Ottomania

Safranbolu is a scenic town nestled in the valleys some 200 km north of Ankara. In 1992 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the thoroughly restored Ottoman mansions that make up the market district of the town. Çarsi is a maze of remarkable Ottoman houses that extends from two central open spaces… one is the closest thing Çarsi has to a downtown and boasts an old mosque and older hamam, the other is marked by a silk road caravansary and slightly newer mosque.

I spent most of the day wandering the narrow, angular alleyways that run between the charming, boxy Ottoman structures. There is an excellent park/plaza structure at the top of the largest hill overlooking the district. While snapping pictures from the park, I met a Taiwanese tourist who had the same idea. He informed me that the park’s toilet was the nicest he’d seen in Turkey. We hung out for most of the day, hunting for bargains in the shops that line the streets between the mosques. He got a kick out of the big straw cowboy hat I bought to protect my complexion from the evils of the sun. After all, as a friend of mine reminded me, skin cancer would be a lousy souvenir.