Belemedik

Belemedik is a small mountain settlement in Pozantı district, built on the bank of the Çakıt Stream deep in the Taurus Mountains, together with the nature park that surrounds it. According to the Pozantı District Governorship, Belemedik lies 117 kilometres from Adana and 9 kilometres from Pozantı. The Culture Portal notes that the plateau is reached from Pozantı by a gravel road passing through the village of Anbaş. The settlement sits on the riverbank at an altitude of about 700 metres above sea level. Today a quiet neighbourhood, Belemedik was one of the busiest settlements in the Taurus at the beginning of the 20th century. According to English Wikipedia, in 1907 it became the centre of the Philipp Holzmann company's construction activities on the Baghdad Railway. According to a report by Anadolu Agency, about 5,000 German engineers and workers were at the construction camp set up here to build the Varda Viaduct and the 22 tunnels in the Taurus Mountains. A hospital, a school, heating systems and living quarters were built at the camp. The remains of these buildings, damaged over the years, now give the impression of a ruined town. English Wikipedia writes that 41 Germans who died of natural causes such as illness during the seven years of construction were buried at Belemedik. The Pozantı District Governorship likewise notes that the valley contains buildings used by the German staff who worked here at the time, and a cemetery. The name of the settlement is also linked to the railway. According to English Wikipedia, the village was formerly called Karapınar, and according to a story found in one source the name Belemedik is a corrupted form of the word "bilemedik", meaning "we could not tell". In this story it is said that the teams digging the tunnels from both ends apologised with this word when they failed to meet in the middle, and that in German pronunciation the word turned into Belemedik. The village population at the start of the century is recorded as Tahtacı Turkmen who made their living from forestry. Belemedik gained village status in 1956 and became a neighbourhood again after the legal change of 2012. The scarcity of farmland and the landslides of 1969 caused the population to fall sharply; according to 2022 figures, 77 people live in the neighbourhood. What makes Belemedik worth visiting today is its nature. The Pozantı District Governorship presents the valley as an ecosystem formed by forest, mountain and river, with unspoilt visual values. The centuries-old plane trees on the riverbank are the symbol of the valley; as TRT Haber reports, some of them have been standing for more than two hundred years. In autumn the leaves of the plane trees and other trees turn shades of yellow and red, and the valley becomes a favourite of photographers. According to the Culture Portal, wildlife is rich in the area, and wild goats, wild boar and birds of prey can be observed. On the plateau there are highland houses built of local stone and wood. The railway still runs through the valley today. The Adana-Ankara line follows the valley and there is a railway station at Belemedik. The Culture Portal notes that the station building and the structures around it were built at the time the Berlin-Baghdad line was constructed. Pozantı Municipality has started work to inventory the old construction camp buildings and bring them into tourism, and has added walking paths and picnic areas to the site. According to the municipality's guide, camping and caravan areas on the square and bungalow houses in keeping with the local fabric have also been opened. The valley hosted a nature and photography festival in 2018 and 2019, and because of its natural scenery it has been used as a filming location in various films and television series. The municipality's guide also lists Anahşa Castle, at an altitude of 1,800 metres overlooking the valley, among the sights around Belemedik. A good plan is to start from the riverbank and walk under the plane trees to the flat ground where the old German buildings stand. Do not go inside the ruined buildings; the walls have collapsed in places and it is safer to look at the remains from outside. Because the railway is an active line, keep away from the tracks and the tunnels. The best times are autumn, when the leaves change colour, and spring, when the stream runs high; in summer the valley is cooler than the Çukurova plain. Because Belemedik is part of the same railway story as the Varda Viaduct, it makes sense to put the two on the same day's route. Check current information on accommodation and facilities with Pozantı Municipality.