A Taste of Switzerland in Anatolia (Safranbolu, 5203 km)

(Safranbolu, 24.08.2018 - 26.08.2018) Hand on heart - have you ever heard of a city called Safranbolu? No, you didn't? Although it is a UNESCO World Heritage City since 1994 and it claims for itself - no surprise - that "the highest quality saffron is grown in Safranbolu", immodestly scoring off all the rest of saffron suppliers from India, the Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean, Iran, Spain, Italy and Greece. Let's try to form our own opinion about Safranbolu and join me for a guided tour early in the morning, in order to avoid the tourist run, which starts as early as 9 AM.

UNESCO: "Safranbolu is a typical Ottoman city that has survived to the present day. It also displays an interesting interaction between the topography and the historic settlement. By virtue of its key role in the caravan trade over many centuries, Safranbolu enjoyed great prosperity and as a result it set astandards  in public and domestic architecture that exercised a great influence on urban development over a large area of the Ottoman Empire. The architectural forms of the buildings and the streets are illustrative of their period. The caravan trade was for centuries the main commercial link between the Orient and Europe. As a result, towns of a characteristic type grew up along its route. With the coming of railways in the 19th century, these towns abruptly lost their raison d'être, and most of them were adapted to other economic bases. Safranbolu was not affected in this way and as a result has preserved its original form and buildings to a remarkable extent."