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Sinop, located in the middle part of the Black Sea Region, was established on Boztepe promontory. Sinop, which draws attention with its historical buildings along with its natural beauties, is the only natural port of the Black Sea Region.

According to Turkish Institute of Statistics, a feature that makes Sinop distinguished from other cities of Türkiye is that it has been chosen as the happiest city.

Sinop, the city of the world-famous philosopher Diogenes and the Amazons, legendary female warriors, is among the must-see locations in Türkiye with its 6000-year history and historical heritage, cultural texture, immaculate nature, and sea, as well as its world-renowned myths.

Sinop Castle

The castle is considered to have been built by the Gaskas (Kaskas), the indigenous people living in the region in 2000 BC, or by migrants who came from ancient Miletus on the Aegean coast, settled in Sinop, and colonized there in the VIII century BC. It was constantly restored during the Romans and Byzantines. The castle, which was captured by the Seljuks in 1214 and 1261, was repaired and the inner castle was built in order to strengthen the defense. Sinop city walls completely encircle the narrowest neck of the peninsula.

Evliya Çelebi in his Travel Book named Seyahatname mentions Kumkapı, Tersanekapı, Yenice Gate, Tabakhane Gate, Guild Gate, and Sea Gate. Kumkapı and Guild Gate have survived until today.

Boyabat Castle

This castle was constructed on one of two steep rocky hills in Gökırmak Valley where Boyabat District is located. The castle was built in accordance with the natural structure of the rocks. The building, where the finds from the Late Roman and Early Byzantine Periods are exhibited, demonstrates the characteristics of an Ottoman castle in its present form. This indicates that the castle was used from the Late Roman Period to the Ottoman Period. With its current state, the walls and bastions and the construction material clearly acknowledge that it is an Ottoman castle. However, the foundations of the castle were laid before. Therefore, it is possible to examine the castle in two parts as the old and the new castle.

Historic Sinop Prison

Sinop is remembered with its Historic Prison, which has been the subject of movies, songs, and poems, which has made a name for itself apart from the harmony of green and blue surrounding the city, its history dating back thousands of years, and its special geographical location. After Sinop was conquered by the Anatolian Seljuks in 1214, an inner castle was built by the order of Sultan Izzeddin Keykavus. There are 11 bastions in the inner castle. The inner castle has also been used as a shipyard since its construction. The bastions of the inner castle, which have been used as a shipyard for a long time since the Seljuk Period, have been used as dungeons since 1560. The Historical Sinop Prison, which was once defined as the “Alkatraz of Anatolia” was closed in 1999 and converted into a museum.

Sinop Archeology Museum

The first museum activities in Sinop started in 1921. Artifacts extracted from the necropolis to the west of the city surrounded by walls and from the foundation excavations due to the construction in the city started to be preserved primarily in Mekteb-i İdadi. Due to the gradual increase in the number of artifacts in 1932, the artifacts found here were transferred to the Pervane Madrasah (1262) built by the Seljuk Vizier Müinüddün Pervane, and the core of the first museum was formed here.

Ethnography Museum

The building in Kefevi Quarter is a typical late 18th-century mansion. Restored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the mansion today serves as the Ethnography Museum. On the ground floor of the mansion, there is the gallery section where exemplary sections of the Sinop and Boyabat houses are exhibited, the kitchen section, and the village room. On the first floor of the mansion, jewelry, swords, and looms used in Sinop and its region are exhibited. When you go up to the second floor of the mansion, the daily life of the mansion is animated in a large hall, four symmetrically rooms planned around it, and three iwans.

Hamsilos Nature Park

The park is a natural wonder area with rich biodiversity and is 14 kilometers away from the city center consisting of Hamsilos Bay, which is one of the most beautiful examples of the ria-type coastal formation in the Black Sea, where the sea, which gives the name of the park, enters the land like a river (also called Hamsaroz by the public) and Akliman Bay, two unique natural ports, marsh-dune-sea, and forest areas. Hamsilos Nature Park is located on the extension of Inceburun. The nature park is also a rich area in terms of cultural resource values, where the harbor dating to the ancient period and the graves of old sailors and the Ladies Bath, which is believed to be the area where Amazon women bathed, are located.

İnceburun

The northernmost point of Türkiye, Inceburun, is 20 km away from the city center of Sinop. It is surrounded by forests and is a protected area for animals such as deer, pheasants, and roe deer. You can enjoy watching the sun descend into the sea while sitting on the observation terraces built around the lighthouse in Inceburun.

İnaltı Cave

Located within the borders of İnaltı Village, 40 km from Ayancık District, the cave is 1070 meters above sea level. Vehicle transportation up to 50 m below the cave is available. From here, you can reach the mouth of the cave through the stairs. There is a wide landing at the mouth of the cave. Inaltı Cave is a very impressive point of interest for cave enthusiasts with its dripstones inside the cave and the beauty of its natural environment.

Balatlar Church and Building Complex

The church, also known as the Sinope Koimesis Church, is a building of the Byzantine Period. In the ongoing excavations, burial chambers, sculptures, church remains, as well as baths and mosaics, which are thought to belong to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, have been unearthed. It is known that the building, which was used as a settlement in the Hellenistic period as a bath and entertainment center during the Romans, and as a monastery during the Ottoman period, is known to be one of the Byzantine periods works in the Black Sea Region.

Pasha Emplacements

The bastion on the Karakum road to the east of the peninsula was built in the 19th century in order to ensure the safety of the shipyard against the dangers that might approach from the sea and to protect the ships in the port. It is shaped like a half-moon. In the lower part of the building, which has 11 cannon slots on the top, there are large rooms and a cellar used as an arsenal and a ward.

Basalt Rockies

The Basalt Rockies, which have been discovered in recent years, are located in Fındıklık near Kurusaray Village, 15 km away from Boyabat. The cliffs in 3 valleys close to each other consist of 40-meter-high hexagonal columns. When viewed from the top, the block stones look like a honey comb in the shape of a polygon, and when viewed from the front they appear in the form of a pile of blocks with a thin and long prismatic body lined up side by side. Boyabat Basalt Rocks are said to be one of the rare geological formations in the world. The rocks, which are admired by visitors with their splendor, have been geographically registered as “natural monuments”.

Erfelek Tatlıca Waterfalls

The waterfalls are in the village of Tatlıca in the district of Erfelek. They consist of 28 waterfalls of various sizes lined up in the same valley. This beauty is unique in the world. The 2-hour hike in a narrow and 2 km long valley by waterfalls in beech forests is very enjoyable and exciting. Two water mills with a history of 100 years, located on the waterfall bay in the region that is the Nature Park, are now used as resting places.