Old Mengücek capital Population: 2,900
Old name: Ani-Kamakh, Gamakh, Kamakah,
The small town of Kemah, west of Erzincan, has a spectacular setting in a gorge on the Fırat (Euphrates) river. Today it’s a backwater but a thousand years ago it was the capital of the Mengücek dynasty that ruled this area in the 12th and 13th centuries. Their tombs can be seen on either side of the gorge where the road swoops round to continue to Kemaliye.
As you walk into town you will see a path under the railway bridge that leads into the pretty Tanasur Ayazma Vadisi, a popular picnic spot with some of the appeal of the Ihlara Gorge in Cappadocia before it became so well known.
Near the start of the path one abandoned house stands right on a rocky crag. Another features a sheer wall of mud facing.
The town sits at the foot of a rocky plateau topped with the remains of a partially restored castle. Its centrepiece is the Gülabibey Cami, built in 1454, a year after the conquest of İstanbul in a style that remains pure Selçuk with no dome. Its hamam now serves as a building materials shop.
In a garden just beyond the hamam another kümbet in good condition and with fine carvings round its doorway stands forgotten in somebody’s garden.
The town first appeared in history as a centre for an Armenian goddess called Anahit or Ani. It is also said to have been the burial place of the Arsacids who ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 12 to 428 AD. Right into the 20th century there was still a large Armenian population here. Most are believed to have been killed in 1915.
Transport info
A handful of dolmuşes to Kemah leave from beside Erzincan‘s Boyacılar Cami. The last one returns from Kemah at 5pm.
The drive to Kemah from Erzincan is beautiful with the Euphrates and the railway running alongside it. It’s not as dramatic as the Kaçkar foothills but has a wonderful peacefulness about it.
For a minor adventure you could drive from Divriği to Kemaliye via the Karanlık Kanyon (Dark Canyon) and then continue onto Kemah and thence to Erzincan/Erzurum.
Day trip destinations
