Everything about Kastamonu Province totally explained
Kastamonu 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.
Statistics
The province has an area of 13,108 km², and a population of 322,759 people (2006 est). The population was 376,725 people in 2000. The
population density is 24.62 inhabitants per km². The province center has a population of 64,606.
Districts
Kastamonu province is divided into 20
districts (capital district in
bold):
History
It isn't definitely known when Kastamonu was first founded. However, some sources dating back to the Early
Middle Ages refer to the province. There are also some archeological findings dating back to about 100,000 years that suggest the region was inhabited then.
There are theories that the word Kastamonu derives from
Castra Comnenus, the Latin name of the
Byzantine castle built by the
Comnenus dynasty.
With the weakening of the
Macedon kings, the whole
Paphlagonia and
Bithynia regions were engulfed by the newly formed
Pontus kingdom. After the fall of the Pontus kingdom in
first century BC, the area was incorporated by the
Roman Empire by joining Paphlagonia with Bithynia. The capitol center of this new city-state was
Pompeiopolis, of which the remains still stand near
Taşköprü District in Kastamonu.
The region went then under the hegemony of the
Seljuk dynasty
11th century CE, followed by the
Danishmends, the
Byzantines during the
crusades, Çobanoğlu and
Çandaroğlu beyliks. The
Ottoman sultan Beyazid I conquered the province in 1392 however, following his capture and death in
Battle of Ankara, the area was granted back to the Çandaroğlu by the
Mongol warlord
Timur Lenk. Ottoman sultan
Mehmed II incorporated the region back to the empire in
1461.
During the Ottoman reign, the province boundaries were expanded up to reach
Istanbul. The sultan's heirs were often sent to rule the province as governors to gain experience.
After the
First World War, during the battles of the
Turkish War of Independence, Kastamonu played an important role in the supply of ammunition and troops to the
İnebolu-
Ankara front, transporting the war machines that would arrive to İnebolu by sea from
Istanbul and the
Soviets. When the
Greeks noticed this activity, the İnebolu port was bombarded from the sea on
June 9,
1921.
Highlights
The province is mostly covered with forests, thanks to the mild Black Sea climate. The
Ilgaz National Park where a micro-climate dominates due to the mountainous terrain and numerous streams is 63 km south the province center
Kastamonu. There is also a ski-center with accommodation facilities located near the park.
Ilgaz Mountain (highest peak 2587 m) dominates the south of the province where hiking and
whitewater rafting is possible at the
Ilgaz Stream. The
Ilgarini cave at
Cide, the Alinca underground cave at
Kure, and the
International Equestrian Tourism Center of
Daday are other attractions worth seeing.
There's a 12th-century Byzantine castle, the 13th-century
Atabey Mosque and the
Ibni Neccar Mosque also located in the province. The
Mahmut Bey Mosque, located in the village of
Kasaba is known for its elegant wood carvings.
Gideros Bay,13 km to Cide is a holiday resort with pensions and fish restaurants.
The ruins of the Roman city-state
Pompeiopolis are found near Taşköprü.
Kastamonu also has many mansions, which are traditionally built with an architectural style unique to this region. Many of these mansions have been restored following a declaration by the local government in 2000, in order to preserve the historical texture.
Economy
According to the 2000 census, 77.5% of the labor force is occupied in
agriculture. This ratio is higher than the country average. The second largest sector is public and private
services (8.9%).
Almost all of the arable land has permanent crops. The agricultural products make up about of 0,01% of the total in Turkey. A large portion of the agricultural produce consists of
cereals. Thanks to its wide forest areas (a total of 57% of the surface area),
forestry is also an important industry. Industries largely consist of manufacturing of forestry, agriculture and mining products.
Underground resources include
copper,
mercury,
iron ore,
chromium,
manganese,
asbestos,
bauxite,
graphite,
phosphate,
kaolinite,
clay,
limestone,
quartz,
marble,
magnesite,
fire clay,
coal and
nickel. There are also some natural thermal and mineral water springs of which a few are suitable for economic investments.
Kastamonu shares about 0.4% of the GDP, the composition of the GDP is as follows:
agriculture: 32.8%
communication and transport 20%
services: 16.8%
industry: 9.5% (1998 est.)
Transportation is possible only through paved and unpaved highways; a railroad that will connect Çankırı, Kastamonu and İnebolu is under construction. Although the province has a 135 km long coastline to Black Sea, only İnebolu has a small port and transportation by the sea is almost non-existent.
There are around 112,000 telephone main lines in use, about 200,000 cellphone subscribers and 15,000 Internet users in the province.
Miscellaneous
Handcrafts are abundant in Kastamonu, especially in rural areas. Most available are hand-woven textiles.
Several national and local annual festivities also take place in the province.
In a research conducted in the province, 812 different food are identified that are specific to the region.
The provincial soccer team Kastamonuspor competes in the 3rd National Soccer League.
The founder of the Turkish republic, Atatürk had declared the "dress code reform", which abolished the fez, in Kastamonu in 1925.Further Information
Get more info on 'Kastamonu Province'.
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