on the Toros Mountains at 37°15′N 34°46′E. The main pass of these mountains, which is known as Gülek Pass (ancient Cilician Gates

Cilician Gates

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....

), is just east of the town. The average altitude of the town is about 1150 metres (3,773 ft) . The population of the town is 3294 as of 2010.

Administration

Gülek is a part of Tarsus

Tarsus (city)

Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...

 district, itself a part of Mersin province. Gülek was a village in the first half of the 20th century. It became the seat of its township in 1954.

History

Macedonian emperor Alexander the Great (reigned 336–323 BC) crossed Taurus mountains through the Cilician Gates during his campaign against Darius III (reigned 336–330 BC) of the Achaemenid Empire

Achaemenid Empire

The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...

. Gülek citizens believe that the ancient inscriptions in the pass were erected by Alexander. But, actually, these inscriptions were erected much later by the Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Caracalla

Caracalla

Caracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...

 (reigned 211–217) during his campaign against the Parthian Empire

Parthian Empire

The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...

.
The town (then known as Hins Bwls) was established during the Byzantine

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 era. In 652 Ummayad armies annexed Gülek and surrounding territory. From 861, Gülek fell under many states, including the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

, the Sultanate of Rum

Sultanate of Rûm

The Sultanate of Rum , also known as the Anatolian Seljuk State , was a Turkic state centered in in Anatolia, with capitals first at İznik and then at Konya. Since the court of the sultanate was highly mobile, cities like Kayseri and Sivas also functioned at times as capitals...

, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia

The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...

, and the Ramadanids. In 1517, sultan Selim I

Selim I

Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...

 (reigned 1512–1520) of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 annexed Gülek. In 1832, Gülek was briefly occupied by the forces of the rebellious Muhammad Ali Pasha

Muhammad Ali of Egypt

Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...

 of Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 but was returned to Ottoman control after the convention of Kütahya

Convention of Kutahya

The Convention of Kutahya, also known as the Peace Agreement of Kutahya, ended the Egyptian–Ottoman War in May 1833.At the Convention, the Ottoman provinces of Syria and Adana were ceded to Egypt, and Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt became governor-general of the two provinces...

. After the First World War, French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 forces tried to occupy Gülek, but after the local militia forces from Gülek ambushed the French forces on 27 May 1920 at the pass of Karboğazı

Battle of Karboğazı

Battle of Karboğazı was a clash between Turkish nationalists and the French battalion on Toros Mountains during the Turkish war of independence. - Background :...

, the French army gave up this project.