A small town whose Ottoman timber houses survive whole on a valley slope, listed by UNESCO in 1994. As its name hints, saffron was once grown and traded here, and it still flavours sweets and tea. The lanes climb hard, so walk them cool: May or June, else September or October.
Two and three-storey houses of white plaster over dark timber frames ring the market on the valley floor. Upper floors jut past lower ones until the eaves almost meet over the lanes. Cobbles are worn glassy and turn slick after rain; wear soles with grip.
OPEN IN MAPSA large 17th-century caravanserai, dozens of rooms round a stone courtyard, now run as a hotel. Even without staying you can buy a ticket up to the roof and see the old quarter's rooftops in one sweep. By sunset the roof is crowded.
OPEN IN MAPSA district governor's family mansion turned museum just as it stood, each room with built-in cupboards and low sofas. A revolving cupboard in the wall between the women's and men's sides passed food across unseen. Doorways are low; mind your head.
OPEN IN MAPSA park on the hill south of the old quarter, looking straight down on red tile roofs filling the valley. On top are the tomb of Hasan Pasha and a little tea garden. It is a steep fifteen minutes up the lanes from the market, and sunset brings out the cameras.
OPEN IN MAPSGrand Vizier Izzet Mehmet Pasha built the clock tower in 1797 on the hill beside the old government house. That building is now the City History Museum, with old shops and workshops recreated inside. From the tower's forecourt the Carsi roofs lie below.
OPEN IN MAPSAn arcaded lane where craftsmen once stitched yemeni leather shoes, now filled with handicraft and saffron shops. A tea house sits under a vine canopy in the middle, and a Turkish coffee comes with a piece of lokum. Early in the morning few shops have opened.
OPEN IN MAPSA 17th-century bathhouse still in business, with men and women bathing on separate sides. You lie on a marble platform under light falling through small glass eyes in the dome while you are scrubbed. Towels and the scrub are often charged on top of entry.
OPEN IN MAPSA stone aqueduct spanning Tokatli Canyon, a Byzantine work that Izzet Mehmet Pasha rebuilt in the 18th century. You can walk across it, though the parapet is low. A trail also drops into the canyon, but the slope is steep enough to need trainers.
OPEN IN MAPSA glass-floored viewing deck pushed out from the lip of Tokatli Canyon. The canyon floor below and the Incekaya Aqueduct opposite appear together. The drive out from the old quarter is ten-odd minutes, and on windy days standing long on the glass is hard.
OPEN IN MAPSA village 11 kilometres east of the old quarter where timber mansions stand untouched; film crews have used it. Some charge to show their interiors, and the village wash house is unchanged. Places to eat are scarce, so lunch tends to be gozleme at a tea house.
OPEN IN MAPSA limestone cave about 10km northwest of Safranbolu, with a stream flowing through it. Metal walkways lead between the stalactites. It is cool and the floor is wet, so bring a layer and shoes that grip.
OPEN IN MAPSThe Ottoman grand vizier Koprulu Mehmet Pasha founded this mosque in the heart of Carsi in 1661. It was built together with the arasta market beside it, whose rents kept the mosque running. Old men of the quarter rest under the courtyard trees.
OPEN IN MAPSIzzet Mehmet Pasha, a grand vizier born here, built this mosque in his home town in 1796. A big dome and many windows make it bright, in a late Ottoman style with Western ornament. Set at the lower entrance to Carsi, it greets anyone arriving.
OPEN IN MAPSAbout 90km north, a small peninsula town on the Black Sea split between two harbours. Byzantine and Genoese walls ring its tip, and a bridge reaches a little island. Harbour restaurants grill Black Sea fish, with a salad that bears the town's name.
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