Category: Heritage

Ironmongers, which even today exist in the market area, were in a well established branch of activity in the old days. Farming equipment, metal parts of harnesses, tools for wood and leather working, household utensils, tools and building elements such as axes, adzes, gimlets, hammers, nails, screws, hinges, locks, door handles, door knocks, iron hooks for window shutters latches and hooks etc… used in building construction were manufactured in the ironmongers’ market.

Coppersmiths
Safranbolu was the copper market of the area. The shops which sell ready-made copperware today formerly produced all these themselves.

Saddlers and Leather Workers: Horses and donkeys which were important means of transport were used in great numbers in and Safranbolu 46. For this reason saddle and harness making was a common field of production. The producers of saddles and harnesses were gathered in two separate streets in the carsi, called “semerciler ici” and “saraclar ici”, names denoting the crafts excersised within. It is known that in 1923 there were 120 people engaged in saddle-making.

There still are a few saddle-makers today .

Farriers
As each household owned at least one or two saddle-horses, there was a sufficient number of farriers engaged in horse-shoeing.

The most significant area of production in Safranbolu was leather and leather goods. There is no records as to when leather production actually began in Safranbolu. It can be assumed however that the valley of the Tabakhane stream has been used for leather-tannig, being extremely suitable from many aspects: the topography both conceals the unattractive sight of the tannery and prevents the unpleasent odours from reaching the mean settlement areas while the stream provides a natural recipient for contaminated water. The Ottomans were at a considerably advenced level in leater manufacturing until the end of the 18th century.

Mordtmann notes that leather manufacturing had an economic value for Safranbolu in 1852 and 84 tanneries are listed in 1890. Considering that the population was around 7500 during the same period, leather tanning appears to be a very intensive area of manufacture. Being somewhat protected from external influences along with the delayed impact of industrialization on leather manufacturing this line of production continued to prosper in Safranbolu up to the middle of the 20th century. Although the guilds were abolished by law in 1910 it was quite some time before their influence within the traditions died out.

Later the export of partly treated leather to Europe became profitable and many a rich merchant emerged from amongst those in this trade. According to the booklet published by the Safranbolu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 415 workers were employed in a hundred tanneries. 430 people worked as shoe-makers, slipper-makers and in leather tailoring. Semi-manufactured leather of various kinds, graded from very fine to coarse leather worth 84.600 Ottoman liras were exported while 17.900 Ottoman liras worth of glazed and patent leather was imported from Europe. Hides of cows, bulls, goats and sheep worth 56.000 Ottoman liras were purchased from the area. There were 16 merchants dealing in leather goods in general and 5 merchants dealing specifically in footwear.

During the same years the Safranbolu Tanners Company was about to complete a leather factory which unfortunately functioned for only a very short period. The change of fashion in footwear and the mass production of less costly rubber shoes for the villagers decreased the importance of shoe making. The semi-manufactured leather products products could not compete with the products of the factories established in various places in Anatolia. Finally, the establishment of the nearby Iron and Steel Factory nearly brought an end leather manufacturing.

The Tannery: It is situated within a valley along a stream, the Tabakhane which means tannery. It has its own mosque and coffee-house . The chemical content of the water springing from beneath the mosque is suitable for tanning. The hides left in natural or man-made pits alongside the valley mature within a certain period of time. Tanning is a time consuming and wearying job. Those working in this field were organised within the guild system.

The best raw hides gathered from the area were transformed into leather of the finest quality after being treated. Traditional methods were employed in leather treatement. Today there are two workshops using the traditional methods which operate from time to time along with two others utilizing machinery. The leather treated in the tanneries was purchased by the shoemakers, saddlers and manufacturers of leather goods.

The Location of Safranbolu and Its Neighbouring Provinces, Sub-provincesand Villages
Safranbolu is a sub-provincial centre in the north-western Black Sea region, located at the cross-section of the 41°16′ northern latitude and 32°41′ eastern longitude. According to the present administrative system the neighbouring provinces are: Zonguldak, Kastamonu, Cankiri, Bolu; and the sub-provinces are: Karabuk, Eflani, Ulus, Bartin, Arac, Eskipazar, Bulak, Tokatli, Gayiza (Incekaya), Danakoy, Ciftlik, Kirpe (Duzce), Yazi, Konari, Yuruk, Akveren, Ogulveren, Davutobasi, cercen, Hacilarobasi, Bostanbuku, Karit, Baskoy, Kilavuzlar and Kapullu are some of the villages in the same region. Among these Bulak, Tokatli, Gayiza, Danakoy, Yazi, Konari, Yuruk, Karit, Bostanbuku and Kilavuzlar are of special significance to Safranbolu (Safranbolu Map). Yuruk village has long been an important centre close to Safranbolu, with its large houses and the labour it supplies to Istanbul, primarily in bakery.

Sources of Building Materials

Stone
The stone used in building construction is obtained from the limestone rocks in the area. This hard, blue stone is utilized also for the manufacture of good quality lime. Another local material, “kufunk”, a porous, lightweight stone is used as infill in the wood-frame construction and also for building chimneys; being easily sawed into shape.

Adobe
Although every type of soil could be used in making adobe, those made out of the soil brought specifically from Koprucek were preferred.

Tiles
Roof tiles were hand-shaped in the villages of cercen, Bostanbuku and camlica, and burnt in kilns.

Wood .
Looking at the houses in Safranbolu we can see that very good quality wood has been generously used. Even today, more than half of the surrounding area is covered with forests. We can definitely say that this ratio was much higher in the old days. Today, 38 percent of the trees within the Karabuk Forestry Management Area are firs, 30 percent beeches, 20 percent pines and 9 percent oaks.

Wood used in construction is mainly fir and pine; walnut and poplar have also been used sparingly. Orders for the required wood for buildings were made to mountain villages such as Gayiza, Tokatlikoy, Danakoy, Karaevli, Susundur, Aricak and Baskoy. They shaped the lumber which they had already felled with axes, and then fastening them to sides of mules brought it down mountain trails. Oxen pulled down the thicker trees. Wood was cut either with hand saws or at saw-mills. In the first half of the 20th century there were three saw-mills in Danakoy.

Mortars Lime: Good quality lime is produced from the blue limestones in the area which are burned in the forest land near Gayiza.

Mud mortar: It is produced from every type of soil in the same way as adobe clay is prepared.

Historical Buildings of Significance
No records have yet been encountered regarding any buildings from the Byzantine times in Safranbolu. Probably, the Hagios Stephanos church (Ulucami) in Kirankoy was built by Theodora. The Eski Cami mosque may have been transformed from a Byzantine church. The remains of buildings belonging to the Turks start from the Candarogullari period. These have undergone various repairs and transformations through time. Only the most significant buildings are listed below.

Religious Buildings
There are around 30 mosques. The oldest one is the Suleyman Pasa Camii (Eski Cami) mosque from the Candarogullari period (14th century). The other most important ones are Koprulu Mehmet Pasa mosque (1662), Izzet Mehmet Pasa mosque (1779).

Educational Buildings
The Suleyman Pasa Madrasa (14th century) of which only the foundations exist today, is the only educational building worth noting.

Social Buildings
Cinci Hoca Hani (Cinci Hodja Caravanserai 17th century), Eski Hamam (Old Baths 14th century), Yeni Hamam (New Baths, 17th century). In addition to these buildings, approximately 180 fountains and 15 bridges can be listed. Looking at these structures, we can assume that Safranbolu began to gain signifiance in the 14th century. It attracted the attention of some prominent statesmen starting from the 17th century through the 18th century; and since then, with the increase in its own economic power, continued to add many more buildings, mostly small mosques and fountains, to the existing stock.