We went with our interpreter, Seda, and her 13-year old son, Barkın, to visit their relatives in Kastamonu, a lovely old city in the mountains near the Black Sea. We left the Anatolian plain and crossed the Ilgaz mountains; and the terrain went from dry, rolling hills to steep, deeply forested mountains. The little villages high on the mountainsides looked almost Alpine, except that at the center of each village were the dome and minarets of a mosque.Kostamonu has a castle high above the city. Built by the Romans, it was also used by the Byzantines and Ott
omans. The city also has many lovely old Ottoman buildings. The sultans had rewarded military leaders with land grants in the area, and there were many wealthy citizens there who had been influential in the Ottoman Empire. We stayed in an Ottoman mansion that had been converted to a guest house, and it was interesting to see the symmetry of the building: the house was divided into equal halves, with two staircases accessing all three floors. The doors between the halves could be closed when company came so that the women and men could be entertained separately without contact. The Ottoman houses always featured an upstairs porch that overhung the street. It was shuttered so that the women who were sequestered in the house could look out on the activities in the street without being seen. 
Many years ago there was a monastery in Kastamonu, but when it was abandoned, the monk’s cells were converted into little stores. Seda’s cousins owned a shop there, and we enjoyed visiting with her and looking at all the other little shops.
The water of Kastamonu is supposedly very healthful, so we drank a small sip from a public fountain. There are many fountains in the city, with silver cups chained nearby. One user just rinses the cup for the next.
In the early years of the Turkish Republic, Kastamonu was site of a famous speech by Kamal Ataturk. The sultans had
adopted many practices from the Arabs—the wearing by men of baggy pants and the fez, and the heavy veiling and sequestering of women were two practices which were foreign to the Turks but had been adopted by the Ottomans. Ataturk wanted the republic to look to the West for inspiration instead of the East. In Kastamonu, Ataturk gave a famous speech which
began, “This,” he said, displaying his panama hat, “is a hat; a
nd from now on we will be wearing this instead of a fez.” There is a hat museum in the city!The region’s women are famous for fighting bravely during the war of independence. One woman in particular is honored in statues all over Turkey, as she carried artillery shells (some of them 200 pounds) on her back to
the battlefield. Women wore distinctive hats. Seda models one which has a “married woman” design.Seda’s aunt owns a farm on a large land grant near Kastamonu. We visited her for parts of two days, eating lunch one day and breakfast the next in the 200-year old farm house. It was fascinating. Sabiha Hamın, the aunt, runs a sort of restaurant in the old house
, with two women to help her by cooking authentic food. They raise all their food and have a herd of cows for ayran (a yogurt drink) and other milk products. After eating etli ekmek made by the two helpers, we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the farm. Two little Turkish girls took us for a walk, and we picked wild strawberries in t
he forest. We admired a pot which was dated 1690. “This pot is older than your country,” Seda’s cousin said.We were reluctant to leave the cool of the mountains and the beauty of K
astamonu to return to Ankara, but we have many things to complete in our few remaining weeks here. Earlier this week we visited a school where LDS Charities had donated a science lab. Tomorrow we'll visit a school for the visually impaired, to which LDS Charities donated several reading machines. Where has the time gone?
