Safranbolu’s inclusion in the ‘slow city’ list was greeted with joy

The historic district of Safranbolu in Karabük, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, has been awarded the title of ‘Slow City’. This development was greeted with joy in the district.

The title of ‘Slow City’ was bestowed upon the district of Safranbolu in Karabük, listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, at a ceremony held in the city of Damme, Belgium.

With its historic structures, local products, and natural beauty, Safranbolu is one of Turkey’s unique districts, and it became Turkey’s 25th ‘slow city’.

Elif Köse, the Mayor of Safranbolu, expressed that they had started efforts to join the ‘Slow City’ network 1.5 years ago, stating, “Safranbolu is the only city in Turkey listed in the UNESCO World Heritage at the urban scale, one of 20 cities in the world. We wanted to add another brand to this branded city. We started our efforts 1.5 years ago, thinking that the title of Cittaslow would suit Safranbolu very well. Since we met the 70 criteria required by the Cittaslow Network, Safranbolu was accepted into the Cittaslow Network. Our target audience for Safranbolu is European tourists who understand cultural tourism and have high purchasing power. Since it is very suitable for our target audience, we believe that this network will contribute to Safranbolu’s tourism potential in the future.”

The title of ‘Slow City’ for the historic district was also greeted with joy by the residents. Business owner Semih Yıldırım stated that they would make every effort to preserve this title, which is given to very few cities worldwide.