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Boyabat

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Overview

Boyabat is a town in Sinop Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Boyabat District. Its population is 29,093 (2022). 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.

Facts

Rank

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Coordinates

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Source

WBP almanac

External sources

Wikivoyage Wikipedia

Media

From Wikipedia891 words

WBP editorial3

Beyond the market: a walk through Boyabat’s artisan quarters

While the town’s central market draws the bulk of daily commerce, a short stroll eastward leads to a cluster of family workshops that have quietly kept traditional wood‑carving and copper‑smithing alive for generations. Here, artisans still hand‑craft the delicate motifs that once adorned Ottoman interiors, using techniques passed down through apprenticeships that rarely appear in guidebooks. Visitors can watch a master turn a block of walnut into a intricately lattice‑worked plate, then purchase the piece directly from the maker, bypassing the usual middlemen. The ambience is punctuated by the scent of fresh timber and the rhythmic clang of hammer on metal, offering a tactile insight into the region’s enduring craft heritage.

Seasonal rhythms on the Gökırmak banks

The Gökırmak valley frames Boyabat’s life, and its seasonal pulse shapes the town’s character more than any calendar event. In early spring, the river swells with melt‑water, flooding low‑lying fields and prompting local farmers to plant the first rows of barley and wheat. By late summer, the banks become a quiet retreat for picnickers seeking respite from the heat, and small tea stalls open, serving steaming çay brewed over charcoal. Autumn brings a gentle haze that mirrors the golden grain fields, while the evenings are marked by the distant call to prayer echoing off the surrounding Isfendiyar foothills. Understanding these rhythms helps travellers appreciate why the town’s tempo shifts subtly throughout the year.

Connecting the dots: Boyabat as a logistical crossroads

Strategically perched between the Black Sea coast and the interior Anatolian plains, Boyabat functions as an informal conduit for freight moving between the port of Samsun and inland manufacturing hubs. This role has nurtured a modest but efficient network of family‑run transport cooperatives that specialise in moving agricultural produce, timber, and ceramics. Travelers interested in a glimpse of contemporary Turkish logistics can arrange a short ride with one of these operators, witnessing the loading of cargo onto ageing yet reliable trucks that wind through the winding mountain passes. The experience offers a practical perspective on how regional economies interlock, far beyond the postcard images of castles and bazaars.

Introduction

Municipality in Sinop, TurkeyBoyabatMunicipalityBoyabatLocation in TurkeyCoordinates: 41°27′55″N 34°46′15″E / 41.46528°N 34.77083°E / 41.46528; 34.77083CountryTurkeyProvinceSinopDistrictBoyabatGovernment • MayorHasan Kara (YRP)Elevation330 m (1,080 ft)Population (2022)29,093Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)Postal code57200Area code0368ClimateCfbWebsitewww.boyabat.bel.tr Boyabat Castle Market of Boyabat Basalt columns in Boyabat Boyabat is a town in Sinop Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Boyabat District. Its population is 29,093 (2022). 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.

History

[edit] 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.

Today

[edit] 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. 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 to the music of zurna. Another Boyabat tradition kept alive is the whole grilled lamb kebab 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. 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. 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.