Mut, Mersin


Mut is a town and district of Mersin Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.
Mut is a rural district at the foot of the Sertavul Pass on the road over the Taurus Mountains from Ankara and Konya to the Mediterranean coast at Anamur or Silifke. Mut is known for its special apricot variety, Mut şekerparesi, and a statue of a girl carrying a basket of them stands at the entrance to the town. The summer is hot and the people of Mut retreat to high meadows even further up the mountainside. The forests up here are home to wild boar, and the Gezende reservoir on the Ermenek River is a welcome patch of blue in this dry district. The dam has a hydro-electric power station built in Romania.

History

The area has probably been inhabited since the time of the Hittites, and was later part of ancient Cilicia. Under the Roman Empire, the town was called Claudiopolis. Alahan Monastery, north of Claudiopolis, was started in the second half of the fifth century by the Emperor Leo I and later finish by Emperor Zeno.
The Romans were succeeded by the Kingdom of Armenia. In the 13th century the Armenians were replaced by the Karamanid clan who founded the state of the same name. The mosque of Lal Pasha, and the Red Minaret are among the buildings from the Karamanids that still stand in Mut today.

Notable natives