On the 13th of January 2008 I received a mail from Prof. Hasip Pektas who suggested I visit Ermenek. I was planning a trip to the region near Adana and Silifke, and decided I would give it a try. And indeed, using Mut as a springboard, I made a daytrip to Ermenek, about two months after the professors’s mail. The town has several historical mosques but, with the exception of the Ulu Camii, I found them to be either closed or so heavily restored they were of little interest. On the other hand, the old houses built along the side of a huge cliff overlooking the centre were a treat. Curiously, many used untreated wood, in some cases trees seemed to have been integrated into the constructions. It was a clear day in March, and since the trees had no leaves yet I could take unobstructed pictures of these houses and some of the surrounding country. As usual I neglected visiting the modern parts of town, sticking to the old parts. I do not provide captions this time, with maybe some exceptions. Just imagine climbing up and down small streets and looking about. One thing: the ride from Mut to Ermenek, in particular the part near that destination, is beautiful. I may well return some day to just walk in the mountains. I show only a few shots, since I had to take them from a moving minibus.

Ermenek is the earliest centre of the later Karaman emirs. The founder of the Karamanoğlu dynasty, Kerrimüdin Karaman, was a wood trader in Ermenek who there founded in 1255 his Türkmen rule. For centuries people stuck to an archaic architectural tradition from the early Selcuk times. Four mosques of the so-called Arabic kufa-type are examples. They are the Akca Mosque (1300), the Ulu Cami (1302), the Sipas Mosque (1306) and the Meydan mosque (1436). None of them has a courtyard.