Let’s start with the main square, Nasrullah Meydan1, a mini Trafalgar Square full of pigeons and ringed with historic monuments. Most prominent is its namesake mosque, which always has worshippers bustling in and out of it. In front its graceful ablutions fountain stands beneath a stone shelter, while behind it the Munire Medresesi houses small craft workshops and a café. It’s a great place to seek out locally-woven tablecloths and other fabrics. And as you leave don’t miss the giant dervish soup tureen propped up beside the exit.

Overlooking the square stand a pair of 15th-century hans, one of them reused as a mini shopping mall and the cute little Firken_ah Sultan Sofras1 housed in an old hamam. The side streets hereabouts are full of reminders of Kastamonu’s glory days, most of them carefully labeled but otherwise forgotten. Most striking, perhaps, is the grand gateway of the Selçuk Y1lanl1 Külliye, the sole survivor of a fire which rampaged through the area in 1837.

The Kastamonu town center huddles in a valley between two hills, the first of them topped with a castle visible from all around town. It’s one of those typically Turkish castles that has been built and rebuilt endlessly over the centuries, so although it was already in place in Byzantine times, most of what remains today dates from Selçuk and Ottoman makeovers. Other than the walls there’s not that much to see inside. In any case to get the best view you’re better off climbing the hill on the other side of the valley. Here, beside a dinky 19th-century clock tower, an inviting tea garden offers a postcard panorama over the old town.

Embarrassed by foreigners’ mocking reaction to the fez, Atatürk passed the Hat Law in 1925 as part of his modernization process. From then on men were forbidden to wear fezes and had to don _apkas, European-style hats with brims, instead. This may sound very innocent, even comical, but the fez-versus-hat issue was the headscarf problem of the 1920s and several unfortunates actually went to the gallows for refusing to change their headgear.

Atatürk announced the new law in Kastamonu and in a small side room of the museum on Cumhuriyet Caddesi photos show him strolling around town with colleagues shortly afterwards. To set an example, they’re wearing a selection of hats in the awkwardly self-conscious way of a young woman showing off a new frock about which she has her doubts.

In those early days of the Turkish Republic Kastamonu was certainly not off the beaten track and its government building is a stunning piece of First National architecture up steps at the top of a landscaped garden. With its arched windows and overhanging roofs, it’s one of the masterworks of Mehmet Vedat Tek (1873-1942), the architectural genius who also gave us the Eminönü post office in 0stanbul and the Grand Assembly building in Ankara. The most unexpected hotel in Kastamonu, the Osmanl1 Saray1, is housed in what was once the Belediye building, another fine example of First National style. Should the museum be closed (as it often is), the hotel lobby also displays photos of Atatürk in his new hat.

Those are the Kastamonu set-piece attractions, but there are also any number of imposing Ottoman houses hiding in the back streets. The Liva Pa_a Kona1 contains a small ethnographic museum, with rooms fitted out to enable visitors to imagine what life would have been like for the wealthy in 19th-century Kastamonu. Two other mansions have been converted into hotels -- the luxurious Toprakç1lar Konaklar1 and the Sinan Bey Konak overlooking a small park. Yet another houses a restaurant -- the Eflanili Kona1 -- which looks a little lost amid its innumerable rooms. Many houses are simply falling down.

With a car, it’s well worth driving west from Kastamonu toward Daday, looking for the tiny village of Kasaba. Here in this out-of-the-way place you will find the Mahmud Bey Camii, one of Turkey’s finest surviving medieval mosques. It dates back to 1366 and boasts some truly glorious painted woodwork -- rafters, columns and a gallery -- all of it recently restored. Time your visit for just after prayers, or ask around to find the imam and his key.

WHERE TO STAY

Osmanl1 Saray1. Tel: 0366-214 8408
Toprakç1lar Konaklar1. Tel: 0366-212 1812
Sinan Bey Kona1. Tel: 0366-212 6021
Otel Mütevelli. Tel: 0366-212 2018

HOW TO GET THERE

Kastamonu is four hours (240 kilometers) by bus from Ankara and nine hours (550 kilometers) from 0stanbul.