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 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.

It is within the Mevlevi Convent at Konya. The first convent was built by Bedreddin from Tabriz in 1274. It has been expanded and restored to gain the form we have at present. The Turbe (mausoleum) rests of four pillars and is 25 m. high. The body of the Turbe is observed to be in the form of a 16 foil cylindir and 16 foil conical cap. The body and cap are covered with turquoise tiles. For this reason the dome is referred to as the “Green Dome”. The Turbe contains 65 groves of various relatives and flowers of Mevlana together with himself. The pencilworks of the Turbe are also of great valve.

The idea of constructing such a structure was originated from the will of Sultan-ul Ulema Bahaeddin Veledin, father of Mevlana, when he wanted to be burried there after his death in 1230 and the structure turn out to take its shape as a single tomb was built upon his grave. After the death of Mevlana,a tomb was built there by Pervane Muiniddin and his wife Gurcu Hatun. The tomb has taken its current dervish convent structre as further religious and social architectural additions were carried out.

Succeeding to the death of Mevlana that is from 1273 improvements as to the dervish convent building continued and it was converted into a museum after the Proclamation of the Republic. In the museum there are properties belonging to Mevlana and other dervishes as well as valuable samples of hand-painted erchiefs, handwritings, ornaments, wooden works of art and instruments of the Mevlevi music, carpets and pileless carpets. The most appealing section of the tomb is the Kubbe-i Hadra (Green Vault) above the graves of Hz. Mevlana and his son Sultan Veledin.

Inside of the structure built by Architect Bedreddin during Seljuk Period in 1396 is coated with green tiles.The inner walls of the tomb was embellished with plaster relief and designs. The sarcophagus of Hz. Mevlana is one of the superior samples of wooden crafts of the period.Yet this high sarcophagus is above that of his father Sultan-ul Ulema Bahaeddin Veledin’s. On the north side of the tomb, there are Semahane( where Mevlevi dervishes perform the sema) and a small mosque constructed by Kanuni Sultan Suleyman in 16th century.

Seb-i Aruz Pool, on the other hand, is before the kitchen of the dervish convent. Within the frame of the annual commemoration ceremonies organized in the name of Mevlana, whirling dances of the Mevlevi dervishes (sema) around the pool are performed in certain days called as Seb-i Aruz (Feast Day). Since the death of Hz. Mevlana was considered as a reunion with God, these days have been renamed as feast days.