Kastamonu: Unpexpected Encounter with a Pretty Northern Anatolian Town

The journey from Cide to Kastamonu passed by some stunning sceneries: beautiful forest full of autumn colours, meandering mountain streams, greenish Alpine valleys dotted with traditional wooden Black Sea village houses. It is definitely not the typical image of Turkey one conceives from postcards and tourism promotion booklets.

Needless to say, like almost every other city and town in Turkey's Black Sea region, Kastamonu also has  several thousand years of history behind its back. The city was founded as early as 18th century BC, and was part of the Byzantine Empire until the Muslim conquest of Anatolia. In modern history, the city of Kastamonu is probably best known for being the place where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk made his famous speech about the hat and dress reform in 1925.

Several interesting sights in the old town of Kastamonu are certainly worth a visit. First of all, the Byzantine-era Citadel, on top of a hill overlooking the whole city centre, is a good place to capture some photo shots of Kastamonu's old quarters.

Definitely not to be missed are the beautiful Ottoman houses and grand mansions built during the city's heydays as an important trade centre connecting several Black Sea ports with cities in the vast inlands of the Anatolian pleateau.

There are still several hundred such registered historical houses in Kastamonu, all of which are now under protection.

Many of the tourist attractions of Kastamonu are located within the old quarters, which are easily accessible on foot. It is best to explore this pretty town by walking around its myriad of streets and colourful bazaars. In addition to Ottoman timber-framed houses, there are a few former caravansarays which have now been converted into public shopping areas or boutique hotels, such as the Kursunlu Han Hotel pictured below:

Another important sight is the Nasrullah Kadi Mosque and its beautiful külliye (see photos below), as well as the Münire Medresse, an important centre of learning in the Middle Ages.   

 

Right next to the entrance to the mosque and the medresse is a pretty tea garden with several shops selling handicrafts and souveniors, where locals often go shopping or have a few teas at one of the tables.

The huge round metal container in the photo below is a 14th century antique bath tub made of copper. It is amazing that the Turks leave such antique pieces standing outside in the sun and the rain -  not sure if it is a replica or not - they probably have so many of these old stuffs everywhere all over the country, nobody seems to care about these things very much.   

The 15th century Ismailbey Camii Külliye complex is also a historical monument worth visiting. The complex consists of a mosque, a medresse, a tomb, a hamam, and a han. The well-kept park and the garden of the complex is a popular with local youngsters and family. 

On a more modern note, Kastamonu's other major attractions are closely associated with the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The founder of modern secular Turkey appeared in a panama hat during a public appearance in August 1925 in Kastamonu. The purpose of Ataturk donning such fashionable attire is to explain in person the significance of his hat and dress reform (the fez, the former official headgear of the Ottoman Empire, became prohibited by law and was replaced by Western-style hats in 1925), and to demonstrate to the public that such Western-style hats are the headgears of civilized nations. The choice of making such a speech in Kastamonu is a deliberate one, as Kastamonu in the 1920s was one of the most conservative cities in Anatolia, and Ataturk chose to roll start his dress code revolution from this City of Saints - so named thanks to the presence of large number of Islamic shrines in the city - in his effort to convinve the Turkish public of the importance of westernised secularization.

The building above is the former Town Hall, now a boutique hotel (Osmanli Sarayi). This was the place where Ataturk stayed at during his 1925 visit to Kastamonu.

Right opposite Osmanli Sarayi is Kastamonu's historical haman, also with hundreds of years of history,

 
In the background of the photo above is Kastamonu's Hükümet Konagi (Government House), a landmark building built in the early 20th century by one of modern Turkey’s most important, if under-recognized, architects, Mehmet Vedat Tek (1873-1942). By combining various elements from the Imperial Ottoman and Selcuk Ottoman with Western design theories, this amalgam of architectural style is known as 'First National Architecture' in Turkey.

Behind the modern Government House is a small road that leads to some flights of stairs up the hill to the  19th century Clock Tower, another landmark architecture of Kastamonu. Pretty tea gardens with colourful chairs lined the terraces bracing the hillside, where locals and students studying at Kastamonu's university gather and meet up for tea and enjoy the serene views of the whole town.

 

Getting there:
Kastamonu is 4-5 hours by bus from Ankara. The Ilgaz mountains to the south of Kastamonu offers good winter sports facilities and trekking routes for those who prefer outdoor lifestyles.
There are frequent buses from Kastamonu to Sinop, Cide, Inebolu, Ankara, Karabuk, Amasya and Corum.

Accommodation:
There are several beautiful boutique hotels converted from former Ottoman grand mansions. The foremost of these is the Toprakcilar Konaklari, a beautifully decorated house made from two timber-framed houses.

All the furnitures and household furnishings inside are authentic period pieces. Prices are not very steep, with a double room starting from 80TL including breakfast.

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