Taraklı

Taraklı sits in a narrow wooded valley off the main routes, which is why so many of its Ottoman timber houses are still standing - two and three storeys with jettied upper floors, whitewashed between dark beams, along steep lanes that have not been widened for cars. A restoration programme has repaired many of them, and a number now work as small guesthouses. The Yunus Paşa mosque, built in 1517 and attributed to Mimar Sinan and said to have been warmed from below by steam from the bath beside it, stands in the centre with its wooden interior and a hamam alongside. The town's name comes from tarak, comb, and wooden combs and spoons carved from local boxwood were its trade for centuries; a few workshops still turn them out and sell them in the main street. Above the town are walking paths through pine and the Hisar viewpoint, and there is a thermal spring in the valley, with the Karagöl plateau and the Hark canyon and cave nearby. It has been a member of the slow-city network, and midweek it lives up to that entirely.

What's there

• The timber houses - restored Ottoman homes on steep lanes.
• The Yunus Paşa mosque - the building of 1517 and its hamam.
• The spoon workshops - boxwood combs and spoons still carved.
• The valley walks - pine paths and the Hisar viewpoint.

When to go

April to June and September to November; autumn in the valley is the best of it. Weekdays for genuine quiet - it fills modestly at weekends.

Before you go

There is very little to do beyond walking and looking, which is the point. Lanes are steep and cobbled. Public transport means changing at Geyve; a car is easier.

Nearby

Sapanca Lake is about an hour north; Göynük and Mudurnu are east in Bolu province.

Key facts