Safranbolu is a town in Karabük Province in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

region of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It is the seat of Safranbolu District.İlçe Belediyesi
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Its population is 52,999 (2022). It is about 9 km north of the city of Karabük, north of

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

and about 100 km south of the

coast. The town's historic names in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

were ''Theodoroupolis'' (Θεοδωρούπολις, i.e. city of Theodorus or female Theodora) and later ''Saphrampolis'' (Σαφράμπολις). Its former names in Turkish were ''Zalifre'' and ''Taraklıborlu''. It was part of

Kastamonu Province Kastamonu Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province of Turkey, in the Black Sea Region, Turkey, Black Sea region in the north of the country. It is surrounded by Sinop Province, Sinop to the east, Bartın Province, Bartın, Karabük Province ...

until 1923 and Zonguldak Province between 1923 and 1995. The town lies at an elevation of . According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82-1893, the

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

of Safranbolu had a total population of 52,523, consisting of 49,197 Muslims and 3,326

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

. The Old Town preserves many historic buildings, with 1008 registered historical artifacts. These are: 1 private museum, 25

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s, 5 tombs, 8 historical fountains, 5 Turkish baths, 3

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

s, 1 historical clock tower, 1 sundial and hundreds of houses and mansions. Also, there are mounds of ancient settlements, rock tombs and historical bridges. The Old Town is situated in a deep ravine in a fairly dry area in the rain shadow of the mountains. The New Town can be found on the plateau about two kilometers west of the Old Town. The name of the town derives from "

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

" and the Greek word ''

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

'' (πόλις) meaning "city", since Safranbolu was a trading place and a center for growing saffron. Today, saffron is still grown at the village of Davutobası to the east of Safranbolu, with a road distance of 22 kilometres. Safranbolu was added to the list of

UNESCO World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by int ...

sites in 1994 due to its well-preserved Ottoman era houses and architecture.

Gallery

File:20180107_Safranbolu_1946_(39779008132).jpg File:20180107_Safranbolu_1943_(39779017602).jpg File:20180107_Safranbolu_1942_(39810646531).jpg File:20180107_Safranbolu_1940_(39810654251).jpg File:20180107_Safranbolu_1941_(24940479487).jpg File:20180107_Safranbolu_1945_(39101010504).jpg File:20180107_Safranbolu_1993_(39778928982).jpg File:20180107_Safranbolu_2001_(25938148028).jpg File:20180107_Safranbolu_2067_(28031784569).jpg File:Old_Goverment_House_-_2014.10_-_panoramio.jpg

Sister cities

* Elabuga,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

.Elabuga and Safranbolu become sister cities
*

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Notable natives

* Karabaşzade Hüseyin Efendi (Cinci Hoca) - Mentor of Ottoman

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

İbrahim in the 17th century * Safranbolulu Izzet Mehmet Pasha, 18th century Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

, in office 1794–1798 * Türker İnanoğlu (b. 1936), film producer * Ali Gümüş (1940–2015), President of the Wrestling Commission of the International Sports Press Association (''Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive'', AIPS), journalist and author

References

External links

*
UNESCO World Heritage - Safranbolu

Safranbolu: A Town of Traditional Houses
{{Authority control World Heritage Sites in Turkey Saffron Populated places in Karabük Province Safranbolu District District municipalities in Turkey

Gallery

Sister cities

Notable natives

See also

References

Further reading

External links