Ardesen
Encyclopedia
Ardeşen is a town and district of Rize Province
in the Black Sea region of Turkey
, 48 km along the coast road from the city of Rize
.
for the history of the area, at one time part of the Kingdom of Georgia
, the Roman
and Byzantine Empire
s and later the Empire of Trebizond
until their defeat in 1461 by the Ottoman
Sultan Mehmet II.
coastline, while most of the district is hill and mountain, extending 50 km inland, up to the Altıparmak hills and then on to Çamlıhemşin
and the Kaçkar mountains. There is plenty of rainfall but little land flat enough for planting anything except for tea, and life is hard in these wet highlands. The highland villages are remote, and reaching them with roads, cables and other infrastructure is very challenging.
This was even more the case before tea planting began, when successive generations would migrate away from the area to jobs in Turkey's larger cities or abroad. 10% of the land is used for tea growing, other than is there is little agriculture except gardening for local consumption. The first tea-processing factory was opened in 1947, other industry includes sawmills and furniture workshops.
The industrial development is in the town of Ardeşen itself, which is on the coast near the mouth of the Fırtına River. Ardeşen has a lot of beautiful public buildings and apartment blocks. The busy coast road through Ardeşen leads up to Turkey's border with Georgia (country)
. The cuisine is like the typical Turkish menu, but there are a lot of special foods typical for the region like minci / cökelek or muhlama to mention only some of the rich kitchen of Ardeşen . Ardeşen has some local radio, TV and newspapers, like Ardeşen'in Sesi.
The income from tea growing has brought better amenities to Ardeşen but the traditional rural lifestyle persists; many of the people in the countryside are ethnic Laz
and the older generations in particular continue to speak the Laz language
although their traditional clothing has disappeared with the ban on growing hemp. However education is quite successful with literacy rates of 97% among men and 89% among women.
The people of Ardeşen have a reputation for their love of firearms, most people carry them and home-made small arms are a thriving trade, (to such an extent that in 1991 the state established a factory here to produce them legally and try and bring the industry under control ). Even the municipality logo features a picture of a mosque and a revolver.
Rize Province
Rize Province is a province of north-east Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. Its capital is the city of Rize.-Geography:...
in the Black Sea region of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, 48 km along the coast road from the city of Rize
Rize
Rize is the capital of Rize Province, in northeast Turkey, on the Black Sea coast.-Etymology:The name comes from Greek or Ριζαίον , meaning "mountain slopes". In modern times, its name in Greek was usually Ριζούντα . Its Latin forms are Rhizus and Rhizaeum...
.
History
See Rize ProvinceRize Province
Rize Province is a province of north-east Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. Its capital is the city of Rize.-Geography:...
for the history of the area, at one time part of the Kingdom of Georgia
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy established in AD 978 by Bagrat III.It flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called "golden age" of the history of Georgia. It fell to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by 1327...
, the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
s and later the Empire of Trebizond
Empire of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond, founded in April 1204, was one of three Byzantine successor states of the Byzantine Empire. However, the creation of the Empire of Trebizond was not directly related to the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, rather it had broken away from the Byzantine Empire...
until their defeat in 1461 by the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Sultan Mehmet II.
Geography
Ardeşen is sandwiched between sea and mountain, with 10 km of Black SeaBlack Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coastline, while most of the district is hill and mountain, extending 50 km inland, up to the Altıparmak hills and then on to Çamlıhemşin
Çamlihemsin
Çamlıhemşin is a small town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey.With its mountains and valleys in all shades of green Çamlıhemşin has a reputation as one of the most attractive parts of the eastern Black Sea region, particularly with the autumn foliage.-Etymology:The...
and the Kaçkar mountains. There is plenty of rainfall but little land flat enough for planting anything except for tea, and life is hard in these wet highlands. The highland villages are remote, and reaching them with roads, cables and other infrastructure is very challenging.
This was even more the case before tea planting began, when successive generations would migrate away from the area to jobs in Turkey's larger cities or abroad. 10% of the land is used for tea growing, other than is there is little agriculture except gardening for local consumption. The first tea-processing factory was opened in 1947, other industry includes sawmills and furniture workshops.
The industrial development is in the town of Ardeşen itself, which is on the coast near the mouth of the Fırtına River. Ardeşen has a lot of beautiful public buildings and apartment blocks. The busy coast road through Ardeşen leads up to Turkey's border with Georgia (country)
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. The cuisine is like the typical Turkish menu, but there are a lot of special foods typical for the region like minci / cökelek or muhlama to mention only some of the rich kitchen of Ardeşen . Ardeşen has some local radio, TV and newspapers, like Ardeşen'in Sesi.
The income from tea growing has brought better amenities to Ardeşen but the traditional rural lifestyle persists; many of the people in the countryside are ethnic Laz
Laz
Laz may refer to the Laz people, who live by the Black Sea, or to their language. As a given name, Laz may be a diminutive for Lazar, Lazarus, Lazaro, or Lazaros...
and the older generations in particular continue to speak the Laz language
Laz language
The Laz language is a South Caucasian language spoken by the Laz people on the Southeast shore of the Black Sea...
although their traditional clothing has disappeared with the ban on growing hemp. However education is quite successful with literacy rates of 97% among men and 89% among women.
The people of Ardeşen have a reputation for their love of firearms, most people carry them and home-made small arms are a thriving trade, (to such an extent that in 1991 the state established a factory here to produce them legally and try and bring the industry under control ). Even the municipality logo features a picture of a mosque and a revolver.
Places of interest
- Fırtına Deresi, a river running down from the KaçkarsKaçkar MountainsKaçkar Mountains or simply Kaçkars are a mountain range that rises above the Black Sea coast in eastern Turkey.With highest peak Kaçkar Dağı at an elevation of , and mountain plateaus at about in elevation, it is the highest part of the Pontic Mountains. The Kaçkars are glaciated mountains that...
, is used for rafting.