Daday is a district in the northwest of Kastamonu, surrounded by forests. The district economy is based on agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry; equestrian tourism activities are also carried out.

History

The oldest known settlement traces in Daday date back to 5000 BC, based on hand axes made of carved stone found near Göl Köy. The Kaskas (Gasgas) were identified as the first settlers, followed by the Hittites, Paphlagonians, Cimmerians, Lydians, Persians (4th century BC), Greeks, Romans and Arabs. In the Middle Ages, the Danishmend and Çobanoğulları principalities ruled these lands. In 1214, the Seljuk commander İzzeddin Keykavus took the region and opened it to the Turks.

The Çobanoğulları Principality was destroyed by the Candaroğulları in 1291 and Daday became one of the important districts between Ankara and Kastamonu during the Candaroğulları Principality. Fatih Sultan Mehmet annexed the Candaroğulları Principality to the Ottoman Empire in 1460 and Daday came under Ottoman rule. Daday, which became a district of the Kastamonu Sanjak in the mid-19th century, is also recorded as a district in the Kastamonu Yearbook of 1869. The district name appears in ancient sources as Dadibra (Greek for “forest land”).

Geography and Climate

Daday District is located 34 km northwest of Kastamonu city center. The district covers an area of ​​approximately 973 km² and has 60 villages, with a total population of approximately 9,738. The district is established on a valley floor at an altitude of approximately 980 meters as an extension of the Köroğlu Mountains; one of the branches of the Gökırmak River runs through this valley. The terrain is generally rugged and forested. Forest cover covers large areas in the surrounding mountains, limiting arable land. Two small ponds, Yumurtacı and Taşçılar, are used for irrigation purposes, but their capacity is limited.

Daday has a typical continental climate. Winters are snowy and cold, spring and autumn months are bitterly cold and frosty; summers are generally hot and dry. These climate characteristics negatively affect the yield of agricultural products. For example, late spring frosts cause yield losses in fruit and vegetable cultivation.

Population and Demography

While the total population of Daday district was 10,160 in 2007, it decreased to 7,992 in 2024, and in this period, increases of 644, 240 and 454 people were observed in 2012–2013, 2017–2018 and 2022–2023, respectively, and decreases at varying rates were observed in other years. According to 2024 data, the male population is 4,024 (50.35%), the female population is 3,968 (49.65%), and the difference between the sexes generally remains at the scale of a few hundred people. Annual population changes have followed a fluctuating course that can be explained by various factors such as local record updates and migration movements.

Economy

The district economy is primarily based on agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. In agriculture, grains such as barley, wheat and rye and forage crops such as clover and sainfoin are grown the most. Fruits such as apples and pears are also produced in limited quantities, but the infertility of agricultural lands and frost events limit fruit and vegetable farming. The extensive forest cover allows for forestry. Due to the variety of plants in the forests, the honey produced in Daday is considered to be of high quality. In addition, woodworking is a prominent traditional handicraft in the region.

Animal husbandry is generally based on small family businesses. A few head of cattle are raised in each village in the district, but there is no large-scale meat or milk production. Poultry farming is also mostly for home consumption. There is no industrial cattle or sheep farming activity in the region. Commercial activities are limited, and local tradesmen generally trade in durable consumer goods and food products. There is almost no industrial investment in Daday.

Tourism, Culture and Cuisine

Daday is a district with rich natural and historical resources. Ballıdağ forests, where black pine, Scots pine, beech and fir trees are dense, offer suitable areas for ecotourism; this plateau is also described as an “oxygen depot” due to its dense forest cover. The region used to host the second largest sanatorium in Türkiye. The district is also known for its horse breeding tradition that has been going on since the Ottoman period. Today, visitors can go horseback riding and participate in nature tours with horses at the horse farms established in Daday. The hiking trails, ponds and waterfalls along the Gökırmak valley are preferred in terms of nature tourism.

There are many historical stone and wooden structures in Daday. The Balaban Mansion, dating back to 1632, is an important example of the region’s village architecture. The Daday Government Mansion, built in 1891, and the Seyidi Bey Oğlu Mansion, dating back to 1912, stand out with their rich wooden ornaments. Historical mosques such as the 18th-century Ali Pasha Mosque and the Honsalar Hill Mound near Alipaşa Village are of archaeological importance. Daday was included in the “Cittaslow” network in 2018 and pledged to preserve its cultural and natural values.

The local cuisine includes various flavors specific to Kastamonu and the Black Sea region. The main dishes of the region are:

• Tarhana soup,

• Uğmaç soup,

• Sour rice,

• Tirit (soup with meat and bread),

• Banduma (rice with chicken),

• Meat bread,

• Types of flatbread (e.g. gatmer and serme bread),

• Sıkıma (thin yufka bread),

• Sheet metal scratching.

In addition to these dishes, Daday's local product, the famous üryani plum (ala plum), is also available; this plum is registered as one of the important local products of Kastamonu. Daday cuisine reflects the tradition of classical Black Sea dishes, nourished by plant and animal production.