Thirteen km southeast of Bucak, the remote mountainside site of Kremna was originally settled by the warlike Psidians who also settled nearby Sagalassos and Termessos. Inevitably, though, what you see at the site today dates from after it was absorbed into the Roman Empire in 25BC on the death of the Galatian ruler Amyntas who had made it part of his kingdom.
Kremna apparently means “cliff” in Ancient Greek and as soon as you reach the site you will understand why. At the end of a partially tarmacked track you find yourself facing ruins that back straight onto a plug of rock rising straight up from a meadow. It’s a glorious location, utterly wild and remote, and from it the Psidians would have had a fantastic view of anybody approaching (today there’s a fire-watching tower on what must once have been the acropolis).
The surviving ruins are actually quite slight (nothing like Sagalassos, for example). The most obvious surviving structure is an enclosed square with huge niches at the back and a series of plinths with Greek inscriptions that presumably once supported statues. This is believed to have been a library.
Other than that there are the standing remains of a monumental gateway and some tiered steps that may once have been a bouleterion (council house). What was presumably the agora is now a mass of fallen grey masonry, much of it carved. No doubt when the archaeologists have finished reconstructing Sagalassos they will come here to do the same thing.
Probable library at KremnaIt’s easy to think this is a timeless view but in fact the lake you will see from the summit was formed in 1990 by the Karacaören Barajı (Dam).
As you drive up you will pass a vast new marble quarry, a slightly alarming sight in terms of the ruins although doubtless good for job prospects in Bucak.
Transport info
There’s no public transport to get you here but taxi drivers in Bucak (13km) know the way well. Cars have to be left at the guardhouse. The walk to the ruins is a mild uphill stroll of 1.5km.
If visiting from Burdur you can easily include a visit to the İnsuyu Magarası (cave) on the same trip.
