Mudurnu is a small town and a district of

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, Ro ...

region of

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 ...

, 52 km south-west of the 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 1,349 km², and the population (2011) is 20,528 of which 4,936 live in the town of Mudurnu. , the mayor was Mehmet İnegöl ( CHP).

History

The town has a long history and the name Mudurnu comes from the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...

princess ''Modrene'' (''Μωδρηνή'' in Byzantine Greek), and the ruins of the Byzantine castle can still be seen above the town. In the 8th century AD, the forces of the Byzantine usurper

Artabasdos Artavasdos or Artabasdos ( el, or , from Armenian: Արտավազդ, ''Artavazd'', ''Ardavazt''), Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 or 742 until November 743, in usurpatio ...

, commanded by his son Niketas, were defeated at or near this location by the army of the legitimate emperor

Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...

, before being defeated again at Chrysopolis, the same location where

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterrane ...

defeated his Eastern rival

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to ...

. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Mudurnu was part of the Kastamonu Vilayet of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. This is an attractive district of forest and mountain. Mudurnu itself is a historical town with a number of well-preserved

period houses. A portion of the centre of town has been declared an Historic Preservation District ("''Kentsel Sit Alanı''"). In 1920, during the Nationalists' push to gain control over the country, İbrahim Çolak with the

Kuva-yi Milliye The Kuva-yi Milliye ( ota, قواى مليه; 'National Forces' or 'Nationalist Forces') were irregular Turkish militia forces active in the early period of the Turkish War of Independence. These irregular forces emerged after the occupation of ...

besieged forces loyal to the Porte for three days, May 13 to 15, before taking the town.

Economy

Until 2002 when it went bankrupt, the local economy was heavily dependent on the "Mudurnu Chicken" (''Mudurnu Tavuk'') company, one of Turkey's largest poultry producers and fast-food chains. There is a large statue of a chicken at the edge of town. After the chicken processing plant closed in 2002, significant numbers of people left the town for jobs elsewhere and the remaining populace began to invest in tidying up and restoring the old town in order to attract tourists and weekend visitors. Many of the old houses are now restaurants serving local cuisine. In 2007 as part of the dissolution of ''Mudurnu Chicken'' the brand name was sold to Pak Chicken (''Pak Tavuk''), who produced chicken under that brand name, but not in Mudurnu. Beginning in 2010 Pak Chicken opened a chicken packing plant in Mudurnu, employing 350 people by mid 2010.

Places of interest

* ''Babas Kaplıcası'' - mineral water spring with accommodation in a restored Ottoman wooden bathhouse. * ''Yildrim Bayezid Mosque'' - built in 1372 as part of a complex of dervish lodges, the hamam and madrasha. According to the description at the mosque, it is the first mosque with a big single dome without columns. * ''Yildrim Bayezid Hamam'' - still functional and beautiful Turkish bath with Sauna, built 1382 by Ömer Ibrahim. * Lake Abant - located 20 kilometers North-East of Mudurnu *the real estate development project ''The Burj Al Babas''

Gallery

File:Mudurnu june 2019 2811.jpg, Mudurnu old houses File:Mudurnu june 2019 2844.jpg, Mudurnu Konak File:Mudurnu june 2019 2855.jpg, Mudurnu Konak File:Mudurnu 96 050.jpg, Mudurnu Decoration on house File:Mudurnu062007 7388.jpg, Mudurnu Decoration on house File:Mudurnu Haytalar’ Konağı in 2007 7394.jpg, Mudurnu Decoration on house File:Mudurnu062007 7407.jpg, Mudurnu shop File:Mudurnu062007 7389.jpg, Mudurnu clock tower File:Mudurnu june 2019 2843.jpg, Mudurnu clock tower File:Mudurnu Doruk Baba tomb june 2019 2838.jpg, Mudurnu Doruk Baba tomb File:Mudurnu june 2019 2825 panorama.jpg, Mudurnu panorama File:Mudurnu Yildirim Beyazit Mosque june 2019 2871.jpg, Mudurnu Yildirim Beyazit Mosque File:Mudurnu Yildirim Beyazit Mosque june 2019 2873.jpg, Mudurnu Yildirim Beyazit Mosque File:Mudurnu062007 7402.jpg, Mudurnu Yildirim Beyazit mosque File:Mudurnu062007 7342.jpg, Mudurnu Yildirim Beyazit Bath File:Mudurnu062007 7343.jpg, Mudurnu Yildirim Beyazit Bath Entrance File:Mudurnu062007 7346.jpg, Mudurnu Yildirim Beyazit Bath File:Mudurnu062007 7378.jpg, Mudurnu Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Camii File:Mudurnu062007 7360.jpg, Mudurnu Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Camii File:Mudurnu062007 7367.jpg, Mudurnu Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Camii

References

External links

* {{Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey Populated places in Bolu Province Districts of Bolu Province World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey Cittaslow