Boyabat | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 41°27′55″N34°46′15″E / 41.46528°N 34.77083°E | |
Country | Turkey |
Province | Sinop |
District | Boyabat |
Government | |
• Mayor | Hasan Kara (YRP) |
Elevation | 330 m (1,080 ft) |
Population (2022) [1] | 29,093 |
Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
Postal code | 57200 |
Area code | 0368 |
Climate | Cfb |
Website | www |
Boyabat is a town in Sinop Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Boyabat District. [2] Its population is 29,093 (2022). [1] The mayor is Hasan Kara (YRP).
The town is in the Gökırmak ("blue river") valley, a river valley parallel to the Black Sea coast, located 100 km south of Sinop over the coastal mountain range, Isfendiyar Mountains.
The town is the trade hub for over a hundred villages around it. Of larger centers nearby, up the Gökırmak valley to the west are Taşköprü, and Kastamonu; down the Gökırmak and later Kızılırmak ("red river") valley to the east you find Durağan, Havza, Vezirköprü, and Samsun.
The name Boyabat is said to consist of "boy" which means border and the Persian suffix "abad" (آباد) which means built/cultivated town/agricultural landscape. It bears witness to the fact that the border between the Byzantine empire and the empire of the Seljuq Turks was once here.
Boyabat town was built below an imposing castle which probably has not been in serious use since around 1300 A.D. but may be as old as 2800 years. Kazdere/Gazidere, a tributary of Gök River, passes through the town. It cuts the rock that the castle is perched on with a dramatic pair of vertical walls. The wall on the castle side has a window on the rock face illuminating descending tunnels to a newly discovered large underground city from Roman times. The tunnels may also have served for water supply and safe passage during siege.
The castle overlooks the Gökırmak valley. This valley is long and lies parallel with the Black Sea coast. Together with the similarly placed Yeşilırmak (river) valley further east, it forms a natural east-west pathway used since the antiquity as a trade route, possibly as part of the silk road. The castle may have served to protect this trade route. Being a suitable distance from Durağan, Hanönü and Taşköprü, it may have provided safe stop for caravans.
The older history of Boyabat may have started from Bronze Age, and it may have been ruled by Kaskians, Hittites, Paphlagonians, Persians, Lydians, Pontus kingdom, and Romans. It served as a border castle between Lydia (later Roman Empire) and the Pontus kingdom a thousand year before it was again a border between Seljuqs and Byzantians.
Since it has been captured a few decades after the Battle of Manzikert (1071) by Gazi Gümüshtigin, the second leader of the Danishmends - a wassal of the Seljuq Sultanate of Rum - the area has been under the rule of several Turkish states (Danishmends, Seljuq Turks, Pervaneoğulları, Jandarids, Ottoman Empire, Turkish Republic) and has been spared from military conflicts and battles on its territory during the last 500 years.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Boyabat was part of the Kastamonu Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire.
The main income source of the area is agriculture, animal husbandry, and some forest related activities. Of agricultural produce Boyabat is renowned for its rice. Rice fields cover the bottom of Gökirmak and Kizilirmak valleys.
The town boasts some local industry, notably brick, tiles, and ceramic production, unhusking and polishing of rice, and tanning.
Mondays a weekly bazaar is held in Boyabat center and the town overflows with farmers and merchants of the area. A larger several days long yearly event "Panayır" (fair) is held in autumn (starting the second Wednesday of October) just outside town center. [3] It lasts several days and attracts participants from a much larger area.
The local character of Boyabat is reflected in the characteristic old houses below the castle, handwoven traditional scarves popular among the farmer ladies and woodprint scarves among town ladies. Davul and zurna music is the hallmark of weddings. They lead processions through the town carrying gifts to the wedding house. On arrival, the drummer in full traditional drummer outfit performs a drumplaying dance [4] to the music of zurna. Another Boyabat tradition kept alive is the whole grilled lamb kebab [5] served in special restaurants. Village weddings and the panayır /fair also include a wrestling championship performed to the tune of davul and zurna, playing non-stop epic "köroğlu" melodies (typically in five eight rhythm) in the background. [6]
Like every other similar town in Turkey, a large number of people originating from Boyabat now live in large metropolitan centers, mainly Istanbul some 650 km or a 10 hours bus ride away.
During the latest decades Boyabat town itself has also expanded greatly by the building of apartment blocks. The plan of the city is altered by a wide thoroughfare which also attracted arenas of business out from the old shopping district. [7]
The countryside around has also seen dramatic changes. A belt of planted pine forests, a dry canal diverting flash floods away from town center, factories on the plains west of the town etc..
The construction of the Boyabat Dam on the Kızıl River near Duragan (operational since 2012), a tunnel to avoid the highest peak of the mountain pass towards Sinop (operational since 2009) were major infrastructure projects in the area.
The Kızılırmak, once known as the Halys River and AlisRiver, is the longest river flowing entirely within Turkey. It is a source of hydroelectric power and is not used for navigation.
Kastamonu Province is a province of Turkey, in the Black Sea region in the north of the country. It is surrounded by Sinop to the east, Bartın, Karabük to the west, Çankırı to the south, Çorum to the southeast and the Black Sea to the north. Its area is 13,064 km2, and its population is 378,115 (2022). The population density is 29 inhabitants per km2. The provincial capital Kastamonu has a population of 128,707 (2022).
Çorum is a province in the Black Sea Region of Turkey, but lying inland and having more characteristics of Central Anatolia than the Black Sea coast. Its area is 12,428 km2, and its population is 524,130 (2022). Its provincial capital is the city of Çorum, the traffic code is 19.
Bolu Province is a province situated in north-western Turkey. It is located between the capital, Ankara, and the largest city in the country, Istanbul. Its area is 8,313 km2, and its population is 320,824 (2022). The capital city of the province is Bolu.
Kastamonu, formerly Kastamone/Castamone and Kastamon/Castamon, is a city in northern Turkey. It is the seat of Kastamonu Province and Kastamonu District. Its population is 125,622 (2021). The city lies at an elevation of 904 m (2,966 ft). It is located in the southern part of the province.
Pompeiopolis was a Roman city in ancient Paphlagonia, identified in the early 19th century with the ruins of Zımbıllı Tepe, located near Taşköprü, Kastamonu Province in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. The exact location is 40 km north-east of Kastamonu and a short distance across the river from modern Taşköprü, in the valley of the Gökırmak or Gök River. The borders of Pompeiopolis reached the Küre mountains to the north, Ilgaz mountains to the south, Halys river to the east and Pınarbaşı valley to the west.
The Danishmendids or Danishmends was a Turkoman Chepni founded beylik that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia from 1071/1075 to 1178. The dynasty centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and Niksar in central-northeastern Anatolia, they extended as far west as Ankara and Kastamonu for a time, and as far south as Malatya, which they captured in 1103. In early 12th century, Danishmends were rivals of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, which controlled much of the territory surrounding the Danishmend lands, and they fought extensively against the Crusaders.
Niksar, historically known as Neocaesarea (Νεοκαισάρεια), is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Niksar District. Its population is 37,017 (2022). It was settled by many empires. Niksar is known as "Çukurova of North-Anatolia" due to its production of many kinds of fruits and vegetables. On May 2, 2018, Niksar was included in the World Heritage tentative list.
Ottoman military bands were the first-recorded military marching bands. Though often known as the mehter, this term refers only to a single musician in the band. In the Ottoman Empire, the band was generally known in the plural as mehterân, though those bands used in the retinue of a vizier or prince were generally known as mehterhâne. The band as a whole is often termed mehter bölüğü or mehter takımı. In Western Europe, the band's music is also often called Janissary music because the janissaries formed the core of the bands.
Turkish folk dances are the folk dances of Turkey. Facing three seas, straddling important trade routes, Turkey has a complex, sophisticated culture, reflected in the variety of its dances. The dominant dance forms are types of line dance. There are many different types of folk dances performed in various ways in Turkey. Zeybek, Teke Zortlatması in Aegean region, Bar in Erzurum province, Halay in the central, southern, eastern, and southeastern parts of the country, Hora in Thrace, Horon in the eastern Black Sea region, Spoon dances in and around Konya, and Lezginka in Kars and Ardahan are some of the best known examples of these.
Durağan is a town in Sinop Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Durağan District. Its population is 7,494 (2022).
İskilip is a district of Çorum Province, Turkey, on the left bank of the River Kızılırmak, located at 56 km from the city of Çorum, 100 miles northeast of Ankara and 60 miles southeast of Kastamonu. It is the seat of İskilip District. Its population is 17,612 (2022). The mayor is Ali Sülük.
The Epic of Koroghlu is a heroic legend prominent in the oral traditions of the Turkic peoples, mainly the Oghuz Turks. The legend typically describes a hero who seeks to avenge a wrong. It was often put to music and played at sporting events as an inspiration to the competing athletes. Koroghlu is the main hero of an epic with the same name in Azerbaijani, Turkmen and Turkish as well as some other Turkic languages. The epic tells about the life and heroic deeds of Koroghlu as a hero of the people who struggled against unjust rulers. The epic combines the occasional romance with Robin Hood-like chivalry.
Bafra is a municipality and district of Samsun Province, Turkey. Covering about 1,500 km2, and with over 140,000 inhabitants it is a settlement located 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Black Sea, in the fertile Kızılırmak Delta. The Bafra Plain is famous in Turkey for its rich soil and high quality tobacco growing conditions. The city is well known in Turkey for its ice cream, cigarettes, tobacco and agricultural produce. The city is located 52 km northwest of Samsun and is connected by State road D.010.
The 1943 Tosya–Ladik earthquake occurred at 01:20 local time on 27 November, near Tosya, Kastamonu Province, in northern Turkey. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 7.5–7.7 and a maximum felt intensity of XI (Catastrophic) on the MSK-64 scale. Its effects were observed for over 45,000 km2. The earthquake was felt in Trabzon, Isparta, Elazığ, Zonguldak and Yozgat. Damage was seen in Kastamonu, Çankırı, Çorum, Amasya, Samsun, Tokat, Sinop and Ordu. As a result of the earthquake, more than 2,500 were killed and 5,000 were injured.
The Vilayet of Kastamonu was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, established in 1867 and abolished in 1922. At the beginning of the 20th century, the vilayet reportedly had an area of 19,300 square miles (50,000 km2), while the preliminary results of the first Ottoman census of 1885 gave the population as 1,009,460. The accuracy of the population figures ranges from "approximate" to "merely conjectural" depending on the region from which they were gathered.
The Boyabat Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Kızılırmak River bordering Sinop and Samsun Provinces, Turkey. It is 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Durağan and 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Boyabat. Construction began in 2008 and the dam and power plant were completed in December 2012. Its primary purpose is to generate hydroelectric power. The dam's power plant has an installed capacity of 513 MW.
Boyabat Castle, is a castle in the town of Boyabat, Sinop Province, Turkey built by the Paphlagonians in antiquity and reconstructed under Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman rule. The castle functions as a museum today.
The Battle of Kırkdilim was fought in July 1391 or 1392 between the Ottoman Ertuğrul Çelebi son of Bayezid I, and Kadi Burhan al-Din, ruler of northeastern Anatolia. The details of the battle are debated: Burhan al-Din's court poet Ibn Ardashir presents Bayezid's campaign being ended by a major victory for his master, which temporarily halted Ottoman expansion in Anatolia, but the contemporary letters of Manuel II Palaiologos, who accompanied Bayezid on his Anatolian campaigns, contain no indications of a major clash, and point to the expedition having been an Ottoman success overall.