Gümüshtigin, the second leader of the Danishmends - a wassal of the Seljuq Sultanate of Rum - the area has been under the rule of several Turkish states (Danishmends, Seljuq Turks, Pervaneoğulları, Jandarids, Ottoman Empire, Turkish Republic) and has been spared from military conflicts and battles on its territory during the last 500 years. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Boyabat was part of the Kastamonu Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. Today The main income source of the area is agriculture, animal husbandry, and some forest related activities. Of agricultural produce Boyabat is renowned for its rice. Rice fields cover the bottom of Gökirmak and Kizilirmak valleys. The town boasts some local industry, notably brick, tiles, and ceramic production, unhusking and polishing of rice, and tanning. Mondays a weekly bazaar is held in Boyabat center and the town overflows with farmers and merchants of the area. A larger several days long yearly event "Panayır" (fair) is held in autumn (starting the second Wednesday of October) just outside town center. It lasts several days and attracts participants from a much larger area. The local character of Boyabat is reflected in the characteristic old houses below the castle, handwoven traditional scarves popular among the farmer ladies and woodprint scarves among town ladies. Davul and zurna music is the hallmark of weddings. They lead processions through the town carrying gifts to the wedding house. On arrival, the drummer in full traditional drummer outfit performs a drumplaying dance to the music of zurna. Another Boyabat tradition kept alive is the whole grilled lamb kebab served in special restaurants. Village weddings and the panayır /fair also include a wrestling championship performed to the tune of davul and zurna, playing non-stop epic "köroğlu" melodies (typically in five eight rhythm) in the background. Like every other similar town in Turkey, a large number of people originating from Boyabat now live in large metropolitan centers, mainly Istanbul some 650 km or a 10 hours bus ride away. During the latest decades Boyabat town itself has also expanded greatly by the building of apartment blocks. The plan of the city is altered by a wide thoroughfare which also attracted arenas of business out from the old shopping district. The countryside around has also seen dramatic changes. A belt of planted pine forests, a dry canal diverting flash floods away from town center, factories on the plains west