# Tokat

Tokat is a city in the Central Karadeniz or Black Sea region of Turkey, with a population of 163,400 in 2022. It's hemmed in by hills at the head of a broad fertile valley, and has a collection of old mosques and mansions.

## Understand

    Veni, vidi, vici - Julius Caesar, after his quick victory at Zela in 47 BC
There are traces of a city back to Hittite times, and in the first century BC an independent kingdom of Pontus held out against the Romans. Julius Caesar, who'd been a mite distracted with Cleopatra, swiftly crushed the forces of Pontus at Zela, now Zila near Tokat, coining his famous phrase in a report to the Senate. There's nothing to see at the battle site, and the Romans didn't do much for the town. It was embellished and its castle reinforced by the Seljuks from the 11th century and the Ottomans from the 15th. Tokat was a trading centre, mined copper and fashioned textiles. Modern development has been limited and has spared many of its old mosques and Ottoman mansions.

## Get in

Tokat is 375 km east of Ankara, a 5 hour drive via D200 / 190 / 180.

### By plane

40.311736.37361 Tokat Airport (TKJ ) has daily flights from Istanbul (IST) by Turkish Airlines, taking two hours. Their subsidiary Ajet fly from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen (SAW) several days a week. The airport is 17 km west of city centre on D180. It was rebuilt 2018-22 and is a white elephant, oversized for its limited traffic.

### By bus

Buses from Istanbul take 12 hours.
Buses from Ankara take six hours via Kırıkkale, Çorum and Amasya, heading for Samsun.
40.328436.55942 Tokat Otogarı the bus station is old and worn but fairly central, on D850 near the junction with D180. Taxis wait on the forecourt. Many Turkish bus stations have been banished away out to their city fringes, so this one's days may be numbered.

## Get around

Walk: most sights and amenities are on or near the north-south main avenue Gaziosmanpaşa Blv, usually abbreviated to GOP. Dolmuşes, buses and taxis ply along it, which you might want coming from the bus station or outlying hotels. The avenue is named for Osman Nuri Pasha (1832-1900), the field marshal who held up the Russian advance into Ottoman lands in Bulgaria.
Seek directions from your hotel if you arrive by car into Sulusokak the east-west old road, it's fiendishly narrow and difficult to park.

## See

* 40.317536.54811 Tokat Castle perched on a crag has been in use for millennia as a bastion or prison. There's a legend that Vlad the Impaler aka Dracula was held hostage here, but more likely that was in Eğrigöz near Kütahya. Vlad was about 14, and released when his father bought off the Ottoman Sultan. The castle is closed for repairs in 2025.
* Grand Mosque south foot of castle rock was established in the 13th century but rebuilt in 1679 AD. It's 50 northeast of the museum and always open.
* Sulusokak is the narrow street south of the castle that was the original spine of town. It's mostly modern but has a scattering of old mansions, museums and tombs. Two caravanserai have been converted into hotels.
* 40.316136.54672 Tokat Museum, Sulusokak, ☏ +90 358 214 1509. Tu-F 08:00-17:00, Sa Su 10:00-17:00. Local archaeology and history museum. Free. (updated Jan 2025)
* City museum across the street is its continuation.
* Tokat Culture House another 100 west is an ethnography museum in an Ottoman mansion, but closed for restoration.
* 40.314836.55023 Ali Paşa Mosque is at the foot of Sulusokak where it meets GOP Blv. Built in 1572, the complex includes a hamam, and the courtyard has the tombs of Ali Paşa and his son Mustafa Bey.
* Taş Han is a caravanserai built in 1631, on GOP Blv opposite the main square. It's now a shopping centre open daily 08:00-00:00.
* Gök Medrese 50 m further north along GOP Blv was built in the 1270s. It housed museums and was a major attraction until 2012 when those relocated to Sulusokak. It's lacked a purpose and has been closed for restoration ever since.
* Hatuniye on Meydan Cd off GOP Blv is a külliyesi built 1485. Typically these contained a mosque, medrese, soup kitchen, hamam, hospital and lodging for pilgrims. This one is named for Gülbahar Hatun, mother of Bayezid II; in 2025 it's closed for restoration.
* 40.320536.55024 Garipler Mosque at Süreyya Hoca Cd 42 was built in the 1080s. It's known as Green Minaret Mosque for its glazed tiles.
* 40.310936.55345 Saat Kulesi is the clocktower on Behzat Blv. Some 20 of these were erected across Turkey in 1901 to mark 25 years of the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842-1918). But the Ottoman Empire came crashing down around his ears and he was deposed in 1909, to live out his life under house arrest.
* Behzat Mosque next to the clocktower was built in 1536.
* Latifoğlu Mansion is an Ottoman house 100 m north of the clocktower.
* Mevlevi Hane, Behzat Blv (by clocktower), ☏ +90 356 214 8252. Daily 08:00-18:00. The Mevlevi, popularly known as the "dancing dervishes", became established in Tokat in the 13th century. This 19th century mansion displays their culture, and the waxwork dancers judder into life at your approach. Free. (updated Jan 2025)

## Do

* Hamams are traditional Turkish baths. Half a dozen in town, the most central are Ali Paşa across the boulevard from Ali Paşa Mosque, open daily 06:00-23:00.
* Football: Tokatspor play soccer down in the amateur leagues at Gaziosmanpaşa Stadium (capacity 5700) by the D180 / D850 junction.

## Buy

Small supermarkets are in the blocks between GOP Blv and Behzat Cd, usually open daily 08:00-22:00.
Yazmaları are wood blocks used for printing patterns on fabrics. Gift shops sell them.

## Eat

* Traditional Tokat Kebabı is sliced lamb, aubergine, potato, green bell peppers and tomatoes.
* Zile pekmezi is a mush of grapes in syrup, mixed with egg-whites to form a pale marshmallow-like paste.
* There's a string of little eating places up and down GOP Blv near the Meydan or main square.

## Drink

Cafes and restaurants serve alcohol.

## Sleep

* 40.333536.52841 Grand Ali'n Tokat, Vali Zekai Gümüşdiş Blv 40/A, ☏ +90 356 232 0808. Clean comfy hotel, by D180 highway but quiet. B&B double 3500 TL. (updated Jan 2025)
* 40.337736.54522 Dedeman Tokat, Orhangazi Cd 15/1, ☏ +90 356 228 6600. Comfy modern chain hotel. B&B double 4000 TL. (updated Jan 2025)
* 40.324936.55393 Atlas Otel, Behzat Blv 18, ☏ +90 356 212 1312. Clean place near castle, good service. B&B double 3000 TL. (updated Jan 2025)
* 40.315636.55144 Plevne Otel, Gaziosmanpaşa Blv 168/B, ☏ +90 507 507 2829. Reliable welcoming central hotel. B&B double 2000 TL. (updated Jan 2025)
* 40.316936.55055 Yazmacılar Hanı Otel, Halit Sk 3, ☏ +90 356 212 1211. Pleasant hotel in a restored caravanserai. B&B double 4000 TL. (updated Jan 2025)
* Silk Road Museum Otel (Deveciler Hanı), Sulusokak Cd (by museums), ☏ +90 356 212 6666. Great reviews for this atmospheric hotel in a 500-year old caravanserai. B&B double 4000 TL. (updated Jan 2025)

## Connect

Tokat and its approach highways have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of Jan 2025, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

## Go next

* Amasya is an even better-preserved Ottoman old town.
* Trabzon on the Black Sea coast has beach amusements and several museums.
* Sivas has fast trains to Ankara and connections to the far east of Turkey.