Gerede
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Gerede is a town and a district in the Bolu Province of the Black Sea region of Turkey, on the highway from Istanbul to Ankara (approx 60km from Ankara, where the road to the Black Sea coast brances off). Area 1,255 km². Population (2000) 41,391 of which 25,200 live in the town of Gerede. Elevation 1,300m.
Gerede is a large area of hill country surrounded by pine-covered mountains, on a passage from central Anatolia to the Black Sea coast. The climate is notoriously cold and wet, enough to make it a centre for cross-country skiing, and traffic on the highway often has to negotiate fog, rain and ice around Gerede.
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[edit] History
Gerede was an established town in the Ottoman Empire period and was visited by the 16th century traveller Evliya Çelebi, who described a town of 1,000 homes and 10 mosques, with a military base.
For many the name Gerede evokes Hüsrev Gerede, a key companion of Atatürk in the Turkish War of Independence (of 1919-1922). He was later given the surname Gerede for his success in leading the town's rebellion against the occupying forces during that conflict.
[edit] Gerede today
Gerede today is a small town with a number of tanneries and leather workshops, but even though the highway is so close the town is growing slowly, perhaps because of the forbidding climate. The people of this rural area are typically conservative in politics and religion.
Gerede has many high meadows (yayla) and places in the forest for walking and picnics, particularly near the village of Esentepe. A number of Turkish football teams have their summer training camps here, attracted by the fresh mountain air. Esentepe also has ski slopes and cross-country skiing in winter.
[edit] Places of interest
- The ruins of the Byzantine castle, Keçi Kalesi.
There are also a number of mosques and caravanserai from the Seljuk and Ottoman periods.
There is an oil=wrestling contest in the village of Esentepe every July and a country fair (panayır) in October.
[edit] See also
 Gerede in Bolu Province (in the Black Sea region) of Turkey |
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| Urban districts | Bolu |    |
| Rural districts | Dörtdivan – Gerede – Göynük – Kıbrıscık – Mengen – Mudurnu- Seben – Yeniçağa | |
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Regions
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| Aegean | ||
| Black Sea | ||
| Central Anatolia | ||
| East Anatolia | ||
| Marmara | ||
| Mediterranean Sea | ||
| Southeastern Anatolia | ||
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