Description

Historic town of Kemaliye (or Eğin) is located in the northwest of the Eastern Anatolian Region, and to the southwest of the Erzincan province which lies in the Upper Euphrates. The east, west, north and south of the Kemaliye settlement are surrounded by mountains. The Karasu tributary of the Euphrates, which is the longest river of the Southwest Asia, flows through the east of Kemaliye. The Lake Kadı and some other brooks, which begin in this district and flow into the Karasu River, are the most important water sources that have created the permanent settlement here.

This settlement lies at the axis of northwest-southeast in the direction of the Karasu River. The settlement has not been established at the eastern hillside of the flat-floored/deep valley that is called the Kemaliye Gorge/Karasu Valley as this slope rises as a steep wall. But as the topography at the western hillside rises gradually and falls with a lighter ascent, it has formed a proper ground for the foundation of the town alongside a small brook flowing upwards to downwards and in a formation of amphitheatre. The settlement that has dwelt in this topography utilizing the nature as the key element in settlement consists of three main terraces starting from the banks of the Euphrates River. Dense green areas stand out on the first terrace close to the river. These sections consist of vineyards and gardens, and a low density construction can be mentioned here. On the second terrace, there are dense residential areas. Especially, Kadı Lake and its surroundings made it possible for the area to be a district center due to the land structure suitable for settlement. The third stage where the settlement ends is Taşdibi Mevkii, and as the Hotar Mountain rises like a fortress wall, the possibilities of construction from here become more difficult.

The Karasu River has formed strait valleys by splitting the Munzur Mountains which is between Erzincan and Elazig and 3000 m above the sea level in the north-south direction. One of them is the Kemaliye strait. The part of the strait between Bağıştaş and Kemaliye, starting from Bağıştaş village (Ilic) in the north and ending in Dutluca village (Kemaliye) in the south, is called the Karanlık (Dark) Canyon. Karanlık Canyon has 25 km length, 1000 m depth, 90% slope and occasionally 10–15 m valley floor. With these features, it enables rock climbing and canyoning activities that have become widespread in recent years within the scope of mountaineering activities.

The construction of The Taş Yol (The Stone Road) above the the Karanlık (Dark) Canyon by the local people by means of the primitive methods to connect the caravans to the Giresun Port over the Central Anatolia begun in 1870 and completed in 2002, which meant that its construction lasted 132 years. This 7-km road consist of 38 tunnels whose heights range from 400 to 500 m. The Taş Yol is categorized as one of the “most dangerous roads” of the world.

The Ottoman Empire, the Seljuks, the Ilkhanids, the Aq Qoyunlus, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Sassanids, the Persians and the Serderges had ruled Kemaliye (Eğin) before the Republic of Turkey was founded. It is thought that Kemaliye (Eğin) was an important outpost called Teucila located at the south-north military highway controlled by an Armenian Theme after it became part of the eastern half of the Roman Empire (Byzantine) following the crumble of western half. During the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Philippikos, the Armenians were inhabited in Kemaliye (Eğin) after the Jacobites had been exiled. The Arabian – Byzantine conflicts occurred in Eğin which was ruled by the Muslim Arabs for about 200 years until the 11th century. The Seljuk Sultan Alparslan captured the region following his victory in the Battle of Manzikert. The raids by Turks were witnessed in the Kemaliye (Eğin) which was ruled by the Ilkhanids, the Aq Qoyunlus and the Seljuks even before this battle. The traces of Turks can be seen in the Dilli Valley lies some 4-5 km to the northwest of Kemaliye. The data obtained from the petroglyphs and marks through photometric scans and ethnographic methods includes significant knowledge on the history of Turkish culture. Kemaliye (Eğin) became an important commercial hub after it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Mehmed I, who is the fifth sultan of Ottoman Empire, between 1413 and 1421.

Being located over the Silk Road and caravan routes played a significant role in change of rulers and invasions of Kemaliye. Kemaliye (Eğin), which is an important junction at the north-south and east-west trading routes, lies at the Baghdad-Basra and Iran-Georgia axis. Kemaliye (Eğin) was frequented by the caravans until 19th century. The neighbouring settlements, namely the villages 1-1.5 km far from the centre, developed at this axis as the Silk Road, the caravan routes and the road to Iran passed through Kemaliye. Kemaliye (Eğin) became an important trade centre within the region in the course of time thanks to the transportation carried out over the Euphrates River and as the Custom House was founded here – in addition to the customs in Istanbul.

Kemaliye was a cosmopolitan city. The Muslim-Turks, Armenians, Orthodoxes and Rums, as is case in Konya, Karaman and Kayseri, lived in Kemaliye (Eğin). There was no much difference between the people living in Kemaliye (Eğin) or its villages in terms of social and cultural aspects. The primary materials used to build the Kemaliye houses are stone, wood and mud-brick. The Kemaliye houses are built through the construction technique called “hımış”. The wooden beams and rubble stone with mud filling are used to build an area up to the main storey. For the main storey and roof, the wooden framework with mud-brick filling is used to build the house. The mud-brick use in construction of a house is limited to only being a filling material of the wooden framework system. The façade of masonry wall facing the street is unplastered but its interior is coated. On the interior of the wooden walls with stone and mud-brick filling, the finishing coat, which is like a gypsum plaster made of the local material called pur stone, is applied over the scratch coat before polishing it with a cloth. The exterior surface of the wooden framework wall is covered by the 15-30 pine timbers, called as the alignment woods, which are vertically arrayed. Today, the timber is replaced by metal sheets because of the difficulties to maintain the wooden material.

The use of local material in the formation of regional architecture in the settlements of Anatolia is essential. However, the difference between the natural environment and the regional architecture is remarkable for the settlement character of Kemaliye. The main components of the architectural language, which are based on utilizing the qualified material, are wood and stone. Using wooden material is considered to be normal in Kemaliye while using wooden material is quite surprising. In the natural environment of Kemaliye, there is no forestland around that may supply the timber to be used in construction but only the crags and orchards. However, the development of wooden architecture, which is the most important component of the local architecture, is fairly interesting. The nearest forests to Kemaliye are in Refahiye located to the north of it but there is no direct connection between these two towns. According to the oral history research conducted in this area, the timbers supplied from the forests of Refahiye were transported here via the Euphrates over Kemah. The timbers were tied together through a technique called “Apart”, which is a bright example of the human creative genius, to the Gümrükçü Neighbourhood over the Euphrates. The raw timbers were transported into the construction areas after they were processed in the carpenters’ shop.

Despite of such a difficult transportation means, developing this system that became widespread throughout the whole settlement enabled Kemaliye to establish a more authentic structures as compared with the settlements around it. Another reason for the use of wooden materials, which is not encountered in the surrounding settlements, is that people of Kemaliye living in Istanbul wanted to carry the material and spiritual savings they have acquired there to their Kemaliye houses.