| Cilician Gates | |
|---|---|
| Gülek Boğazı | |
 Gülek Pass | |
| Elevation | 1,050 m (3,445 ft)[1] |
| Traversed by |   O-21 / E90 |
| Location | Mersin Province, Turkey |
| Range | Taurus Mountains |
| Coordinates | 37°17′07″N 34°47′10″E / 37.28528°N 34.78611°E |
  Cilician Gates | |
The Cilician Gates or Gülek Pass is a pass through the Taurus Mountains connecting the low plains of Cilicia to the Anatolian Plateau, by way of the narrow gorge of the Gökoluk River. Its highest elevation is about 1000m.[2]
The Cilician Gates have been a major commercial and military artery for millennia.[3] In the early 20th century, a narrow-gauge railway was built through them, and today, the Tarsus-Ankara Highway (E90, O-21) passes through them.
The southern end of the Cilician gates is about 44 km north of Tarsus and the northern end leads to Cappadocia.
- ^ "Mersin-Coğrafya" (in Turkish). Mersin Şehir Rehberi. Retrieved March 1, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ W.L. Williams, Armenia, p. 8-11, quoted in Josephus Nelson Larned, The new Larned History for ready reference, reading and research s.v. "Armenia" full text
- ^ William Mitchell Ramsay, The historical geography of Asia Minor, 1890, passim full text