Municipality in Turkey
Photo: Lacivert71, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Kastamonu is a city in the Western Karadeniz Region of Turkey. It's 92 km from the Black Sea coast at an altitude of 900 m, and in 2021 had a population of about 125,000.
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Is the focus of a Külliyesi - religious complex - built in the 1440s.
Was built in 1506, and restored in later centuries.
Local history exhibition.
Mir Liva Sadık Pasha was a military commander and built this 22-room mansion in the 1880s to house his harem. Since 1997 it's been an ethnographic museum, depicting town life and handicrafts in the 19th / 20th centuries, and items from Mahmut Bey Mosque (below). Some visitors are disappointed that they don't get an immersive display of the arts of the harem.
Small museum displaying archaeological finds from the area.
Or citadel perches on an outcrop, reached by a 20 min hike up the old town alleys. Built by the Byzantines in the 10th century, this is the "castra" that gives Kastamonu its name. In later centuries it was captured and repaired by the Seljuks, the Candars and finally the Ottomans. The outer walls have disappeared and the inner walls were damaged by earthquakes but partly restored in modern times. You're free to explore it 24 hours.
Şapka Müzesi
Large collection of hats, but no signage or explanation even in Turkish.
Basic but acceptable for what you pay.
Simple but clean and central.
Atmospheric hotel in a former caravanserai. But restful it's not, live music blasts out to the early hours.
Comfy business hotel in town centre.
Charming old mansion east of town centre.
Smart clean chain hotel on main highway.
Convenient for motorists on main highway, okay for a short stay.
By bus
Buses from Istanbul run every 2-3 hours and take 8-9 hours via Gebze, Bolu and Safranbolu, usually continuing via Boyabat to Sinop or Samsun on the coast.
By road
From Istanbul is 510 km: take O-4 / E80 (toll) east past Gerede, then D755 north to Karabük, then D030 east via Araç. The last stretch of road is winding, but is mostly a divided highway.
The main road follows both banks of the river bisecting the city, with one-way northbound traffic on the east bank and southbound on the west. Public buses ply this strip.
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Kastamonu · Regional · KFS
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