Sinop

Sinop is the capital of Sinop province on Türkiye's Black Sea coast. The city sits on the narrow isthmus that joins the Boztepe peninsula to the mainland, so the sea surrounds it on three sides. Settlers from Miletus founded it as a Greek colony, and the philosopher Diogenes was born here. The Seljuks took the city in 1214.

The fortress walls run across the narrowest neck of the peninsula. Inside the inner castle is the Historical Sinop Prison, a state prison from 1887 to 1999 and now a museum. The writer Sabahattin Ali was held there. Nearby stand the 13th-century Alaaddin Mosque and the Pervane Madrasa, built in 1262. Hamsilos Nature Park, a fjord-like bay, is about 14 km from the centre. İnceburun, the northernmost point of Türkiye, is about 20 km away.

Sinop Airport, west of the city centre, has flights from Istanbul. The fortress and the prison museum stand by the inner harbour.