Safranbolu: Asian Tourists' Favourite UNESCO World Heritage Site in Turkey

Every nationality has its own favourite place to visit in Turkey. For the Germans, it is the region between Antalya and Alanya. The British prefer the stretch of coast between Fethiye and Altinkum. For tourists from East Asia, it seems no tour of Turkey is complete without a visit to Safranbolu, a small mountain village tucked away in a lush green valley.

The town of Safranbolu consists of two different parts: the New Town (called Kirankoy), and the Old Town (Safranbolu itself). Kirankoy is the town's administrative centre, with modern buildings and apartments blocks built on top of a small hill overlooking the valley of Safranbolu. Long distance buses stop at the bus station outside Kirankoy's town centre, and passengers continuing towards Safranbolu's Old Town will have to transfer to the free mini-shuttle provided by each bus company and get off at the bus company's town office in Kirankoy, before getting on a blue city bus which connects Kirankoy with the Old Town of Safranbolu.

With all its Ottoman timber houses and Ottoman era architectures, Safranbolu was famous as a trading place of good quality saffron, which are still produced in a small village about 25km outside the town of Safranbolu. Nowadays the town's main attraction is the well-preserved Old Ottoman timber houses which adorn the centre of the Old Town. Since the town's inscription in 1994, no new buildings are allowed in the Old Town area. Beautiful Ottoman houses whih dotted around the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old Town are converted into elegant boutique hotels with modern amenities instead.

Although there are plenty of historical Ottoman houses all over the Old Town, personally I feel the town has become overtly touristic. Throughout the day, numerous tour groups march through the inner Old Town; there are very few shops in the centre of Safranbolu which does not sell some kind of tourist souveniors or gifts catering to foreign tastes. Which is really a pity, as the whole Safranbolu feels like the Rothenburg ob der Tauber of Turkey - a pretty, Disneyland-like model village with medieval timber-framed houses favoured by foreign visitors, but with very little life of its own.
 

 

The historical Cinci Han Kervansaray is now a boutique hotel offering quality acommodation in a historical setting. The place is not as expensive as I had thought: in October 2009, a standard en-suite double room costs about 50 euro per night, including breakfast.

 

Several confectionary specialising in traditional hand-made Turkish delights vying for business near the main entrance of the Cinci Han. Turkish delights taste best when it is freshly made; here in Safranbolu, one finds some of the most tasty Turkish delights in the whole of Turkey, vastly different to the sugary powdered stuff ordinary tourists find in Istanbul's Grand bazaar.

Those who are interested in traditional hand-made copperware can try their luck in one of Safranbolu's many coppersmith home-stores, where prices are far cheaper than in Istanbul's notorious tourist haunt, the Grand Bazaar.

The chimneys of Cinci Han set against the backdrop of traditional village houses.

All in all, I would not say that Safranbolu has left an everlasting impression on me, as there are far nicer and much less touristic places to visit in Turkey if you are looking for traditional Ottoman architectures. On the other hand, for those who are in a hurry and who visit Turkey on a shoestring, this village is just 3 hours away by bus from Ankara and fits easily into the itinerary. No a must for everyone, but certainly worth considering.

Copyrights 2010. All Rights Reserved. All text and photos by YC Cheng.