Safranbolu is a town in Turkey and a district of Karabük Province. Its location can be roughly described as about two hundred kilometers north of Ankara and about a hundred kilometers south of the Black Sea coast, or more precisely as about 9 kilometers north of the city of Karabük.
Safranbolu, a historically important city, is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List - is located in Karabük Province.

Karabük is a province in north-central Turkey.
The main city is Karabük which is located about 200 kilometers north of Ankara and about 100 kilometers south of the Black Sea coast.
Karabük is located on the highway between Bartın and Ankara which was in ancient times an important route between Amasra on the coast and central Anatolia. The railway between Ankara and Zonguldak passes through Karabük.

Safranbolu has been a World Heritage site since December 17, 19**. The Old Town preserves many old buildings, with 1008 registered historical artifacts. These are: 1 private museum, 25 mosques, 5 tombs, 8 historical fountains, 5 Turkish baths, 3 caravanserais, 1 historical clock tower, 1 sundial and hundreds of houses and mansions. Also there are tumuluses and historical bridges. The Old Town is situated in a deep ravine in a fairly dry area in the rain shadow of the mountains. The New Town can be found on the plateau about two kilometers west of the Old Town.
The town derives its name from saffron: Safranbolu was a trading place and a center for growing saffron.
Safranbolu is famous for saffron; in fact, it received its name from it.

Following the split of Roman Empire in 395 A.D., Safranbolu was annexed with the East Roman Empire (Byzantium). Turks appeared before the 10th century and settled there. Recently retrieved documents amply prove that Turks took reins of governance in 1196. However, power changed hands between Turks and Byzantines and often between Ottomans and small Turkish states. Finally, Candaroglu Süleyman Pasa seized the power in 1326.

Safranbolu is nestled in hills and mountains, the lowest and highest points being 300 meters and 1750 meters. Of the town area 1013 sq. kms., a big part is devoured by forests. The city abounds with numerous creeks that produce great canyons but do not hold much water.

Nature has lavished all its bounties of forests, pasturages, canyons, cavers and special products of the area in Safranbolu. Forests as canopies over the land are a real treat for the eyes of tourists. Interestingly, its beauty changes in different seasons with wide variety of trees. You will find all shades of yellow, red and green in the forests.

Peculiarity of geological formation in the region ended up in deep gorge canyons and log caverns and heightens the beauty of the area. Incekaya, Tokatli, Düzce (Kiore) and Sakaralan (Tekekurum) canyons are the few main canyons.

The special attraction in Safranbolu is its houses. In fact, it has been listed in the World Heritage sites of UNESCO because of these specialty houses. These structures represent old civilian architecture that was prevalent during the 18th and 19th century of the Turkish society.

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