Sinop Fortress

Sinop occupies a narrow isthmus at the northernmost point of Anatolia, with a natural harbour on the sheltered side that made it a significant port from the Greek colonial period onward - Diogenes the Cynic was born here. The walls round the old town are a layering of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman work, running in long stretches with towers, and sections can be climbed for the view over both sides of the peninsula. Inside is the Sinop fortress prison, in use from the nineteenth century until 1997, which held political prisoners and writers - Sabahattin Ali and Refik Halid Karay among them - and is now a museum, with cells, workshops, the exercise yard and the graffiti and carvings inmates left. It is a bleak place presented plainly. The town around it has an archaeology museum, the Balatlar Byzantine church complex under excavation, a busy fishing harbour and boat-building yards.

What's there

• The layered walls - Hellenistic through Ottoman fortification.
• The prison museum - cells, yard and prisoners' carvings.
• The harbour - the fishing fleet and boatyards.
• The peninsula - sea on both sides of the isthmus.

When to go

May to June and September to October. The Black Sea coast is wet year-round and Sinop is no exception; summer is mild rather than hot.

Before you go

The prison is a sombre site and presented as such. Wall sections are unfenced in places. Rain is likely in any month. Sinop is a long way from the main routes.

Nearby

Hamsilos fjord is a short drive west; the Erfelek waterfalls are inland.

Key facts