posted by:

Back to Ottoman living

Safranbolu Travel Blog › entry 486 of 654 › view all entries

39 months, Europe, Asia the Middle East and Africa. Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, Pandas, Elephants, Bears, Komodo Dragons, Turtles, Tigers, Bulls. Pyramids, Petra, Ephesus, Kremlin, Great Wall, Angkor, Bagan, Persepolis, Trans Siberian railway and fantastic travbuddys! Stolen bags, crowbar threats, 1 landmine explosion, bank robbery, 2 motorbike crashes, 2 bus crashes, pancreatis, erosion of the liver and kidneys, BUT im still here and telling my tale! Check out the blog and leave a smile/comment

View All Photos

RSS Feed

Report spam

World › Europe › Turkey › Safranbolu

« Previous Entry: Cool couchsurfing Next Entry: Bus crash number two - … »

Back to Ottoman living

December 22, 2008

Ottoman houses in Safranbolu

People i met here who contributed to, and improved my trip: Engin and Samet (Turkey), Victor (France)

Engins Mum prepared a nice breakfast for us on Monday morning, which set us up nicely for a day trip to Safranbolu, a small village located about 40kms from Yenice. We caught the 10.30 bus and i was impressed with the scenery and countless tunnels along the route. Arriving in Karabuk we swapped bus and reached our final destination around 11.45.

The bus dropped us off in the new part of Safranbolu and whilst inquiring which road we had to follow to reach the old town, we got chatting to a French guy called Victor.

Ottoman house in Safranbolu

He was just in Safranbolu for the day like ourselves, so it made sense to join forces and look around together. It took the best part of half an hour to reach the main square, mainly because i wanted to walk in the back lanes and investigate the stunning old Ottoman Houses that the town is famous for.

I had been slightly worried that Safranbolu may be too like Amasya, as it was billed as a town of Ottoman houses. However, this theory was soon dismissed, as it became apparent that it was like saying Paris and London are the same, just because they are both European Cities. Whilst Amasya has the river running through town, Safranbolu's charm lies in the fact that its houses looked more antique and haven't been overly restored.

Reaching Kazdagliogulu Meydani (the towns central square), we looked at Kazdagli Ogulu Mosque and Cinci Hamam, which were located in the West and Southern sections.

Turkish flags fly outside the old Ottoman houses in Safranbolu

After this Engin went to pray in the Koprulu Mehmet Pasa Mosque and from here we headed South through the winding streets. Our path eventually took us up a hill and past an aeroplane that was on display, up as far as Hidirlik Park. It cost 2YTL to enter the grounds, but this was well worth it as we were treated to some stunning views and also a free tasting of Saffron tea. As the name suggests, Safranbolu actually got its name from its trade in Saffron, so it was quite appropriate that i should get my first taste of Saffron tea here.

Engin had arranged to meet his good friend Samet in the centre, so we walked down to meet him and then visited Cinci Hani together. The building is a restored caravanserai, which now operates as an upmarket hotel and the staff were kind enough to briefly show us around. After this we strolled through the deserted bazaar, which had grape vines twisting around the trellis that covered the walkway.

Eski Hukumet Konagi

It looked very picturesque, although it seemed a little peculiar to see no-one there. Our final point of interest was the Eski Hukumet Konagi, a bright yellow structure that had once served as the government building and was located atop a hill that offered ore nice panoramas over the town.

Having walked around for sometime we had all gained quite an appetite, so went for lunch in a pleasant little restaurant, which served up some hearty portions of Pide. I'm not too sure how to describe Pide, its base is a bit like a pizza i guess, but its oblong and the usual toppings include meat, egg and cheese. Engin very kindly treated us all to this meal and during my time with him, he proved to be the model of Turkish hospitality. For dessert we ate some Lokum (Turkish delight) and Baclava, which i really adore.

We caught a bus back up to the new part of Safranbolu and then after waiting for a little while caught another bus to Karabuk.

A view over Safranbolu

We said goodbye to Victor here as he was catching another bus on to Zonguldak, whilst we were going to take the train back to Yenice. We still had over an hour until our departure, so we took a fleeting glimpse at the town and the guys sorted out some business with the bank. There was just enough time to make a quick stop in a small tea house and then we were homeward bound.