New Year’s day and Feast of Sacrifice celebrations on Monday, January 1, 2007

Safranbolu, one of eight sites in Turkey in the ‘’World Heritage List’’, was taken under protection with the 12 June 1975 declaration of the Safranbolu City Council. The same year, a ‘’Cultural and Folk Music Festival’’ was held that lasted for three days. The festival and one of the earliest documentaries produced in 1976, ‘’Safranbolu’da Zaman’’, made the town famous, not only in Turkey, but around the world as well. UNESCO, which adopted the ‘’World Heritage Convention’’ in 1971, recognized Safranbolu as a cultural center in 1991 (1). Therefore, Safranbolu has become a center of attraction for many visitors to Turkey, and New year’s day was no exception; the town was full of many tourists, including many from Japan.

Safranbolu,a picturesque country town in a valley in the north-western region of Turkey, is famous for its Ottoman style houses with large windows, gardens full of fruit trees and beautiful flowers, watered from the pools and fountains that grace the gardens. Some even have the fountain right in their living rooms, like the one at the ‘’Havuzlu Aslanlar Konak’’, which was restored to its original style and converted to a hotel by the Toruing and Automobile Club of Turkey. Most are renovated houses that date back to 18th and 19th century. There are over 2,000 historical houses with over 1,200 under legal protection, most if not all built in such a way that they don’t block the view of each other.

Safranbolu has been known with different names since its founding almost 5,000 years ago. The region was called ‘’Paplogonya’’ in the epics of Homer in ancient times, which was dominated by Hittites, Phyrigians, Persians, Romans, Selcuk Turks, Candarogullari (the ancestors of the famous TV commentator and writer Cengiz Candar), and finally, the Ottomans. The Turks came to Safranbolu in the 12th century under Selcuk Sultan Kilicarslan’s son Muhittin Mesut Shah and named the town ‘’Zalifre’’, a name given to one of the newest hotels there now. Its present name reflects the ‘’Saffron -Safran’’ plant grown in several villages nearby which is famous for its colour, smell and financial value (Photo 1)

Safranbolu consists of three sections: the winter section called 'Carsi, the summer section called ‘’Baglar’’ and ‘’Kirankoy’’ in the middle where the Armenians and the Greeks used to live before the population exchange in 1924. The three story stone and wooden house that my grandfather bought had a magnificient view of the town and the famous clock tower located on the hill near the old Municipality building. There are many historical places, including the Castle, Cinci Hoca Hani, Izzettin Pasa and Koprulu Mehmet Mosques, Arasta Bazaar, and Incekaya Aquaductv(Photo 2)

New Year’s day and Feast of the Sacrifice celebrations on January 1, 2007

Although I was not born in Safranbolu, I grew up there (after my father moved there as a government employee in 1938) and attended the elementary school in all three sections of the town in the late forties. I left Safranbolu in 1957, almost 50 years ago, to pursue my education in the United States, following in the footsteps of my older brother, Sevgin, who was already enrolled at Antioch College in Yellow Springs Ohio, a liberal arts college, recommended by one of our former Tarsus American College teachers, Dr. Frank Stone (2). Over the years, I made many trips to Safranbolu with friends and family members, including a visit during the 1975 festival and also the 2005 festival.

In 1957, the population of Safranbolu was around 20,000. Many have left Safranbolu, including many to Karabuk, Istanbul and Ankara and even to America. However, with the new people migrating from the villages, the population of Safranbolu has grown to around 30,000, increasing over the weekends when people from the surrounding towns and villages come for shopping.

Karabuk

The wheat fields in Kirankoy have been filled with apartments and Safranbolu has grown towards Karabuk, home of the first Iron and Steel Mill built in 1937 and privatized as Kardemir. Karabuk, an industrial city dependent on the economy created by the Kardemir and the side factories, used to be a subdistrict of Safranbolu until 1995 when it was made a province which also resulted in Karabuk replacing Safranbolu on the highway signs. The Governor of Karabuk, Can Direkci, is pursuing a plan to develop a ski center at the famous ‘’Keltepe’’ mountain where snow is present almost year around, and has met with Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin, originally from Safranbolu, for his help in the realization of this project. The State Hydraulis Works (DSI) is working on the development of a small hydroelectric power plant near Ovacik, a subdistrict of Karabuk.

The Muesum on Pharmacy at the new Cultural Center of Safranbolu

After a quick tour of Karabuk and a stop at the Karabuk Railroad Station, (the origin of our travels to Kayseri and Tarsus), I drove to Baglar to visit Hikmet Seyhoglu in Baglar, the owner of the first pharmacies in Karabuk and Safranbolu, still looking over the activities of the pharmacies and cultural events at the age of 85. Mrs. Seyhoglu donated everything from her pharmacy in Karabuk to Yeditepe University in Istanbul which established a ‘’Karabuk Museum of Pharmacy.’’ (3) Since it was the second day of ‘’Kurban bayrami’’, Hikmet hanim’s house was full of visitors, most from Safranbolu, some even with children living in the United States. Hikmet Hanim offered everyone Safranbolu’s famous ‘’Su Boregi and Ev Baklavasi’’. It was truly a holiday celebration with many old timers visiting and telling their stories of Safranbolu in a house full of books, photographs, memories and several cats, which Hikmet Hanim said she picks up from the streets to feed.

Safir Konak, Hotel and Restaurant, in Baglar

Safranbolu has in recent years received a large media coverage raising considerable narional and international interest. Many mansions are being converted to hotels and tourist homes, offering excellent services to tourists. SAFIR is the latest tourist home that opened its doors only six months ago after going through renovations for three years. The guesthouse was full, but the owners were kind enough to offer me a room in their own house when Hikmet Hanim called to make reservations. Only in Turkey. The guesthouse is located at ‘’Koyici’’ section of Baglar and has a restaurant which stays open late. There was live music at the small, but colorful restaurant, where the guests sand many songs, some to the tune of famous Turkish drum (davul.)

Emine Hanim Konagi

One of the old mansions which was being converted to a guesthouse during the festival of 2001 was the ‘’Emine Hanim Konagi’’ , located next to the famous ARASTA bazaar next to the Koprulu Mehmet Pasa mosque in Carsi. The owners, parents of three girls and a boy, moved to Safranbolu from nearby village, Ovacik, and used to keep a cow in the lower floor of the mansion until a few years ago. I stayed there after a young student, one of the daughters, gave me the address card.The renovation of the manison, where visitors from around Turkey and several foreign countries have stayed in the past, is almost complete, with a room reserved for a library to ve established in the future.

The Library at the Koprulu Mehmet Pasa Mosque Complex

The central feature of Safranbolu, as is the case in many historical Turkish towns, is the mosque, with public bath houses, called hamams, one story shops located nearby. The famous building in the Koprulu Mehmet Pasa mosque complex which used to house the town’s first library and very old books has been converted to Metin Sozen Reserach Center, honoring the legendary architect who made Safranbolu famous, among many other towns in Turkey, including Agirnas, the town near Kayseri where Architect Sinan was born.In fact, I wrote my first essay in the elementary school on famous buldings of safranbolu at this library.

Books on Safranbolu

There are many books on Safranbolu, written by the residents of the historical town and visitors who have fallen in love with ‘’the green valley.’’ Following is a list of only a few:

1. Safranbolu , Celik Gulersoy. Text in Turkish and English with many photographs, 1997

2. Safranbolu’da Bir Zaman; Bir Baskan.. (1974 – 1980, Kiziltan Ulukavak, the Mayor who put Safranbolu on the map. 2005

3. Turkiye’de Mimarlik Degerlerinin Korunmasinda Ilk Adimlar – Safranbolu, 1975 - 1980, Aytekin Kus

4. Turk Ev Gelenegi ve Safranbolu Evleri, Reha Gunay, 1998

5. Dunu ve Bugunuyle Safranbolu, Unsal Tuncozgur, 1999

6. Safranbolu – Tarihce, Kaynaklar, Hulusi Yazicioglu, 1982

7. Safranbolu Tarihine Ait Belgeler ve Kaynaklar, Hulusi Yazicioglu, 1998

Safranbolu Hizmet Birligi publishes a newspaper, Muzekent Safranbolu Gazetesi every three months. In addition, there are several other local newspapers published daily and weekly.

6th Int. Golden Safran Documentary Film Festival, 9 – 11 September, 2005

When one of my old classmates from Columbia Universtiy told me that they were planning a trip to Safranbolu, I joined them, since there was also a festival at the time. The Culture and Folk Music Festival of the 70s and the 80s gave way to the ‘’Safran Documentary festival’’ in the late 90s, which is held in September every year. WE drove and made the ususal stop at Koru Oteli just before Bolu for breakfast, located near the Istanbul – Ankara highway, 220 kms from ýstanbul. From Koru Hotel to Safranbolu, the distance is around 170 kms, which is a comfortable drive on the almost completed dual two lane highway.

The Opening Ceremonies

On Friday, September 9, the dignitaries, the fesitival participants and the organizers gathered at the ‘’Koyici’’ square in front of the of the old high school building and the cortege walked to the ‘’Ataturk Square’’ in Kirankoy, a distance of 2.2 kilometers, with a large Turkish flag and the same size portrait of Ataturk at the front. The festival was given an official start by the Mayor which was followed by a concert of the ‘’Mehter Taikim’’, the famous Ottoman Military band, sent from the Konya Municipality. People of all ages, including young girls, some with headsrarves, listened to the music and talked to each other.

Friday night at 20:00 PM, Tayfun Talipoglu, the creator of the popular TV series ‘’Bam Teli’’, took to the stage at the Arslanlar Cultural Center (AKM) and made one of his now famous remarks about the many festivals that take place all over Turkey (close to 2500 according to the last count.) ‘’This is different from all the others,’’ Talipoglu said, ‘’the 3 day festival and tonight’s celebration is about and from the people of Safranbolu.’’ Than he told the audience that, although he was not born here, he considered himself a true Safranbolu’lu, referring to his many visits earlier (2). He said that the children would leave the place tonight with many memories, which he said, was important in a country where many grow without any memories. The simple open air auditorium with a large photograph of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk between two Turkish flags was packed to capacity, with many standing outside, waiting for the large group of dancers from Greece, a first for a town where Greeks used to live before the population exchange in 1924, to join their friends from Turkey, The Republic of North Cyprus and Kazakistan, for a great performance.

The program started with a group of players and dancers in historical attire singing and performing local dances, including both young and old men. This was followed with a performance by beautiful ladies dressed in kaftans, staging a typical ‘’kina gecesi’’, singing and dancing and teaching a few lessons to the bride. In between, the group members were presented with awards which were handed by the governors and the mayor of Safranbolu.

After a short break, Talipoglu invited the Governor of Karabuk (Vali), the Governor of Safranbolu (Kaymakam), the Mayor of Safranbolu, two members of the Pariament from Karabuk, Mehmet Ceylan and Hasan Bilir, to make speeches. They all thanked the organizers of the festival and reminded the audience that the first festival that took place in 1975 was organized by Kiiziltan Ulukavak who was the Mayor of Safranbolu from 1975 to 1980. The speakers also told the audience that Safranbolu had been designated as one of the ‘’Cultural World Heritage Center’’ by UNESCO in 1994 after it was taken under legal protection by the Ministry of Culture in 1976. During the meeting of the ‘’Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) in Rhodes in 2003, Safranbolu was included among the 20 best preserved towns in the world. The message given by each speaker was that Safranbolu was an Open Air Museum for those who would like to make a journey into the past.

After lighting the ‘’Festival Torch’’ and a short break (around 22:30), folk dancers from Greece, Kazakistan and Turkish Republic of North Cyprus delighted the audience with their beuatiful dances and songs. It was close to midnigh when the show ended and many visitors went to the beautiful homes in Baglar and Carsi, tured into hotels and pansiyons, guesthouses.

The Documentary Films

Documentary films, starting with a film on ‘’Koy Enstutuleri’’ was shown all day and a panel presentation was made on ‘’Safranbolu.’’ Before the panel, we met some of the organizers, including two sisters who were working as volunteers. One was wearing a turban. They told us that they were members of a youth organization, ‘’Sevgi Gonulluleri Dernegi - Affection Volunteers Association’’ which provides services to the poor and sick.

Following the panel and the opening reception at the ‘’Konuk Evi’’, the guests went to the AKM for the concerts that took plcae on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

Photography Exhibitions

There were several painting and photography exhibitions in different centers, including the famous ‘’Cinci Hoca Hani’’ which is now an excellent hotel. The impressive building was established by the Cinci Hodja who was the Kazasker (Chief Military Judge) at the time of Sultan Ibrahim between 1649 and 1648. The best photography exhibition was by Gulcan, a free lance photographer who used to work at the Safranbolu Tourism Bureau.

There were also a nature walk to the famous ‘’Bulak caves’’ and country celebrations and childrens programs. It was truly a wonderful festival for the people of Safranbolu of all ages and their guests. My friends truly enjoyed themselves and bought many objects from Safranbolu, including haouse models, and plenty of ‘’Turkish delight’’ and helva.

Notes:

(1)Over 130 states are parties to the convention and the list has grown to over 650 monuments and sites around the world. The other sites in Turkey include Istanbul, Pamukkale, Hattusa (Bogazkoy), Goreme – Cappodacia, The Great mosque and Hospital at Divrigi (Sivas), Nemrud Dagi, Xantos and Letoon near Fethiye.

(2)Tayfun Talipoglu’s photographs are exhibited permanently at one of the mansions in Safranbolu.

(3) Prof. Dr. Frank Stone has written extensively on the American Educational Institutes in Turkey, established by the American Board of Missionaries beginning in the late 1860s. Their story is told in Dr. Stone’s two books: My father became aware of the American High Schools from Hikmet hanim whose brother, the late Hulusi Derman was studying, where my brothers Sevgin and Erol also attended.

Yuksel Oktay, PE

January 6, 2007, Istanbul