Pozantı Voyage Tips and guide

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Pozantı is a town at the north edge of the Cilician Plains, astride the main pass through the Taurus Mountains. Together with its associated villages it had a population of 20,000 in 2022.

Travel across Anatolia towards Jerusalem, Mecca or Baghdad and the going is straightforward across the plateau, until you encounter the Taurus mountains. The only practical way to traverse them and descend to the coast is through the Cilician Gates, a mountain pass cresting at 1000 m. This way came armies, preachers, pilgrims, traders and tourists, and its approaches are overlooked by ancient forts. Pozantı grew up as a stopover north of the crest at 780 m, with the modern highways D750 and O-21 snaking through.

When the Berlin to Baghdad railway was built from 1903, it followed the route across the plains to Pozantı, then swerved east to avoid the steep narrow descent of the Gökoluk River canyon. Sights along that route are described as part of Karaisalı.

The town is on D750, which runs all the way from Zonguldak on the Black Sea coast via Ankara to the Mediterranean coast near Adana, where it joins the east-west D400. It's nowadays bypassed by O-21, so inter-city buses rush past and no longer call at Pozantı. By bus you have to continue to Tarsus or Adana then back-track by dolmuş. Adana city bus 405 runs here twice a day. Pozantı bus station closed down when O-21 opened but you'll probably be dropped there, on Atatürk Cd next to the railway station.

Trains are disrupted long-term by engineering works and those from Ankara and Konya are suspended. Erciyes Express leaves Kayseri daily at 07:30, taking five hours via Niğde, and lumbers on south for another 90 min to Adana. The northbound train leaves Adana at 16:30 to reach Pozantı at 18:00 and Kayseri at 23:00.

37.423134.87291 Pozantı Gar is the railway station, central in town.

Town is walkable but has limited sights. You need a vehicle, or to be a fit determined cyclist, to reach places in the surrounding hills.

Taxis wait by the railway station and bus stop.

• New Mosque (Yeni Cami) is by the turn-off from D750 into town, 500 m north of the railway station.
• 37.4711134.861941 Şekerpınarı Bridge 5.5 km north of town was built in the late Roman era, a single stone arch of 10.35 m span. It carried the main highway right into the 20th century, and in the 14th / 15th century was the frontier post with the Karamid realm. Access by D750.
• 37.32934.78052 İbrahim Paşa Bastion was built in 1833 during a brief Egyptian invasion. It's 1 km west of Akçatekir, don't try to approach by the valley road south which dead-ends in the town trash dump, take the rough track along the ridge north. Not much to see, and other visitors have attempted to equalise the trash quotients.
• 37.301434.72453 Karboğazı monument commemorates a battle of 1920. After Turkey was defeated in the First World War, large parts of its territory were awarded to the victors, who set about grabbing more. The east Mediterranean coast was awarded to France, and they set up a base at Pozantı as a springboard for advance inland, but the Turks harried their supply lines and made the position untenable. On 26 May 1920 the French attempted a secret retreat down the valley, reaching Karboğazı, but when they continued next morning were ambushed. They had to surrender to a much smaller force, with maybe 670 taken prisoner and 200 killed. This ended French incursions and eventually Turkey won its present mainland borders.

• 37.2734.79144 Gülek Castle is the rambling ruin of a 12th / 13th fortress above the old road through the mountains and modern O-21. It's scrappy and you mainly come for the clifftop view. It's free to explore 24 hours but the access lane from Gülek village is in poor condition.
• 37.198734.81015 Çamalan is a village just off O-21 with two World War I cemeteries: the Turkish 500 m north on D750 and the German 500 m south.
• 37.384634.90676 Anahşa Castle is on a crag above the road to Belemedik.
• 37.35361134.9091677 Belemedik : see Karaisalı for this village 11 km southeast, a base for the heroic construction of the Berlin-Baghdad railway in the early 20th century.

• Aladağlar National Park is a mountaineering, rock climbing, and hiking destination. It's accessed by the mountain road winding northeast towards Çamardı.
• Çiftehan is a geothermal resort 17 km northwest along D750, with several spa hotels.

Lots of convenience stores along Atatürk Cd near the railway station, and another cluster in the D750 service area north side of town. They're usually open daily 09:00-21:00.

Eating places lie along the same two strips, near the station or the D750 service area.

Some cafes may serve alcohol.

• Arikan Otel, Atatürk Cd, Pozantı, ☏ +90 551 003 9222. Simple place by the railway station, usually clean. (updated May 2025)
• Taşpınar Butik Otel is a motel at the service station on D750 north end of town.
• 37.4379734.87671 Akün Otel, D750 Pozantı, ☏ +90 322 581 2000. Decent hotel north edge of town at the O-21 slip road. (updated May 2025)

Pozantı and the main highways D750 and O-21 have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of May 2025, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

• Adana the regional capital has a huge modern mosque in trad style.
• Tarsus the birthplace of St Paul has several antiquities.
• Niğde is the first major city going north, on the Anatolian plateau so it's at 1229 m.