Kastamonu

Kastamonu is a town in the mountains of the western Black Sea region, set back from the coast, with a fortress on a rock above the centre and one of the finest ensembles of wooden Ottoman mansions in Turkey. This is a quiet, conservative province and a convenient base for the mountain national parks. In the history of the republic the town is remembered for the Hat Reform: it was here, in 1925, that Atatürk first appeared in a European hat.

Main sights

• Kastamonu fortress — a medieval citadel on a rock, taking in the whole town and the ranges around it.
• Liva Pasha mansion — a carved wooden konak, now an ethnographic museum of how the Ottoman gentry lived.
• Nasrullah Mosque — the main mosque, with its square and rows of ablution fountains, the heart of the old town.
• Atatürk house museum — the building tied to the Hat Reform, with a display about those days.
• Kasaba village — outside the town, with the medieval wooden Mahmut Bey mosque, known for its painting and for being put together without nails.

Food and prices

Kastamonu is proud of its cooking: etli ekmek, a thin flatbread with meat, pastırma, banduma, the fine çekme helva and above all the local garlic. Lunch in a café is about 6-12 euros, and cards are accepted.

Getting there

A small airport (KFS) links the town with Istanbul on and off, so check the schedule. More often people arrive by bus from Ankara, about three hours. From here you go on to the ski slopes of Ilgaz and to Küre national park with the Valla canyon and its waterfalls.

When to come

A continental climate: winters cold and snowy, with the Ilgaz ski area running then, and summers mild. For the town and the parks the best stretch is from late spring to early autumn.