Dörtdivan is a town in the
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, Roma ...
region of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. It is the seat of
Dörtdivan District.
[İlçe Belediyesi]
Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023. Its population is 2,736 (2021).
The mayor is Hamza Efe (
AKP).
Dörtdivan is a small town deep in the countryside.
The area has been occupied for a long time. Turkish presence in the area dates back to the
Oghuz Turks
The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family. In th ...
in 1074, but the village of Dörtdivan was founded by the
Seljuk Turks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes
by the Turk ...
in 1197. The Seljuks ruled through local lords and the name Dörtdivan, meaning ''four hamlets'', dates from this period. The town was later absorbed into 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) ...
, when it thrived as a local centre of schooling and administration.
Places of interest
* Ruins of a
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 Constantinopl ...
castle in the village of Yağbaşlar.
* There are also a number of tombs of
sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
mystics, mineral water springs, meadows and places for walking.
Notable natives
* 19th century poet Hilmi of Dörtdivan.
* Dörtdivan also claims to be the birthplace of the legendary Köroğlu, of the
Epic of Köroğlu
The ''Epic of Koroghlu'' ( az, , tr, ; tk, , uz, ) is a heroic legend prominent in the oral traditions of the Turkic peoples, mainly the Oghuz Turks. The legend typically describes a hero who seeks to avenge a wrong. It was often put to ...
.
References
Populated places in Bolu Province
Dörtdivan District
District municipalities in Turkey
{{Bolu-geo-stub