Göynük

Overview

Göynük sits in a green valley about 98 km from Bolu, with timber houses stacked up its slopes. For centuries, it supplied the Ottoman palace kitchen. So it earned the nickname “the back garden of the palace”. From Bolu, join our Sünnet Lake tour.

The Story of Göynük

This is the town of Akşemseddin, the scholar who taught Mehmed the Conqueror and died in 1459. Mehmed II ordered his hexagonal stone tomb, which stands in the courtyard of the Gazi Süleyman Paşa Mosque and dates from 1464. Above the town, the Victory Tower of 1922 remembers the Battle of Sakarya. From Bolu, our Mudurnu and Göynük day trip joins both towns in one day.

Today, the old town is a registered urban conservation site. Since January 2017, it has also been a Cittaslow slow town.

What to See in and around the Town

First, start at the mosque and the tomb of Akşemseddin. Climb through the lanes to the Victory Tower. In the Gürcüler Konağı, a restored mansion, you can visit a culture house.

Pastries, Looms and Timber Houses

Göynük has its own tastes and crafts. First, try Göynük dik börek, also called oklava tatlısı, which the town registered as a local product in 2020; the register lists it with desserts, so expect something sweet. Look for the looms of tokalı, the local handwoven cloth. The oldest houses in town are about 175 years old, so the lanes keep their timber look.

Also, like Mudurnu, Göynük belongs to the Cittaslow network of slow towns. Then drive about 25 km (16 miles) to Sünnet Lake, a nature park since 2011 at about 1,050 m (3,440 feet).

So plan the lake for the afternoon. A landslide once dammed the valley, and today the lake covers about 18 hectares (44 acres) among the trees. Then, if you have one more day, drive to Mudurnu, the province’s other slow town, 52 km (32 miles) from Bolu on the old Silk Road route, because its bazaars still follow the old guild life. In town, the culture house in the restored Gürcüler Konağı makes a good stop on a rainy day.

How to Visit Göynük

Also, the town makes an overnight stop between Istanbul and Ankara. Around the town lie Sünnet Lake, Çubuk Lake and the canyon of the Şarlahan waterfall.

Would you like to see Bolu with a local guide? Göynük is the second half of our Mudurnu and Göynük day trip and the first stop of our Sünnet Lake tour; the rest is in our Bolu guide.