Kastamonu
Encyclopedia
Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province
Kastamonu Province
Kastamonu Province is one of the provinces of Turkey, in the Black Sea region, to the north of the country. It is surrounded by Sinop to the east, Bartın and Karabük to the west, Çankırı to the south, Çorum to the south east and the Black Sea to the north....

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. (Population of the urban center in 2010 is 91,012)The district covers an area of 1834 km² (708 sq mi), and the town lies at an elevation of 904 m (2,966 ft). It is located to the south of the province.

Near the city (approximately 10 miles) is the village of Kasaba
Kasaba
Kasaba or Kasabaköy is a small town 17 kilometres from Kastamonu, Turkey. Its population in 1905 was about 23,000, but the village has shrunk to only a few dozen households. The town does not occupy any ancient site of importance but there is a mosque, the Mahmut Bey Camii, built by a...

 with an important mosque, the Mahmut Bey mosque, from 1366, built in the Seljuk
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...

 tradition. It is considered to be one of the finest wooden mosques in Turkey. The door has excellent woodcarving.

History

The city is believed to have been founded in the 18th century BC. The town was known as Timonion during the Roman period. Within the region, Romans founded a city of Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia
Paphlagonia was an ancient area on the Black Sea coast of north central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and separated from Phrygia by a prolongation to the east of the Bithynian Olympus...

 at the town Taşköprü
Tasköprü
Taşköprü is a town and district of Kastamonu Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 43,800 of which 16,181 live in the town of Taşköprü. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of .The town takes its name...

 which is nowadays famous for its garlic production.

Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1057 to 1059, and the first reigning member of the Komnenos dynasty...

, who was son of an humble Thracian
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

 soldier, received from Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...

 the fief and built here a fortress named Kastra Komneni that would become the seat of the imperial house.

The Dress Code Revolution started at Kastamonu by Atatürk on August 23, 1925. Atatürk made his historical speech concerning about the "Hat and Dress Revolution" in 1925 at his visit to Kastamonu at Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi building. The building is now used as Archeological Museum. The materials used by Atatürk in his Kastamonu visit are also exhibited in the museum.

Education

Kastamonu is home to Kastamonu University
Kastamonu University
Kastamonu University is a public university located in Kastamonu and some of its districts, Turkey. It was established in 2006 after some colleges and schools in Kastamonu, which were administered by Ankara University and Gazi University, were gathered under one institution.-History:The university...

, which was established in 2006 by incorporating existing colleges, schools and institutes that were previously under Ankara University
Ankara University
Ankara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....

 and Gazi University
Gazi University
Gazi University is a public university primarily located in Ankara, Turkey.It was established in 1926 by Kemal Atatürk as Gazi Teacher Training Institute...

.
Notable high schools in Kastamonu are:
  • Abdurrahman Paşa Lisesi, also known as Kastamonu Lisesi, the first modern high school that was established in Anatolia
    Anatolia
    Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

     in late Ottoman Empire
    Ottoman Empire
    The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

    .
  • Kastamonu Mustafa Kaya Lisesi, an Anatolian high school, one of the most successful high schools in Turkey
    Turkey
    Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

     outside Istanbul
    Istanbul
    Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

    , Ankara
    Ankara
    Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

     and Izmir
    Izmir
    Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...

    .

Climate

Kastamonu has a warm-summer humid continental climate
Humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....

 with cold winters and warm summers. The average annual precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with spring being the wettest season.

Notable natives

  • Iovan Tsaous
    Iovan Tsaous
    Iovan Tsaous , , was a Greek musician and composer of rebetiko songs from Pontus. His real name was Yiannis Eitziridis or Etseiridis .-Biography:...

     (Yiannis Eitziridis) (1893-1942) Greek musician and composer
  • Şaban Veli (1499-1569) Sufi Saint
  • Erol Sayan (1936-) Turkish classical music composer and theoritician
  • Oğuz Atay
    Oguz Atay
    Oğuz Atay was a pioneer of the modern novel in Turkey. His first novel, Tutunamayanlar , appeared 1971-72. Never reprinted in his lifetime and controversial among critics, it has become a best-seller since a new edition came out in 1984...

    Novelist

External links

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