Gülek is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Tarsus, Mersin Province, Turkey.

But, actually, these inscriptions were erected much later by the Roman Emperor Caracalla (reigned 211–217) during his campaign against the Parthian Empire.

From 861, Gülek fell under the rule of many states, including the Byzantine Empire, the Sultanate of Rum, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, and the Ramadanids.

In 1832, Gülek was briefly occupied by the forces of the rebellious Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt but was returned to Ottoman control after the convention of Kütahya.

Above the Cilician Gates and a few kilometers from the village is Gülek Kalesi (Armenian: Kuklak; Arab: Kawlāk), a large fortification of considerable antiquity which retains evidence of Byzantine and Arab periods of occupation, but is primarily a construction of the 12th and 13th centuries attached to the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.