2018 Cultural Capital of the Turkic World: Kastamonu

Preparations are continuing for the year-long events in Kastamonu, which was declared the 2018 Cultural Capital of the Turkic World by the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY).

At the 35th session meeting of the TÜRKSOY Permanent Council held in the city of Turkestan, Kazakhstan, it was decided that Kastamonu, declared the "Cultural Capital of the Turkic World," would host the next meeting.

Throughout the year, many events ranging from art to culture will be held in the city, which stands out for its historical and cultural values.

Kastamonu, a city of civilization with 7,000 years of history and an uninterrupted chronology, and among the oldest settlement centers of Anatolia, passed into Turkish hands in 1084 when it was taken by Emir Karatekin Pasha.

The city, which joined Ottoman territory during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror, continued its position as an administrative center until the Republic, as a vast province of the empire bordered by Samsun to the east, İzmit to the west, Kalecik to the south, and the Black Sea coast as its natural boundary to the north.

The city, where Cem Sultan, the brother of Mehmed the Conqueror, served as governor for about 4 years, became one of the centers from which many scholars who shaped the Ottoman world of science emerged.

An important role in the War of Independence
During the War of Independence, the weapons and supplies brought by ships to the offing of the port in Kastamonu's İnebolu district were later carried ashore by boats known locally as "denk kayığı" (bale boats). The munitions were delivered to the front along the Kastamonu, Çankırı and Ankara route, referred to as the "Independence Road."

The statue of Şerife Bacı, who was martyred while carrying equipment along this road where women in particular undertook important duties, is on display in the city center.

The Clothing and Hat Reform that the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk carried out in Kastamonu on August 23-31, 1925, after the proclamation of the Republic, went down in the pages of history as one of the important events of the Republican era.