Turkey: Safranbolu hosts nearly 1M visitors annually

By Ahmet Ozler and Sadik Kedir

KARABUK, Turkey (AA) - Safranbolu, an Ottoman-era city in Turkey, hosts an average of one million domestic and international tourists annually, a data by city’s tourism information center revealed.

The city, located in the northern Anatolian province of Karabuk was an important stop on the main East-West trade route around the region. The city’s iconic sites of the Old Mosque, the Old Bath and Suleyman Pasha School (Medrese) were built in early 13th century, according to UNESCO.

After its inscription in the UNESCO’s world heritage list in 1994, the city municipality has restored different sites in order to facilitate the visitors.

Hailed as “outdoor museum” and “self-protected city,” Safranbolu was named after a flower that grows only in that region.

The site hosts International tourists from 70 countries especially from the Far East countries of Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

A 500-meter long cave, 80-meter high Incekaya canyon that has an astonishing view of the city, historic houses and cultural saunas are the places where one can grab some unforgettable memories.

“The City of Safranbolu is a typical Ottoman city, with typical buildings and streets, and played a key role in the caravan trade over many centuries,” UNESCO said in its description about the city.

“There is no doubt about the authenticity of the street layout and the general townscape of Safranbolu, which is evocative of pre-industrial Turkey. However, the level of authenticity in individual buildings is largely related to changes that have occurred in the interior parts as a response to modern needs and industrialization,” it added.

“Safranbolu is a unique world heritage,” said Aytekin Kus, an author of a book named Bir Zamanlar Safranbolu (once upon a time in Safranbolu).

"It is a world-renowned place where guests from home and abroad can come, tour and observe the best details of the Ottoman-Turkish life," Kus told Anadolu Agency.