Muammer Köroğlu, a Sinop local, said the historical monuments and prison facilities are well-worth visiting. "I advise outside visitors and people from Sinop to visit the prison any time," he told Ihlas news agency.
Sinop Fortress Prison was one of the most notable confinement centers of its day, and is known for having hosted prominent controversial Turkish figures and intellectuals during the 20th century, similar to the U.S.' Alcatraz Island fortress off the coast of California's San Francisco.
Perhaps the most well-known inmate was Turkish novelist Sabahattin Ali, who wrote his works "Kuyucaklı Yusuf" and "Aldırma Gönül" while serving a sentence for writing poems critical of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
The prison also confined Turkish writers Refik Halit Karay, Ahmet Bedevi Kuran, Refi Cevat and Burhan Felek, and socialist political figure Hüseyin Hilmi.
With its iconic stone walls and eerie intrigue, the prison has served as the set for media productions, including Turkish TV series Eşkıya Dünyaya Hükümdar Olmaz, Bizim Hikâye, Parmaklıklar Ardında, Esir Şehrin Gözyaşları and Tatar Ramazan, miniseries Köpek (2005) and comedy film Pardon (2005).
