Population: 2,400
Market day: Wednesday
South of Bolu, a wonderful winding road runs through pine forest and past the huge Seben Gölü (Lake Seben) to the small town of Seben, in an area known for its apple orchards. The town itself is not especially interesting although many of its older women wear distinctive local şalvar patterned in blue stripes – head for the Wednesday market to see them en masse.
The main reasons to come here lie in the surrounding countryside and to reach them you will need your own car if you’re not to be dependent on the town’s sole taxi.
Around Seben
From Phrygian times onward it is thought that people made their homes in rock shelters carved into the soaring mountains around Seben. No one seems to know when they were last used although they were seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1944.
While they are called “kaya evleri (rock houses)“, the rock-cut settlements at Muslu and Solaklar to the north of Seben are far simpler than the ones to be found in Cappadocia with few of the rock-cut interior features to be seen there. At Solaklar the “houses” rise up in what are like different floors whereas at Muslu they are more scattered about the rocks.
It’s a great shame that the trout restaurant at Sokalar was made from concrete rather than the wood that is such a feature of the lovely local houses to be seen in the surrounding villages.
Solaklar is easier to visit if time is tight but if you’re heading for Muslu you can visit the ruined possibly 11th-century Byzantine church at Çeltikdere at the same time. Those ruins are of a built structure with neat little slit windows decorated with tiles in the apse. In truth, though, it will probably be the stunning mountain scenery that will stick most strongly in your mind.
Sleeping
There’s nowhere to stay in Seben so you will probably need to visit from Bolu.
Transport info
Buses to Seben leave Bolu from a ticket office on the southern side of town opposite the BP petrol station. They run to a timetable roughly every two hours. Book your seat back on arrival in Seben.
Nearby areas
Nallıhan
