Things to do in Amasya
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Ali Kaya Restaurant
The best time to visit this simple licensed restaurant above Amasya is at sunset, when you can recharge after the steep climb with meze while taking in views of town and the tombs. Taxis will ferry you up for TL8.
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Tombs of the Pontic Kings
Looming above the northern bank of the river is a sheer rock face with the conspicuous rock-cut Tombs of the Pontic Kings. The tombs, cut deep into the rock as early as the 4th century BC, were used for cult worship of the deified rulers. There are 18 tombs in these valleys, all of them empty. Climb the well-marked steps to the ticket office.
Just past the ticket office the path divides: turn left to find a couple of tombs reached via a rock-hewn tunnel, or right to find more tombs and the remnants of the Palace of the Maidens. In the cliff behind the terrace are several more tombs. You'll have to pass through the hole in the wall and scramble up the rock-cut stairs to ge…
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Amasya Museum
Amasya's museum packs in Ottoman artefacts including vibrant banners, unwieldy manuscripts, and an armoury of flintlock guns, gunpowder flasks and inscribed daggers. Displays cover crafts such as rope-making, and wooden doors from Amasya's Gök Medrese Camii show the progression between Seljuk and Ottoman carving. The extensive collection also covers earlier periods; look out for the famous Statuette of Amasya, a bronze figure of the Hittite storm god Teshub, with conical hat and almond-shaped eyes.
Outside, a tiled Seljuk tomb in the garden contains a unique collection of mummies dating from the 14th-century İlkhan period. The bodies, mummified without removing the organs…
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Darüşşifa
The Darüşşifa or Bimarhane was built as a mental hospital by Ilduş Hatun, wife of the İlkhanid Sultan Olcaytu, in 1309 and may have been the first place to try to treat mental disorders with music.
The İlkhans were the successors to Ghengis Khan's Mongols, who had defeated the Anatolian Seljuks. Their architecture reflects motifs borrowed from many conquered peoples and the building is based on the plan of a Seljuk medrese. Today the building is often used for exhibitions, concerts and events.
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Mirror Cave
Another Pontic tomb, the Mirror Cave (Aynalı Mağara), sits apart from the others, northeast of Amasya. One of the finest tombs, its name derives from the glaring effect produced by the sun on its pale facade. Although built during Pontic times, it's likely the cave was later used as a chapel by the Byzantines, who painted the fast-fading frescoes. With a Greek inscription high on the facade, this is one of the few tombs with any type of adornment.
The cave is 4km from the main square (TL10 return in a taxi). Follow the Yeşilırmak north and cross it on Künç Köprüsü, then look for the signpost on your right after a few hundred metres; Mirror Cave is 3km before Ziyaret.…
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Citadel
Above the tombs is the kale (citadel), also referred to as Harşena castle, perched precariously atop rocky Mt Harşena and offering magnificent views down the valley. The remnants of the walls date from Pontic times, perhaps around King Mithridates' reign, but a fort stood here from the early Bronze Age. The castle was destroyed and repaired by several empires, including the Danışmend Turks. It had eight defensive layers, descending 300m to the Yeşilırmak, and a tunnel with 150 steps cut into the mountain. On a ledge just below the citadel is an old Russian cannon, fired during Ramazan to mark the end of the daily fast.
The castle is being renovated and is popular for…
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Palace of the Maidens
Just past the ticket office to the Tombs of the Pontic Kings, the path divides: turn left to find a couple of tombs reached via a rock-hewn tunnel, or right to find more tombs and the remnants of the Palace of the Maidens. Though there were indeed harems full of maidens here, the palace that stood on this rock terrace was that of the kings of Pontus, and later of the Ottoman governors.
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Hazeranlar Konağı
Just past the steps up to the Pontic Tombs is the Hazeranlar Konağı, constructed in 1865 and restored in 1979. The restored rooms are fully furnished in period style and have models to illustrate their use. Whether you'll enjoy the Directorate of Fine Arts gallery in the basement probably depends on what's showing (historical photos at time of research).
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Mehmet Paşa Camii
The pretty Mehmet Paşa Camii was built in 1486 by Lala Mehmet Paşa, tutor to Şehzade Ahmet, the son of Sultan Beyazıt II. Don't miss the beautiful marble mimber (pulpit). The complex originally included the builder's tomb, an imaret (soup kitchen), tabhane (hospital), hamam and handan (inn).
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Amasya Şehir Derneği
Overlooking the river next to the chunky clock tower by the Hükümet Köprüsü, this three-tiered clubhouse has the best balconies in town, mostly reserved for Amasya's movers and shakers (ie men in suits). Foreign tourists also get a free pass to enjoy the grill menu, live music and frog chorus.
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Büyük Ağa Medresesi
The impressive octagonal Büyük Ağa Medresesi was built in 1488 by Sultan Beyazıt II's chief white eunuch Hüseyin Ağa. It still serves as a seminary for boys who are training to be hafız (theologians who have memorised the entire Koran) and is not open to the public.
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Gök Medrese Camii
The Gök Medrese Camii was built from 1266 to 1267 for Seyfettin Torumtay, the Seljuk governor of Amasya. The eyvan (vaulted recess) serving as its main portal is unique in Anatolia, while the kümbet (domed tomb) was once covered in gök (sky-blue) tiles, hence the name.
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Beyazıt Paşa Camii
Near the Künç Köprüsü is the Beyazıt Paşa Camii, an early Ottoman mosque (1419), following a twin-domed plan that was a forebear in style to the famous Yeşil Cami in Bursa. It's closed except at prayer times, but its most interesting features are external anyway.
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Gümüşlü Cami
Perched on a rise to Amasya's main square is The Gümüşlü Cami (Silvery Mosque; 1326), the earliest Ottoman mosque in the town. It was rebuilt in 1491 after an earthquake, in 1612 after a fire, and again in 1688, then added to in 1903 and restored yet again in 1988.
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Sultan Beyazıt II Camii
The graceful Sultan Beyazıt II Camii (1486) is Amasya's largest külliye (mosque complex), with a medrese, fountain, imaret and kütüphane (library).
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Subaşı Çay Bahçesi
On the riverbank, opposite the Grand Pasha Hotel, is a popular tea garden. Several pleasant tea gardens also line the Yeşilırmak around Belediye Parkı and Sultan Beyazıt II Camii.
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Bahçeli Ocakbaşı
You can gaze up at the tombs from this cafe, one of half a dozen lokantas competing amiably for business in a lively, crowded courtyard.
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Seven-Kazak Konağı
It's not on the river and the basement can get almost rowdy without the calming influence of daylight, but one look at the walled courtyard and you won't want to sip tea anywhere else.
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Burmalı Minare Camii
The Burmalı Minare Camii was built by the Seljuks between 1237 and 1247, with elegant spiral carving on the minaret.
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Vakıf Bedesten Kapalı Çarşı
The Vakıf Bedesten Kapalı Çarşı (Covered Market) was built in 1483 and still in use today.
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Taş Han
Head along Atatürk Caddesi and you'll see the partly ruined Taş Han (1758), an Ottoman caravanserai.
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Mustafa Bey Hamamı
On the northern side of the Darüşşifa is the 1436 Ottoman Mustafa Bey Hamamı.
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Strabon Restaurant
Next to Grand Pasha Hotel is this beautiful new restaurant with our favourite riverside deck in Amasya. The hot or cold mezes (TL5 to TL9) are tasty and fresh; the meat grills and grilled balik (fish) are low on oil and literally fall off big serving plates. If you're not hungry, Strabon doubles nicely as a fun venue for drinking booze. If it's raining, ascend to the groovy indoor seating.
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Pontic Tombs
Looming above the northern bank of the river is a sheer rock face with the conspicuous rock-cut Tombs of the Pontic Kings. The tombs, cut deep into the limestone as early as the 4th century BC, were used for cult worship of the deified rulers. There are more than 20 (empty) tombs in the valley (nicknamed Kings' Valley).
Climb the steps from the souvenir stalls to the ticket office. Just past the office the path divides: turn left to find the Baths of the Maidens Palace, built in the 14th century and used until the 19th century, and, through a rock-hewn tunnel, a couple of tombs. Turn right to find more tombs and the remnants of the Palace of the Maidens (Kızlar Sarayı). In…
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