From the 13th century to the advent of the railway in the early 20th
century, Safranbolu was an important caravan station on the main
East–West trade route. The Old Mosque, Old Bath and Süleyman Pasha
Medrese were built in 1322. During its apogee in the 17th century,
Safranbolu's architecture influenced urban development throughout much
of the Ottoman Empire.