Kemah

This modest town on the Karasu River in eastern Turkey's Erzincan Province, Kemah carries an unusually dense layered heritage for its size: open-air temples from antiquity, medieval monasteries, churches, chapels, and Seljuk-era tombs sit alongside Ottoman mosques, bathhouses, and caravanserais. Kemah Castle, mentioned by the 17th-century Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi and now partly restored and open to visitors, dates in some accounts to around 205 BCE. The Karasu also supports water sports, and the town is known locally for its natural salt, tulum cheese, and honey.

• Population2,549
• Nearest water0.6 km
• Nearest mountain7.7 km