The Town of İskilip

The most prominent sight in the city is the mountaintop fortification. 100 metres tall from highest to lowest point the castle is rather imposing. A number of years ago the castle walls still held numerous historic houses, giving the place a very original and quaint feel; today however, most of those houses have been torn down to make way for new traditional style homes and shops with the hope of bringing in tourists. According to local news sites this project was to be finished by 2015 but in 2018 reconstruction had not yet begun.

At the base of the castle mount are a number of Roman era, rock-cut tombs. The tombs are in decent condition, with a number of engravings still quite visible despite being in the open weather for centuries.

We would argue that this is really the number one attraction to İskilip. In the narrow streets of the old town, just below the castle, are a few dozen shops used by various craftsmen. Most of these are working at jobs that are on the cusp of disappearing as mass industry takes over. Here you can see copper smiths, basket weavers (they actually weave wood here), blacksmiths, cobblers, knife-makers, and wood carvers producing and selling their wares.

Aiming at the religious history niche of the tourism market is this slightly fringe museum dedicated to the celebrated religious experts of the area. If you’re not a Turkish Muslim then it’s quite likely that this isn’t really something that is going to interest you. Various rooms of an old Turkish mansion (konak) are set up with life-like mannequins representing the various religious teachers while the furnishings and other objects in the room give a glimpse into what life was like in Anatolia in the past.  The staff are incredibly friendly and quick to tell you about anything to do with local life and sights if you speak Turkish.

The Great Mosque of Iskilip, while not exactly a major tourist destination, is a lovely example of late Ottoman provincial architecture. The exterior is completely unadorned and the dome is hidden in a regular-looking peaked roof. The design is much better for the cold snowy winters of the region. The interior dome has been beautifully painted as was the style in the late 1800’s. The traditional tilework on the mihrab (the niche indicating the direction of Mecca) is also quite ornate and beautiful.