Town called “Quite Straight” Population: 123,500
Market days: Monday, Thursday and Saturday
Midway between İstanbul and Bolu, poor old Düzce is not a place that most people will want to visit since there are no historic mosques, no old Ottoman houses and not even a museum to entertain visitors.
This is not altogether surprising, given that in 1999 Düzce was, like Adapazarı, struck by a terribly destructive earthquake that left many dead and large swathes of the town in pieces. But the truth is that the original settlement in this area was not on the site of modern Düzce but a little way to the northeast in Konuralp.
The centre of Düzce is a desolate meydan (square) with a huge statue of Atatürk clad in his opera cape. To one side there’s a pleasant park and a pedestrianised shopping area that ends near the large Cedidiye Cami, built in 1976 and not bad looking by Düzce standards.
In the summer months Düzce makes a possible starting point for exploring an area which shares many features with places right on the Black Sea coast. There are lots of yaylas in the vicinity, as well as waterfalls and small lakes. Lots of greenery too. You can even go white-water rafting on the Büyükmeden Cayı northwest of Düzce, at Dokuzdeğirmen village near Cumayeri.
Eating
Düzce has the usual selection of small eateries but nothing out of the ordinary. In emergencies there’s a food hall in the Krempark shopping centre which also boasts a cinema.
Sleeping
Transport info
There are frequent buses from İstanbul, Ankara and Bolu to Düzce. The elderly bus station is still in the town centre for the time being (Dec 2012).
Day trip destinations
