The neglected charms of Kastamonu

Still, for the sort of people who like a dollop of history to go with their holiday, then this Central Anatolian stronghold is, surely, the perfect destination boasting an attractive setting, a dramatic castle, lots of mosques, hans and hamams dating back to the Middle Ages and several Ottoman-style hotels that could on their own almost justify the bus ride.

Let's start with the castle. Kastamonu sits in a valley between two steep hills, which means that the best vantage point from which to view the castle is from the hill on the opposite side where a tiered tea garden fronts a clock tower dating back to 1885. Sitting here you will be able to appreciate how neatly the castle hugs the contours of the other hill. The existing building is not as ancient as some of Anatolia's real oldies, having started life as a Byzantine work of the 12th century. Everyone has heard of the Byzantines, but the dynasty who went on to rebuild the castle, the Candaroğlus, is more of a mystery. In 1292 their first significant leader, Temür Yaman Candar, took advantage of the chaos that followed the collapse of the Selçuk Empire to establish his own dynasty (beylik) around Kastamonu. Not surprisingly he liked the look of the old castle and had it refortified.

Candar's descendants dominated the area immediately north of Ankara and west along the Black Sea to Bolu right through 1462 when, inevitably, Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror came galloping through to establish Ottoman control. In the last few years restoration work has made the castle a focal point for the burgeoning domestic tourism industry, which means that visitors must run a gauntlet of tablecloth-selling shopkeepers on the steep path leading up to it. Disappointingly, there's not that much to see inside -- although you do get a great view of the clock tower.

There's one other fine reminder of the Candaroğlus in town, and that is the İsmail Bey Mosque complex (1451-75) out on the eastern side. This, too, has had a recent facelift during the course of which the adjoining medrese (theological school) and han have been converted into handicraft workshops. The mosque itself and the tomb of its founder have a grace about them that is vaguely reminiscent of pre-Sinan İstanbul mosques, such as the Murad Paşa Cami at Yusufpaşa.

Kastamonu's other major mosque complexes hark back to the early days of Ottoman glory. The least missable is the Nasrullah Camii that forms a centerpiece of the town. Built for a judge in 1506, it's fronted by a wonderful double şadırvan (ablutions fountain) which is always busy with worshippers and pigeons (the shelter over the fountains was added in 1752). In a corner of the square the old hamam (Turkish bath) has been turned into a shop, while behind the mosque the delightful Münire Medresesi, added in 1746, houses craft shops and a tea garden, as well as an enormous water heater removed from the Ottoman-era Tekke Hamamı in nearby Tosya. The interior of the mosque is extremely beautiful, and a sign reminds visitors that Mehmet Akif Ersoy, the author of the national anthem, gave a speech here in support of the Turkish War of Independence.

A third fine mosque complex sits on the hillside beneath the castle. The Yagup Ağa Camii dates back to 1547 and the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, as do the magnificent wooden doors that lead into it. Once again, the medrese has been adapted to accommodate handicrafts shops, while another part of the complex is home to an EU-supported production plant for çekme helva, the local sweet of choice that looks like fudge, but tastes more like pişmaniye (candy floss).

There's another delightful Ottoman mosque, the Sinan Bey Cami, dating back to 1571 and containing some glorious stained glass, on the western side of town, but when it comes to religious importance, all the other mosques are thrown into the shade by the Şeyh Şaban-ı Veli Mosque complex, also on the western side of town. Built for the poet and holy man Şeyh Şaban-ı Veli (1471-1569), who brought the Halveti Tarikat (sect) here, the complex consists of a mosque and a lovely tomb with a small graveyard overlooked by two magnificent Ottoman mansions, one housing a museum. Crowds pour in here every day to drink spring water that is said to taste almost as sweet as that from Zemzem in Mecca.

Of course not all the sights of Kastamonu are religious. Of the town's two museums, the archeological one is more important as a minor work of the architect Kemaladdin Bey and as the place where, in 1925, Atatürk decreed that henceforth fezes were out and hats with brims were in -- there are fine photographs of newly behatted officials walking with him on the walls inside. As a museum, the Liva Paşa Konaği is far more impressive, not only permitting visitors to appreciate the huge size of the old Ottoman houses that still survive in their hundreds in the back streets, but also displaying models of the different crafts that used to provide locals with their livelihood before selling tablecloths and çekme helva swept the board. Also unmissable is the dramatic Hükümet Konağı (local government building, 1902), perhaps the most impressive work of First National-style architect Vedat Tek outside İstanbul. The giant statue of Atatürk in front of the building is a reminder of the role Kastamonu played in the War of Independence as the transit point for arms smuggled down from the Black Sea to Ankara.

The great thing about Kastamonu is that you can stay in some of the creaking wooden mansions here just as you can in Safranbolu. Alternatively, you can put up in the Osmanlı Sarayı, once the old Belediye Binası (Municipality offices) and now a hotel. You can even stay in the Kurşunlu Han overlooking the main square. Originally a shopping center-cum-hostelry paid for by the same İsmail Bey whose mosque graces the eastern outskirts, this han was recently converted into a hotel. The konak hotels operate on a half-board basis, but if you're staying elsewhere you might like to dine at the Eflani Konağı, whose menu boasts a fine array of dishes such as banduma (yufka piled with shredded chicken and sprinkled with grated walnut) that you won't find elsewhere. Alternatively, the Tahir Efendi Konağı boasts some especially splendid interior decoration.

If you still need persuading that it's worth trailing all the way out to Kastamonu in the heat then the trump card is a building that lurks in the countryside in the pretty village of Kasaba Köyü, near Daday. In 1366 in this remote location an otherwise unknown Candaroğlu named Mahmud Bey paid for an extraordinary mosque whose glorious wooden ceiling, columns and gallery were created without the use of nails. Faded yet still beautiful geometric patterns run along the beams and across the gallery. There's nothing like it anywhere else in Turkey.

Today the mosque is zealously protected, and behind this dedicated caretaking lies a sad story detailed in the Liva Paşa Konaği where the exquisitely carved wooden doors that used to grace the mosque are now on display. In 1997 the imam arrived to unlock the doors only to find them gone, and it was nothing short of a miracle that they were later found abandoned in a school playground, stripped of their metalwork, but otherwise unharmed.

WHERE TO STAY:

Kurşunlu Hanı. Tel: 0366-214 27 37

Osmanlı Sarayı. Tel: 0366-214 84 08

Sinanbey Konağı. Tel: 0366-212 60 21

Toprakçılar Konakları. Tel: 0366-212 18 12

Uğurlu Konakları. Tel: 0366-212 82 02

HOW TO GET THERE:

There are frequent buses to Kastamonu from Ankara, Sinop and İnebolu.