Türkiye is home to 24,292 people hailing from Bayramören but the town on the border of Kastamonu and Çankırı provinces has far fewer residents than that. With most of the population living elsewhere, Bayramören has the distinction of being the town with the smallest population in its central residential area, at only 476 people, with more people inhabiting the villages near it.

Situated some 117 kilometers (72 miles) away from central Çankırı, the province it is officially administratively in, Bayramören is far from the hubbub of city life and attracts visitors with the lush forests surrounding it, clean air and its calm daily life. It is another story in the summer though, when locals living in other cities descend to Bayramören, but even then, the population increases fivefold at most, Mayor Halil Muratoğlu says. Though little known in Türkiye, Bayramören also hosts international paragliding championships as well, thanks to its perfect geographic conditions allowing long flights for paragliders.

For locals, walnut farming is their main livelihood and naturally, a bun containing walnuts is among its most famous foods. Mayor Muratoğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the number of people living in villages (around 1,957) means that Bayramören is not technically the smallest town, complaining that the low official population is a challenge for them in the summer. "We have a lower budget compared to bigger towns, so, when the population swells in the summer, we struggle to cover the expenses for public services for thousands, with a budget good for 476 people," he says. For the mayor, the solution is simple. He calls upon the Bayramören diaspora to transfer their civil registry records to their hometown. Municipalities of towns with higher populations can receive more funds from the central government, even if their population lives everywhere for most of the year.

The mayor says the town’s population mostly consists of civil servants while the others work in agriculture or are pensioners. Mutlu Pamukçuoğlu is among them. The 76-year-old man who moved from the capital Ankara says he started spending his summers in Bayramören after retiring in 1995. "We have fresh air here. I like it," Pamukçuoğlu says. "The population increases in the summer and most of them are pensioners like me. They tend to their gardens here," he says. Havva Davut, who lives in Istanbul, likewise, spends her summers in Bayramören. She praises the "healthy" life in Bayramören compared to big cities. "The only problem is heating," she says.