G
ümüşhane has developed in a narrow strip on both sides of the Harşit river. In the old city, 4 km. up the road, empty mansions, crumbling churches and minarets that have lost their mosques remain as moving testimonies of a forgotten past. Of the traditional mansions of new town, only a few have been maintained. The Ataç mansion belonged to a prominent Ottoman politician. His descendants donated it to the governorate. The exterior was quite successfully renovated, but the interior is rather soulless and doesn’t really do justice to the historical building. The personnel, however, is friendly and the garden very well kept and inviting. The other hotel in town of the same firm have succeeded in creating a boutique-hotel atmosphere in less splendid surroundings. Perhaps the management of Ataç Konağı will follow their lead.