Gökçedam

Village in Osmaniye, Turkey

Gökçedam Hemite
Village
37°11′25″N 36°05′31″E / 37.19028°N 36.09194°E / 37.19028; 36.09194
Country	Turkey
Province	Osmaniye
District	Osmaniye
Population (2022)	586
Time zone	UTC+3 (TRT)

Gökçedam is a village in the Osmaniye District in Osmaniye Province, Turkey.

Gökçedam (also known as Hemite) is a village in the Osmaniye District in Osmaniye Province, Turkey.^[1]^[2] Its population is 586 (2022).^[3] The village is inhabited by Turkmens.^[4] It was the birthplace of the famous Turkish novelist of Kurdish origin Yaşar Kemal.^[5]

Its most conspicuous feature is a plug of rock in the centre of the village with a ruined castle perched on its summit. The Ceyhan river passes the outskirts of the village and there is a waterside park with a small museum to Yaşar Kemal (not always open).

Etymology

Originally a Roman castle, the settlement was listed as Al-ˁAmûdayn, meaning "two pillars" in Arabic, by Ibn Khordadbeh in 870. In 12th century, Matthew of Edessa referred to the place as Amuda or Amudan. According to Sevan Nişanyan, the original Turkish name of the village was borrowed from its Armenian form of Amuta.^[2]

References

^ Köy, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b Nişanyan, Sevan. "Gökçedam". NişanyanYerAdları. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
^ "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^ "Yaşar Kemal hayatını kaybetti". CNN Türk. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
^ "Yasar Kemal obituary". the Guardian. 2015-03-01. Retrieved 2022-06-18.