Kastamonu

The town may have been founded in the 18th century BC; the Greeks and Romans called it Timonion (Τιμόνιον). It controlled one of the valleys to the Black Sea coast and in the 10th century was fortified by Manuel Erotikos Komnenos (circa 955-1020), so it was dubbed "Kastra Komnenon", hence Kastamonu.

From the 13th to 15th century, Kastamonu was the capital of the Candaroğlu petty kingdom. The Ottomans were already a power in the land, but were almost destroyed by Mongol / Timurid invasion. Thus it was only in 1461 that they'd recovered enough to vanquish the Candaroğlu on their road to establishing an empire on three continents. Kastamonu was thereafter a provincial capital untroubled by warfare. However in the Turkish War of Independence it was a supply hub: western navies embargoed the shipping lanes, but munitions were smuggled into the port of İnebolu, then brought up to Kastamonu, thence to the frontlines.

By plane:

1 Kastamonu Airport (KFS IATA) is 12 km south of the city and most days has a flight from Istanbul (IST) by Turkish Airlines, taking 75 min. You'll need a taxi to get downtown.

By bus:

Buses from Istanbul run every 2-3 hours and take 8-9 hours via Gebze, Bolu and Safranbolu, usually continuing via Boyabat to Sinop or Samsun on the coast.

From Ankara six buses a day take four hours. Bus lines on these routes are Metro Turizm and Flixbus.

Local buses ply along the valley from Karabük, which is on the railway from Ankara to Zonguldak, and is close to Safranbolu.

2 Otogar the bus station is 7 km north of city centre. Local buses and dolmuşes run downtown and should be included in your ticket price, check when buying.

By road:

From Istanbul is 510 km: take O-4 / E80 (toll) east past Gerede, then D755 north to Karabük, then D030 east via Araç. The last stretch of road is winding, but is mostly a divided highway.

From Ankara is 240 km: go east on D140 to Kalecik, then north on D765 via Çankırı and Ilgaz. The last section is over the Ilgaz Mountains at 1800 m, so in winter consider the weather outlook. Satnav may try to bring you this way from Istanbul.