Current Time in Çorum, Turkey

Corum lies in northern Turkey, in the inland part of the Black Sea region, on a wide plain among the mountains that separate central Anatolia from the coast. The city stands at about eight hundred metres above sea level, surrounded by grain fields, orchards and rolling uplands, and it has hot dry summers and cold snowy winters. Roads from Ankara, Samsun and Amasya meet here, which has always given the town the character of a regional crossroads.

Roughly two hundred and seventy thousand people live in the city, the centre of a province of the same name. Corum is one of the Anatolian manufacturing towns that grew strongly in the late twentieth century, known especially for bricks and roof tiles, flour milling, machinery and cement, and its business community has a reputation for enterprise. It is also famous throughout Turkey for leblebi, roasted chickpeas prepared in dozens of varieties and sold everywhere as the classic local snack.

The province contains some of the most important archaeological sites in the world. About eighty kilometres from the city lie the ruins of Hattusa, capital of the Hittite empire, which dominated Anatolia and rivalled Egypt in the second millennium before Christ. The site is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list and includes massive walls, the Lion Gate, the Sphinx Gate and a tunnel driven through the ramparts, together with the nearby rock sanctuary of Yazilikaya, where processions of gods are carved into the cliffs. Alacahoyuk, with its royal tombs and famous bronze standards, and Sapinuva at Ortakoy are equally significant. The city itself passed through Phrygian, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman hands, each leaving traces behind.

In the centre, the Great Mosque dating from the Seljuk period, the restored clock tower, the walls of the old castle and rows of traditional Ottoman houses reward a walk. The Corum Museum displays finds from the Hittite sites and gives a clear introduction to the region's past before visitors set out to see the excavations for themselves.

Daily life follows the rhythm of a conservative but genuinely hospitable Anatolian city, with tea gardens, covered markets and a strong tradition of welcoming strangers. Local cuisine features stuffed vine leaves, keskek made from pounded wheat and meat, and of course the chickpeas that are pressed on visitors as a parting gift. Thermal springs elsewhere in the province attract Turkish holidaymakers throughout the year.

Bus services connect the city to all parts of the country, and highways run to Ankara in about three hours and to the Black Sea coast at Samsun in two. Hitit University, named after the ancient civilisation, has grown quickly and gives Corum a substantial student population, with a well regarded archaeology programme among its faculties.

Corum is best known as the gateway to the Hittite world, but it is also a fine example of a self confident modern Anatolian city with deep roots and a strong local identity.