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The Railway Through the Taurus, from Varda to Belemedik

A traveller heading north from Adana towards Pozantı sees, at a certain point, the Taurus Mountains rise like a wall.

Radar TürkiyeRadar Türkiye19 Ekim 2026
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The Railway Through the Taurus, from Varda to Belemedik

A traveller heading north from Adana towards Pozantı sees, at a certain point, the Taurus Mountains rise like a wall. Today the road crosses these mountains easily; but at the beginning of the last century, getting past the same obstacle by rail was one of the hardest engineering jobs of its time. In the valleys between Karaisalı and Pozantı the traces of that work still stand: a viaduct whose stone piers approach a hundred metres, tunnels cut into steep slopes and a village left over from a construction camp. This article tells the story of the line from Varda Viaduct to Belemedik and how you can explore it today.

The line to Baghdad

The Baghdad Railway was a large project that aimed to start from Konya, pass through southern Anatolia and reach Baghdad and Basra. It was carried out under agreements between the Ottoman state and Germany, the financing came from German capital, and the Philipp Holzmann company took on most of the construction. After Konya, Karaman and Ereğli, the route crossed the Taurus and descended to Çukurova, passing through Yenice and Adana before heading towards the Amanus Mountains.

The hardest section of the entire route was the Taurus crossing between Konya and Adana. Because of the technical difficulties the line could not be completed for years; according to the English Wikipedia article, in 1915 the line was still hundreds of kilometres short. The first uninterrupted train from Istanbul to Baghdad was only able to set off in 1940.

A staircase in the Taurus

The line table on Wikipedia shows in numbers what kind of staircase this section is. Ulukışla lies at about 1200 metres, Pozantı at 780 metres, Belemedik at 700 metres and Hacıkırı at 600 metres; by the time the line descends to Yenice, the altitude drops to thirty metres. This descent is achieved with a route full of tunnels running through narrow, deep valleys. Between Belemedik and Hacıkırı there are two long tunnels of 3795 and 2102 metres. According to English sources, twenty-two tunnels had to be dug one after another within a distance of twelve kilometres around Belemedik.

Even getting materials to the site was a task of its own. Main materials such as steel and cement were brought to Mersin by sea, and from there carried to the site on camels by way of Tarsus. Before the main viaduct was built, a temporary narrow gauge bridge was put up close by to carry materials to the other side of the valley. After the viaduct was finished this auxiliary bridge went out of use, but its piers can still be seen today.

Belemedik, a construction village

Belemedik, part of Pozantı, sits on the west bank of the Çakıt River, at about 700 metres above sea level, in a valley surrounded by mountains. At the beginning of the century it became the centre of the Philipp Holzmann company's Taurus works. Sources give different dates for the founding of the camp; the English Wikipedia article on Varda gives 1903, while the article on Belemedik gives 1907. German technical staff and thousands of workers from various countries settled in the camp, and the buildings a town needs were put up, from a hospital and a school to a cinema. Forty-one Germans who died in Belemedik during the construction years were buried here.

A story about the village's name is also tied to the tunnels. Each tunnel was dug by two teams working from opposite ends, and the teams were expected to meet in the middle. According to one account, when the meeting point was missed the workers said bilemedik, meaning we could not guess it, and in German pronunciation this turned into Belemedik; the same source also notes that the settlement's former name was Karapınar. This is a folk story and should be read not as established fact but as a tale that lives on around the line.

After the line opened, Belemedik remained a station. Because of the scarcity of farmland and the landslides of 1969, the population fell sharply. Today the stone buildings left from the construction period, the Belemedik railway station and plane trees more than two hundred years old are the most visited parts of the area. As TRT Haber reports, the valley, protected as a nature park, is a favourite of photographers and walkers, especially in autumn when the leaves turn yellow and red. According to the same report, Belemedik is also known for its highland houses built of stone and wood, and its unspoilt nature has made it a set for Turkish and foreign films and series.

Varda Viaduct

The symbol of the line is Varda Viaduct, about one kilometre southwest of Hacıkırı in Karaisalı. Local people call it Koca Köprü, the Great Bridge, and it is also known as the German Bridge. According to the Culture Portal and the Culture Inventory it is about 172 metres long and 99 metres high; English sources give the height as 98 metres. It is a masonry structure resting on four main piers and made up of eleven arches in total. In the middle there are three large arches of thirty metres each, and smaller arches on both sides complete the span.

The most interesting feature of the bridge is that it is not straight. According to Wikipedia the railway on it follows a curve with a radius of about 1200 metres, meaning the bridge bends gently over the valley. There are maintenance stairs inside the piers. According to English Wikipedia, the masonry piers were raised first, and the arches were then built over a temporary steel falsework frame placed on the piers. The design and engineering were first led by the German engineer Winkler; after his death, the Ottoman Greek engineer Nicholas Mavrogordato took over as chief engineer. The Culture Inventory notes that the bridge is also known as Karaisalı Bridge and Gavurdere Viaduct; the second name comes from the old name of the stream it crosses, today called Çakıt Deresi. According to the Culture Inventory, the bridge allowed the earlier U-shaped route, which posed a risk for passing trains, to be taken out of use.

Construction dates vary from source to source. The Culture Portal places the construction between 1907 and 1912. The Culture Inventory writes that work began in 1905 and was completed in 1912. English Wikipedia states that the main works were finished in 1907, the technical details were completed in 1912 and the railway over the viaduct went into service in 1916. According to the Culture Inventory, twenty-one workers and one German engineer lost their lives during the years of work. The bridge became known to a wide audience in 2012, when it was used in the opening scene of a James Bond film.

Kapıkaya Canyon

A place that anyone visiting Varda should not pass by is Kapıkaya Canyon. According to English Wikipedia, the bridge lies about two kilometres west of the canyon. The Çakıt River, which rises at Ulukışla in Niğde, flows here between rock walls about two hundred metres high. According to the Adana Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the canyon has a walking route of 7250 metres, four hundred metres of which have a safety railing. At the northern end of the canyon lies the Yerköprü picnic area arranged by the Karaisalı municipality. Seeing the railway and the canyon on the same day is the best way to understand why the line was so hard to build.

Starting from Adana Station

The city end of the story is Adana Station. The first station building was opened in 1886 by the company that ran the railway between Mersin, Tarsus and Adana. The present building was built by the Baghdad Railway company and entered service on 27 April 1912. Its tall waiting hall, opening onto the square through three large pointed arches, carries the architectural mark of the years when the Taurus crossing was being built. The company that built the first station building had been bought by the Baghdad Railway company in 1906, so the line climbing into the Taurus and the older Mersin line on the plain came together under one roof. The station came under the control of the state railways in 1933. Today, with its main building, staff housing and maintenance workshops, it covers a large area in the middle of the city. Stopping in front of this building for a few minutes before going to Varda gives the trip a fitting frame.

How to visit today

Varda Viaduct is reached from Adana by road via Karaisalı; according to Wikipedia the distance is about 64 kilometres. By rail, the bridge is 63 kilometres from Adana Station. The Culture Portal also mentions public transport to the district, but a car makes getting around between the bridge and the canyon much easier. Hacıkırı station near the bridge is about five hundred metres away, and the line is still in operation today. Since train services change from time to time, check current information with TCDD Taşımacılık.

Belemedik is reached by the road that comes down from the Pozantı side; English Wikipedia gives the village's distance as twelve kilometres from Pozantı and one hundred and twenty-two kilometres from Adana. In a single day it is possible to leave Adana, see Varda and Kapıkaya first, then cross north on the motorway to see Belemedik, but set off early so you do not have to hurry on the mountain roads.

Practical tips

  • Look at the bridge from the valley floor and the surrounding slopes; its curve is best seen from the side.
  • Since the railway is still in operation, do not walk on the tracks and do not go onto the bridge.
  • For the canyon walk, take sturdy shoes, a hat and plenty of water; avoid the midday heat in summer.
  • The season most recommended for Belemedik is autumn, when the leaves change colour.
  • The stone buildings are old remains that need protecting; do not climb on them and leave no trace.

Sources

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