TOKAT: YOURS TO DISCOVER
Pat Yale
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 6 2007
Like Kastamonu, Tokat is a big city of more than 120,000 people that
shouldn’t really be off the beaten track at all.
Unfortunately, like Kastamonu, it lacks that one big draw that would
make it a must on a truncated itinerary. The select few who make it
here, however, discover a town whose complicated history ensures
enough monuments to occupy a day or so of their time. What’s more
it boasts one of Turkey’s best hamams, a local kebab to die for and
several traditional handicrafts that still play an important part in
Turkish life.
If you have never tried out a hamam (Turkish bath), then Tokat is
certainly the place to pick up the public bathing habit. You can hardly
miss the lovely old Ali Paþa Hamamý (1572) as it stands immediately
opposite the main square, its lead domes covered in extraordinary
glass bulbs shaped like breasts. What makes this particular bath so
special is that Tokat has been the birthplace of a disproportionate
number of masseurs who learnt their trade here before fanning out
across the country to try their hands in other baths.
The bath aside, Tokat’s other winning attraction is the 19th-century
Latifoðlu Konaðý, a splendid Ottoman house restored to its original
appearance and opened to the public. The most beautiful rooms are the
separate upstairs salons for men and women, although many people will
find the fully-equipped kitchen particularly interesting. Tokat’s
back streets, especially Bey Sokak, harbor many similarly grand
houses. The Madýmaðýn Celal’ýn Evi is one of the most splendid,
with scenes of the Topkapý Palace and Blue Mosque painted on its walls.
Unfortunately it is not currently open to the public.
Also worth a look is the lovely old Gok Medrese which dates back to
1277 and houses the Tokat Museum. The museum’s contents are only so-so,
although there is some beautiful blue tilework and an intriguing wax
effigy of Christina, a local Christian martyred for her faith during
the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (284-305).
Also worth a look is the Kýrkkýzlar Turbesi which, from its name,
you might reasonably expect to be the tomb of 40 girls. In fact it is
a collection of 20 tombs, one of them containing the remains of Mu’in
al-Din Suleyman, not a girl but rather the male founder of the medrese
who went on to organize the murder of the Selcuk Sultan Kýlýc Arslan IV
so that he could become regent to his young son. Perhaps inevitably,
his scheming rebounded badly when he was, in turn, executed by the
Mongol invaders in 1278.
Just doors from the Gok Medrese stands the sturdy Taþ, or Voyvoda,
Han which dates back to 1631. Until the early 20th century the han
was used by Armenian traders, and as recently as the late 1990s it
used to house one of Turkey’s better collections of antiques shops.
These were then relocated to the even older Yaðýbasýn Medresesi off
Sulusokak Caddesi to make way for a hotel which has yet to materialize.
The Ali Paþa Hamamý, Latifoðlu Konaðý, Gok Medrese and Taþ Han
are all pretty unmissable, located as they are along Gazi Osman
Paþa Bulvarý, named after Tokat’s most famous son. But until the
mid-20th century this was not the main drag at all. Instead that honor
fell to Sulusokak Caddesi which, today, runs at right angles to GOP
Bulvarý and is very easy to overlook. That would be a pity because few
streets outside Ýstanbul can boast quite so many medieval buildings in
such close proximity. It’s well worth taking a turn along the road,
noting in particular the tiled Ali Tusi Turbesi dating back to 1233,
the Yaðýbasýn Medresei dating back to 1145-47, the old bedesten and
the 14th-century Kadý Hasan Camii, all of them in a terrible state
of disrepair. Here, too, you can find some of Tokat’s coppersmiths,
still hard at work turning out, amongst other things, replicas of
old hamam ‘handbags’.
These sights aside, Tokat has two other claims to fame. From the 15th
century onwards it was the main center for the production of yazmas,
originally hand-drawn and painted cloths, now usually block-printed
scarves. For a while the city actually had a monopoly on their
manufacture and a tax on sales helped support the sultan’s mother. As
recently as the 1980s it was still possible to visit the rather grim
Gazi Emir (Yazmacýlar) Haný where yazmas used to be dyed and printed.
Sadly, industrial tourism has yet to catch on in Turkey and yazma
production has now relocated to a factory in the much less romantic
north-western outskirts of town. Here the gauzy, flower-printed scarves
worn by most Anatolian women are now manufactured on a massive scale.
For gourmets, Tokat’s lip-smacking main attraction is the Tokat
kebabý, a delicious dish created by hanging skewers of lamb, potatoes
and eggplant inside a wood-burning oven. A lump of lard is added to
the skewer and as it melts it bastes the ingredients below. Beside
them tomatoes and peppers cook on separate skewers. Eventually all
the ingredients are brought together and garnished with garlic. The
result? An unforgettable taste sensation.
WHERE TO STAY
Buyuk Tokat Oteli. Tel: (356) 228 1661
Yeni Cýnar Hotel. Te: (356) 214 0066
Yucel Hotel. Tel: (356) 212 5235
Hotel Burcu. Tel: (356) 212 8494
HOW TO GET THERE
Tokat is seven hours by bus from Ankara (440 kilometers), two
hours from Amasya (115 kilometers) and 75 minutes from Sivas (105
kilometers).
–Boundary_(ID_9EJLeNN6FlGQFqnE FWZe9g)–