Bolu Province ( tr, ) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

situated in north-western

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. It is located between the capital,

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and the largest city in the country,

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. It covers an area of 7,410 km² and the population is 311,810. The capital city of the province is

Bolu Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census). The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan (Republican People's Party, CHP) since 2019 Turkish local elections, local electi ...

Geography

The province is drained by the Bolu River (''Boli Su'') and the Koca River. The forests, lakes and mountains are rich in wildlife including three deer species and popular weekend and holiday retreats for walkers and climbers. Parts of the province are vulnerable to earthquakes.

History

It is not known when Bolu was first founded. There are some archaeological findings dating back about 100,000 years that suggest the region was inhabited then. The area now in Bolu Province was in eastern

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwe ...

and southwestern

Paphlagonia Paphlagonia (; el, Παφλαγονία, Paphlagonía, modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; tr, Paflagonya) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus (region), Pontus t ...

. The town of Bithynium from which the area takes its name is the modern

. The area was called Bithynia during the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

period, the Romans named it Claudio Polis, and it was called Bolu by the Turks. By about 375 BCE, Bithynia had gained its independence from Persia, and King Bas subsequently defeated Alexander's attempt to take it. The Bithynian region with parts of Paphlagonia remained its own kingdom until 88 BCE when it briefly came under

Mithridates VI Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

and the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( grc-gre, Πόντος ) was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus (region), Pontus and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty (of Persian people, Persian origin), which possibly may have been di ...

. With

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

help the last Bithynian king, Nicomedes IV regained his throne, but on his death bequeathed the kingdom to Rome. This led to the

Third Mithridatic War The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies dragging the entire east of th ...

and the fall of Pontus, the area was incorporated into the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

as a single province joining Paphlagonia with Bithynia. Under the falling

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

the Bolu area was divided from western Bithynia at the Sakarya River, with western Bithynia keeping the name. The Sakarya is still the southern and western boundary of the province. The Byzantine Empire briefly lost the Bolu area to the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

after the 1071

Battle of Manzikert The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and ...

, but recovered it under the

Komnenian restoration The Komnenian restoration is the term used by historians to describe the military, financial, and territorial recovery of the Byzantine Empire under the Komnenian dynasty, from the accession of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081 to the death of Andron ...

. After the end of the

Komnenos dynasty Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...

, the Turks gradually took the Bolu area back. About 1240 the Seljuk Turks took the eastern part of the Bolu area (i.e. the Paphlagonian part) from the Byzantine Empire and incorporated it into the

Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254) Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = B ...

. Due to their assistance in taking it and

Sinop Sinop can refer to: * Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea ** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018 ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...

, the

Chobanids The Chobanids or the Chupanids ( fa, سلسله امرای چوپانی) were descendants of a Mongol family of the Suldus clan that came to prominence in 14th century Persia. At first serving under the Ilkhans, they took ''de facto'' contr ...

were given that territory and adjacent areas to the north and east to rule. The Chobanids were relatively independent of the Sultan. That eastern area fell under the Isfendiyarids between 1292 and 1461. In 1461 it was incorporated into the rest of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. By 1265, the western part of the Bolu area was again acquired by the Seljuk Turks, but it fell to the arms of Orhan I and the Ottoman Empire in the early to mid-1300s. The two areas were reunited in 1461, under

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

. In the 1864 Ottoman Empire administrative reorganization, Bolu was created as an independent

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

, although it was geographically part of the Kastamonu Vilayet.

Administrative divisions

Bolu province is divided into nine

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, four sub-districts, thirteen municipalities and 491 villages.

Districts

*Bolu, with the city of Bolu the capital district * Dörtdivan * Gerede * Göynük * Kıbrıscık * Mengen * Mudurnu * Seben * Yeniçağa

Main sights

Lake Abant Lake Abant ( tr, Abant Gölü) is a freshwater lake in Turkey's Bolu Province in northwest Anatolia, formed as a result of a great landslide. The lake lies at an altitude of at a distance of from the provincial seat of Bolu. It is a vacation a ...

, a mountain lake resort and hot springs *

Yedigöller National Park The Yedigöller National Park ( tr, Yedigöller, "seven lakes") also known as Seven Lakes National Park is located in the northern part of Bolu Province in Turkey. The park is categorized under IUCN II and was established in 1965. The park is bes ...

. The name means "seven lakes" in Turkish, referring to the number of lakes in this forest park. * The

Köroğlu Mountains The Köroğlu Mountains ( Turkish: ''Köroğlu Dağları'') are a mountain range situated in the northern Turkey, north of Ankara. It rises along the North Anatolian Fault and the Black Sea. This range crosses the provinces of Bolu, Çankırı an ...

, said to be the scene of the folk '' Epic of Köroğlu'' * There are many hot springs and mineral baths in the province ( in Turkish). *

Kartalkaya Kartalkaya is a ski resort located in the Köroğlu Mountains, in Bolu Province, Turkey. Description Kartalkaya has suitable conditions for alpine skiing, ski touring and cross country skiing. It's much quieter and cheaper during the week because ...

, one of Turkey's most popular ski resorts * Sarıalan, a lake high in the mountains above Kartalkaya * The Aladağ mountains, including the trail and picnic area of Gölcük * Seben Çeltikler * Göynük Akshemseddin Mausoleum Towns include: * Mengen * Mudurnu (the ancient town of Modrenea) * Gerede

Gallery

Image:Bolu-08523 nevit.jpg, Mist early in the morning Image:Infrared 08705 yedigoller-exposure.JPG, A scene from Yedigöller

References

External links

* *
Bolu municipality's official website
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