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ESKİ ÇARŞI
We can date the known history of Safranbolu, located in the region called Paphlagonia in history in the northwestern part of Anatolia, to 3000 BC. In this region between the Kızılırmak and Filyos rivers, the Hittites, Phrygians, indirectly the Lydians, Persians, Hellenistic Kingdoms (Ponds), Romans, Seljuks, Çabanoğulları, Candaroğulları and the Ottoman Empire continued to rule. The hill where Safranbolu Castle, today's City History Museum or the old Government House is located, came under the definitive sovereignty of the Turks, Seljuk Sultan II. It was passed by Kılıçarslan's son Melik Muhiddin Mesut in 1196.
We can date the known history of Safranbolu, located in the region called Paphlagonia in history in the northwestern part of Anatolia, to 3000 BC. In this region between the Kızılırmak and Filyos rivers, the Hittites, Phrygians, indirectly the Lydians, Persians, Hellenistic Kingdoms (Ponds), Romans, Seljuks, Çabanoğulları, Candaroğulları and the Ottoman Empire continued to rule. The hill where Safranbolu Castle, today's City History Museum or the old Government House is located, came under the definitive sovereignty of the Turks, Seljuk Sultan II. It was passed by Kılıçarslan's son Melik Muhiddin Mesut in 1196.
These notes of Batuta are especially valuable due to their verbal description of the castle Safranbolu as a military base, Kalealtı settlement and Cami-i Kebir districts. Indeed, in 1326, Candaroğlu Süleyman Pasha took Safranbolu under his rule and gifted the town the oldest surviving religious and civil structures of Safranbolu, such as baths, madrasahs and mosques, which we can still see today.
The first capture of Safranbolu by the Ottomans was probably carried out in 1354 by Şehzade Gazi Süleyman Pasha, the son of the Ottoman Sultan Osman Bey. After this date, Safranbolu changed hands again between the Ottomans and Candaroğulları. In 1423, during the reign of Sultan Murad II, Ottoman sovereignty was definitively established in the region and Safranbolu was annexed to the Bolu Sanjak as a town.
We can date the known history of Safranbolu, located in the region called Paphlagonia in history in the northwestern part of Anatolia, to 3000 BC. In this region between the Kızılırmak and Filyos rivers, the Hittites, Phrygians, indirectly the Lydians, Persians, Hellenistic Kingdoms (Ponds), Romans, Seljuks, Çabanoğulları, Candaroğulları and the Ottoman Empire continued to rule. The hill where Safranbolu Castle, today's City History Museum or the old Government House is located, came under the definitive sovereignty of the Turks, Seljuk Sultan II. It was passed by Kılıçarslan's son Melik Muhiddin Mesut in 1196.
Safranbolu has changed hands between various civilizations throughout history, as well as between the Turks and the Byzantines, and even between the Turkish principalities and the Ottomans. The oldest information we can follow about this process about Safranbolu is from archive documents and especially traveler notes. For example, like Ibn Batuta's travel notes. On the Safranbolu leg of his Anatolian trip in 1332, Batuta recorded his stay at Safranbolu Castle and the rest where he listened to the Holy Quran in his travel notes. In fact, Candaroğlu conveyed his meeting with Ali Bey, the son of "Süleyman Sultan", in a short but descriptive way for us.
To summarize, Safranbolu consisted of two districts during the Ottoman period. The first is "Medine-i Taraklı Borlu" located in the center (which is today's historical Safranbolu), the other is "Yörükan-ı Taraklı Borlu", which we know today as Yörük Village. In 1811, these two sanjaks were abolished and Sultan II. Viranşehir sanjak was established during the reign of Mahmud. The center of this sanjak was Safranbolu. In 1870, the administrative structure in the Ottoman Empire was reorganized, and within this framework, Safranbolu was made a district and connected to the Kastamonu sanjak. In the same year, the municipality was established and the first Mayor was Hacı Muhammed Ağa.
Safranbolu was annexed to Zonguldak Province in 1927. Ulus Sub-district, which is affiliated with Safranbolu, was separated from Safranbolu in 1945, and Eflani and Karabük Sub-districts were separated from Safranbolu and became a district in 1953. However, with the establishment of Turkey's first heavy iron industry in Karabük in 1937, Karabük showed rapid development and Karabük became the 78th province of Turkey in 1995, and Safranbolu was connected to Karabük.
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