Akçakoca Bey (Akça Koca) was a frontier lord who lived in the founding years of the Ottoman state and was one of Osman Gazi's comrades-in-arms. In the reign of Orhan Gazi he led raids in the Sakarya and İzmit region together with Konuralp, Gazi Abdurrahman and Köse Mihal.
Around 1326 he took Kandıra and its surroundings; then, together with Konuralp and Gazi Abdurrahman, he conquered Aydos and Samandıra castle. He died in 1328, shortly before the conquest of İzmit, and was buried on a hill near Kandıra (TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, entry "Akça Koca").
İzmit and its surroundings, where he fought, came to be called "Koca-ili" ("the land of Koca") after him; today's name Kocaeli comes from this. Düzce's Akçakoca district also bears his name: historically known as Akçaşar and Akçaşehir, the town took the name Akçakoca in 1934.
The seafront monument is a group of statues; next to Akçakoca Bey stands his comrade-in-arms Konuralp Bey. Konuralp Bey's name lives on in Konuralp, home of the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium, 25 minutes from Akçakoca.
Before you go
- Add the monument to a walk along the seafront; walking the coast at sunset is a real pleasure.
