The City of Çorum

Housed in an attractive historic building, the Çorum Museum is a small though excellent collection of artifacts from around the province. Displays range from the Hattian and Hittite eras down through the Phrygian and on into the Roman and Byzantine eras. There’s a fantastic collection of cuneiform tablets, pottery, weapons, coins, jewelry, and figurines. There’s also a life size model of a Hattian grave like the ones found at Alacahöyük.

Downstairs is a small Ethnographic museum like the ones you’ll find all over the country. These ethnographic museums show life in Turkey from around a hundred years ago with awkwardly posed mannequins set among odds and ends from the past.

Outside is a collection of massive clay pots, a trio of ornate sarcophagi, and a collection, of Christian and Islamic era tombstones.

Çorum is home to a pair of fine Turkish Baths. Ali Paşa Turkish Bath is one of the better Hamams that we’ve reviewed so far and a great place to experience the culture, the beauty, and the weirdness of the Turkish Bath tradition. For more details see our detailed review of Ali Paşa Turkish Bath or our Guide to visiting the Turkish Bath.

If you happen to be in Çorum and you want to see a street that looks liked it got plucked out of the past and plopped down in the middle of the city then this is where you want to be. If you’re looking to get your shoes polished or fixed, then again this is where you want to be.

The street, known as ‘the street of the sellers of old things,’ was left behind when much of the surrounding buildings were torn down to make way for the new bus station. Today the tiny shops along the alley are used by shoe shiners, cobblers, and other shoe related trades.

For locals all across Turkey, Çorum means leblebi. Leblebi is a dry-roasted chickpea snack that’s healthy but not altogether very good. In Çorum however, leblebi can be much more; you can find chocolate covered leblebi, fruit flavored leblebi, Turkish Coffee flavored leblebi, and many other varieties. In Çorum leblebi shops abound and you’ll see them all over the city. Driving by the city at night your eyes will be assaulted by endless rows of bright LED signs advertising leblebi shops to those just passing through.

Not much is known about Çorum Castle. According to the renowned Ottoman traveller, Evliyya Çelebi who visited the area in the 17th century it was originally built by the Seljuks a few centuries before. The castle is made of repurposed Byzantine stone and newer stones, though, the sandstone used in the construction has slowly washed away making parts of the castle dangerously fragile.

Within the old castle walls are a hand full of old houses set along the cobbled streets as well as a mosque in the gateway. Unfortunately, the castle is now closed and, while there has been talk of reopening it with restored buildings or a park inside, nothing is certain, and it doesn’t look like work will begin anytime soon. The only thing accessible is the mosque.