Geben, Kahramanmaraş

Geben (from Կապան) is a neighbourhood of the municipality and district of Andırın, Kahramanmaraş Province, Turkey. Its population is 1,448 (2022). Before the 2013 reorganisation, it was a town (belde).

It is a mountain town, the distance to Andırın being about 30 km. Near the settlement of Geben is a large baronial castle primarily of Armenian construction (late 11th to 13th c.) with probable late antique/Byzantine remains and a period of Crusader occupation. The two baileys are well-protected with rounded towers. This site was the guardian of the strategic road at the Meryemçil Pass, connecting Cappadocia to the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. The remains of a late antique/medieval settlement are in the valley below to the southeast. An extensive photographic survey, description and plan of Geben Castle / Kahramanmaraş was made between 1973 and 1979. This road now used only by Geben residents was an important caravan route in history which connected East Mediterranean cities to Central Anatolia.