Çamalan is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Tarsus,

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

, Turkey. Its population is 266 (2022). It is in the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

and to the west of Turkish state highway D.400. The village is inhabited by

Tahtacı Tahtacı () are a subgroup of ethnic Turkish people living mainly in the forested areas of Aegean Region, Aegean and Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean regions of Turkey. Historically engaged in woodworking since Ottoman Empire, the Ot ...

. There is a German cemetery from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in the village, which is located away from Tarsus and away from Mersin. The village was founded in the 16th century by

Turkmens Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...

of the

Alevi Alevism (; ; ) is a syncretic heterodox Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Islamic teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, who taught the teachings of the Twelve Imams, whilst incorporating some traditions from shamanism. Differing ...

sect. They escaped from the harsh treatment of the Ottoman sultan

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

to the forests of the mountainous area for concealment. Their main economic activity was forestry, and they were called ''tahtacı'' ("woodman"). Nowadays, however, the majority of the village population is retired people from the cities in the

Çukurova Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...

plains (

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

of the antiquity).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camalan Neighbourhoods in Tarsus District Turkoman settlements in Mersin Province