Bolu

Bolu (Greek: Βιθύνιον /Vithinion, Latin Bithynium or Claudiopolis) is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 119,898 (2010 census). The mayor is Alaaddin Yılmaz (AK Party) since local elections in 2004. Bolu is on the old highway from Istanbul to Ankara, which climbs over Mount Bolu, while the new motorway passes through Mount Bolu Tunnel below the town. Bolu was part of one of the Hittite kingdoms around 2000 BC and later 500 BC became one of the leading cities of the Kingdom of Bithynia. Strabo (XII, 4, 7) mentions a Hellenistic town, Bithynium, celebrated for its pastures and cheese, which according to Pausanias (VIII, 9) was founded by Arcadians from Mantinea. In the Ancient Roman era, as...