Old name: Polemon
At Bolaman, midway between Ünye and Ordu on the Black Sea coast, stands a remarkable “castle” that consists of what looks like a particularly strung-out wooden house perched precariously on top of a stone-built basement. Not so long ago this extraordinary building was in a parlous state of repair and looked likely to go the way of most of the more interesting buildings in this part of Turkey. Then at the last moment salvation came its way in the shape of enthusiastic Fatsa hoteliers who fancied adding a restaurant to their portfolio.
The result is the Haznedaroğlu Konağı, a wonderful place to eat that sits beside a pretty little harbour on the old coast road, a sleepy spur off the fast and furious Karadeniz Otoban (Black Sea Highway).
Not much is known about the castle’s history. The stone substructure probably started life as a real castle with a chapel inside it, possibly built by the Byzantines or maybe even by Genoese traders. The wooden superstructure, however, was only added in the 19th century when a local family called the Haznedaroğlus held sway around here and defied the Ottomans to do their worst by claiming to be the rulers of the rather more important Trabzon too.
Members of the same family were also responsible for the more conventionally lovely wooden house immediately behind the castle, the Haznedaroğlu Ahmet Bey Konaği, dating back to 1764.
By 1811 Bolaman Castle was apparently serving as a guesthouse for the so-called “Trabzon Paşa”. Not long afterwards it was visited by the British traveller William Hamilton who left a vivid description of it.
But past importance is no guarantee of continued importance, and towards the end of the 20th century Bolaman Castle came close to being demolished to make way for a school. It was finally saved in 2008 when it was rented to the owners of the Yalçın Hotel in Fatsa.
Today it’s a great place to come for a traditionally Turkish meal in exotically “Ottoman” surroundings. The good news is that the prices are very reasonable because they’re targeted at the Turkish family-holiday market.
Transport info
It’s easy to visit Bolaman from Ünye or Ordu by taking a dolmuş to Fatsa and then changing to another that services the coast road. You can easily combine a visit to Bolaman with one to Yason Burnu (Jason’s Headland).
