Eastward: Karadeniz Ereğli's Museums and Cehennemağzı

Heading east from Akçakoca via Alaplı on the coast road, you reach Karadeniz Ereğli in about 40–45 minutes. The museums of this city, Herakleia Pontike in antiquity, are close to each other in the centre: the City Museum and the Ereğli Museum in the Halil Paşa Mansion are within walking distance, the Gazi Alemdar Museum Ship is on the seafront and the Toy Museum is in the centre. End the day at the Cehennemağzı Caves, where Heracles descended to the underworld in myth. As most stops are indoors, you can also do it on a rainy day.

Open the whole route in Google Maps

Stops

1. 1
   

   Ereğli City Museum (Cıbıroğlu Mansion)

   The city museum opened by Karadeniz Ereğli Municipality in 2014: the town's history in the traditional 19th-century Cıbıroğlu Mansion.

   ~300 m to the next stop as the crow flies

2. 2
   

   Karadeniz Ereğli Museum (Halil Paşa Mansion)

   The region's archaeological and ethnographic finds, from ancient Herakleia to the Ottomans, in a stone mansion built in the late 19th century.

3. 3
   

   Gazi Alemdar Museum Ship (Karadeniz Ereğli)

   A full-size replica of the ship of the Alemdar Incident in the Turkish War of Independence: a museum ship opened on the Ereğli seafront in 2008.

4. 4
   

   Ereğli Toy Museum

   A toy house and toy library opened by Karadeniz Ereğli Municipality in 2021, with an exhibition and a workshop area for children.

   ~1.7 km to the next stop as the crow flies

5. 5
   

   Cehennemağzı Caves (Karadeniz Ereğli)

   Where Heracles descended to the underworld in myth: three caves made from ancient quarries, one of them used as an early church.

Tips for the route

• Visiting days and hours of the museums and caves can change; call +90 372 323 45 57 for the Ereğli Museum and the caves, and ask Karadeniz Ereğli Municipality about the municipal museums.
• It's easier to park once in the town centre and walk between the museums.
• It's cool and damp inside the caves; wear non-slip shoes.
• If you're curious about the region's prehistory, ask at the Ereğli Museum about the Yassıkaya Early Bronze Age settlement; there are no visitor facilities at the site itself.