What's on in Safranbolu, Turkey through the year

Busy — Semester (winter) break in Turkey, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Winter quiet and snow (15 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramazan Bayrami, Semester (winter) break in Turkey

• Holiday

  Ramazan Bayrami

  20 Feb – 25 Mar · usuallyRamadan & EidCrowdedBook early

  The three-day holiday that ends Ramadan brings Ankara and Istanbul families into the old town even in late winter, and the konak guesthouses are worth booking ahead for the long weekend. Source ↗

Still on: Winter quiet and snow (15 Dec – 28 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramazan Bayrami, Second-term mid-break in Turkey

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ramazan Bayrami (20 Feb – 25 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — Kurban Bayrami, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Kurban Bayrami

  27–30 MayRamadan & EidCrowdedBook early

  The four-day holiday sends Ankara and Istanbul families into the Ottoman quarter in numbers, filling the old konak guesthouses and the market lanes around the bazaar. Book a historic house well ahead; the newer hotels outside the old town stay easier to find. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Summer weekend day-trippers, Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival

• Season

  Summer weekend day-trippers

  1 Jun – 31 Aug · usuallyDay-tripper crushCrowded

  Ankara and Istanbul send a stream of weekend traffic into the old town through summer; the narrow lanes and konak courtyards run shoulder to shoulder on Saturday and Sunday and are largely empty again by Monday morning. Source ↗

• Festival

  Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival

  10–13 JunCrowded

  A documentary festival run by the municipality since 2000, with screenings, talks and awards in the old town. It was long a September event but recent editions have moved to early summer, so check the year's dates. Source ↗

Still on: Kurban Bayrami (27–30 May)

Peak crowds — Summer weekend day-trippers, Summer holidays in Turkey

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Summer weekend day-trippers (1 Jun – 31 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Summer weekend day-trippers, Summer holidays in Turkey

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Summer weekend day-trippers (1 Jun – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Turkey, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Saffron harvest

  15 Oct – 15 Nov · usually

  Pickers head into the crocus fields at Davutobasi, 22km east of town, before dawn each autumn to hand-pluck the purple flowers for the crimson stigmas that gave the town its name. The harvest has drawn a small annual festival and tens of thousands of day visitors in recent years. Source ↗

Busy — First-term mid-break in Turkey

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Saffron harvest (15 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Winter quiet and snow

  15 Dec – 28 Feb · usuallyOff-season shutdown

  Weekday visitors have the old quarter to themselves in winter, and after a snowfall photographers come for the white roofs of the Ottoman houses. Some guesthouses close, and the roads around Karabuk and Eskipazar can shut in heavy snow. Source ↗