Home town of the kangal sheepdog Population: 9,000
Kangal is not really a place where you would want to get stuck. It has no historic attractions and is mainly a waystation for foreign visitors heading for the medieval mosque-hospital complex in Divriği or, more frequently, for locals heading for the Balıklı Kaplıca (Fish Spa) 15 km away. However, everybody in Turkey knows Kangal as the town that has given its name to a particularly beautiful breed of sheepdog.
The kangal is a large yellowy-beige dog with a black head (hence its alternative name, the karabaş (black head)). It’s often to be seen sporting a fearsome spiked collar intended to protect it from wolves while it goes about its business of sheep-herding. It pays to be careful when approaching a kangal near sheep although the kangal-crosses to be seen slouching about most towns are usually quite friendly.
There is said to be a Kangal Festival every July in Kangal or perhaps in Sivas but details don’t seem easy to ascertain ahead of time.
Arriving in Kangal from Sivas you will see a kangal farm on the lefthand side of the road. Whether you want to visit will probably depend on your views on dog farms.
Sleeping
You’re unlikely to want to stay here although the Hotel Sedef and Anadolu Otel stand side by side in the town centre should you get caught out.
Transport info
Minibuses to Kangal leave from Sivas‘s İlce ve Köy Terminalı beside the main otogar. It’s another 85km on to Divriği from Kangal.
