The northern Anatolian province of Corum is a must-visit for those interested in the history of the Bronze Age Hittite Civilisations. Located in the interior of the northern Anatolian Plateau, the province of Corum is home to numerous key Hittite archaeological excavation sites. In addition to the UNESCO inscribed Hittite ruins at the former Hittite capital of Hattusas (present-day Bogazkale), which is about an hour's drive west of Corum, other notable Hittites sites worthy of a visit include Alacahoyuk (about 40 minutes' drive southwest of Corum, near the town of Alaca) and Sapinuva (about an hour's drive south of Corum, near the village of Ortakoy).
Although each of the Hittite excavation sites in the province has a museum of its own displaying artefacts recovered by archaeologists from the nearby site, no Hittite enthusiasts should miss out on a visit to the Corum Museum, housed in a beautiful turn-of-the-century building with distinctive 19th-century Anatolian Neo-Classical architectural style. The building, built in 1914, began its life as a hospital and subsequently served as Corum's School of Medicine, School of Art, Machinery Academy, and Ataturk High School, before being renovated and turn into a state-funded archaeological museum in 2003 with an extensive collection of Hittite artefacts, models of excavation finds and other relevant items on display.
Hittite Museum aside, the city centre of Corum also has several interesting buildings that merit a visit. To a certain extent, the style of architecture in Corum reminds me of the Turkish Nationalist-era public buildings visible in large quantity in both Kastamonu and Tokat, all of which are provinces of Turkey's northern Anatolian-Black Sea region. The relatively high altitudes of these three provinces, as well as their geographical proximity to one another, probably forged a fairly similar architectural and cultural heritage in one way or the other. The soil and climates of Corum, like the neighbouring province of Amasya (famous for the indigenous Anatolian apple cultivar known as Amasya), is also suitable for the cultivation of seasonal fruits that are best grown at certain altitudes, such as apples, pears, cherry, peach etc.
Like the neighbouring cities of Kastamonu and Amasya, one of the most recognisable landmarks of the city of Corum - capital to the province of the same name - is also the 19th century clock tower which is located at a roundabout in the middle of a busy square in the city centre. The old town centre is about 20 minutes walking distance from Corum's inter-city bus station, and is compact enough to allow visitors to explore its narrow streets on foot. All over the city centre of Corum, one will come across shops selling Leblebi, a local speciality which is essentially roasted chick peas. Leblebi is very popular in Turkey as a snack in between meals.
Although no river flows through the centre of Corum, this town does have several public landscaped gardens with artificial lakes where people can sit and relax a bit in the afternoon. The old bazaar area of downtown Corum is an interesting mix of old, rundown shophouses, erected in traditional architectural style typical of the northern Central Anatolian plateau, alongside unattractive, modern-looking functional concrete-box buildings, which are in all senses of the word an absolute eyesore, but nevertheless have become part of Turkey's modern urban landscape due to its relative lower building costs. Take some time to slow explore the old bazaar section of Corum, where traditional coppersmith workshops can still be seen hammering out daily household items such as pots, pans and jars.
Right next to the Bazaar section in the old town is the main mosque of Corum, the Ulu Camii, one of the oldest Anatolian Selcuk mosques in central Anatolia and a very pretty building built with earth-coloured stones in the centre of the town. This historical mosque was first built in the Anatolian Selcuk era, and was destroyed by the earthquake of 1466. Following the earthquake, the mosque complex was restored by the great architect Mimar Sinan, but the building was once more heavily damaged by another earthquake in 1790 (Corum lies just 20km north of the great Anatolian faultline) and was repaired by local beys who modified its design and turn it into a one-domed mosque. The addition of the minaret on the eastern side of the mosque and the top floor took place much later, in the early 20th century during the period of the Second Constitutional Monarchy.
Politically on the same wavelength as the neighbouring provinces of Kastamonu, Tokat and Amasya, Corum was also one of the most nationalistic provinces during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, contributing a large number of manpower to fight in the war against the Greeks. At the end of the 19th century, the province of Corum was also home to a small Armenian community which was deported or killed along with ethnic Armenians in neighbouring provinces of Yozgat and Sivas during the Armenian massacres in subsequent years. Today a considerable proportion of the population of Corum is of the Alevi-Bektashi Order of Muslim faith.
Finally, for those who are interested in the authentic Anatolian haman experience, it is worthwhile to try out the Ali Pasa Hamani (known as the Yeni Haman amongst Corum locals) situated right next to the Clock Tower in the centre of the old town. This 16th century haman has recently been renovated and offers one of the best value-for-money Turkish bath and kese (scrubbing) service of all hamams in Turkey. It is also one of those traditional hamams where locals gather to socialise and gossip in addition to having a bath. Unlike the tourist hamans of Istanbul, where a 10 minute scrubbing will rip you off with shocking 50TL charge, in Corum the price for entrance and kese (scrubbing service) is less than 15TL as of 2011, and the time the keseci devote themselves to scrubbing your body is more than all that you can dream of. Be preparedd to spend at least 3 hours inside the hamam, as people in Corum take their haman experience slowly.
Ali Pasa Hamami (Yeni Hamam)
Yeniyol Mh. 19200 Çorum
Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment