Kastamonu

Kastamonu sits at 904 meters elevation in a wide basin south of the Black Sea, surrounded by forested hills and crossed by the Gök River. The town stretches from the old fortress on the hilltop down to the modern neighborhoods that follow the valleys.

The Byzantine fortress town became a Muslim principality in the 12th century before joining the Ottoman Empire in 1393. Under Ottoman rule, it grew into a regional trade center linking Anatolia to the Black Sea coast.

The covered bazaar dates back to Ottoman times and remains a working trade center where artisans craft copperware and leather goods using inherited techniques. Visitors see merchants and locals negotiating between the stalls, and the market life sets the rhythm of the old quarter.

The town is accessible by highway from larger Turkish cities, and a regional airport offers additional connections. The old quarter is easy to explore on foot, while local buses serve the modern districts.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk chose this town in 1925 as the stage for introducing dress code reforms, wearing a Western hat in public and announcing the abolition of the fez. This gesture marked a turning point in Turkish modernization and gave the town a symbolic role in national history.