Mengen, Turkey
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Mengen is a rural town and district in
Bolu Province Bolu Province ( tr, ) is a province situated in north-western Turkey. It is located between the capital, Ankara and the largest city in the country, Istanbul. It covers an area of 7,410 km2 and the population is 311,810. The capital city ...
in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
region of western
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, from the provincial center city of
Bolu Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census). The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan ( CHP) since local elections in 2019. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis ...
. It covers an area of , and the population as of 2000 is 16,504, of which 5,500 live in the central town of Mengen. The mayor is Turhan Bulut ( CHP). Mengen is famous for its cooks and its annual cookery festival; chefs trained in Mengen can be found in the best hotels all over Turkey. The town is along the historical travel route between the large cities of
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
and
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, and a popular lodging destination for travelers between the cities. The cookery school in Mengen has traditionally trained chefs for the Turkish president in Ankara and other high government officials. Mengen is a forested district and the largest plain in the mountainous area surrounding it, where the traditional lifestyle has persisted. It is one of the few places in Turkey where the tradition of the
köçek The ''köçek'' (plural in Turkish) was typically a very handsome young male slave or a Romani dancer (''rakkas''), who usually cross-dressed in feminine attire, and was employed as an entertainer. Roots The Persian word ''kuchak'' der ...
(male belly dancers) at village weddings remains widespread. The köçek also perform at the food festival in August. Mengen is from Ankara and is a popular weekend retreat for the people of the city. Hunting is a popular visitor sport in the district. In the summer, walking trails in the high country above the town become popular. The town prominently advertises its cookery tradition; it dons many billboards and statues of smiling chefs throughout the district. Dinner in Mengen is typically grilled meats and pilav rice served with lashings of Turkish rakı, the traditional aniseed beverage. However, although Mengen trains and exports chefs to Turkey as a whole, there are not that many restaurants in the small town itself.


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Populated places in Bolu Province Districts of Bolu Province Mengen District {{Bolu-geo-stub