Ikizdere
Encyclopedia
İkizdere is a town and district of Rize Province
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...

.

Etymology

Formerly known as Kuray-ı Sab, İkizdere means "two streams" and indeed the Çamlık and Cimil Rivers meet here to form the İkizdere.

Structure & Ethnic of People

After Sultan Mehmed II conquered this province in 1461, the people living there had one -GOD belief. In addition that, those people were far of Paganism. It was one of those results for this landlords to choose Islam without war, and it caused to be let to stay and live in Turkey freely,during exchange of people between Greece and Turkey, after World War-I. If you may visit this kind province, perhaps you may not find any speakers of Romeik (Pontic Greek) language at young ages, however; there is so many speakers of this old-ancient-Greek language at old ages in this kind land. There is 21 villages in this land and the people in this villages are known with their very religious structure. So many of this people were died in the war between Russia and Ottoman Empire in 1788, and as well as in World War-I. Since these people were very patriotic people, Kemal Ataturk had always chosen his guards from this land. Because he knew, although these people were of
Greek-origin, they were strict Muslims and very clever and very honest in order to trust.
Nowadays ,there is so many words of Romeik at the Turkish, they are using, and people are going to forget this language, because of the politics. These people are being assimilated very well.
  • Muslim Greek-origined Kurayiseba
  • Name of the villages ,Turkish name at first, then old Romeic(Pontic) one :
  • Güneyce köyü "Varda", Rüzgârlı köyü "Mize", Kirazlık köyü "Manle",

Şimşirli Köyü "Komes", Ilıca Köyü "Vane", Demirkapı "Homeze", Yağcılar "Veliköy", Sivrikaya-Çamlık köyleri"Çohçer"
Gölyayla köyü "Kabahor", Çağrankaya köyü "Kafkame", Cevizlik köyü "Plakorum", Tulumxar "Tulumpınar", Anzer "Ancer", Ayvalık köyü "Kapse",
Bakırköy köyü "Koylav", Tozköy "Mahura", Yerelma köyü "Cevatoz", Meşeköy "Petran". Ortaköy-Başköy "Cimil",
Eskice-Çataltepe "Haya", Gürdere köyü "Ethone", Diktaş köyü "İksenit",
Ballıköy-Çiçekli Köy- Köseli Köyü "Anzer".

Geography

This is hilly countryside inland from the Black Sea
Black 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...

, forest-covered steep mountainside separated by narrow valleys, with areas of high pasture. The İkizdere is formed from streams running out of the Rize Mountains and continues down to the Black Sea, it is dammed for hydro-electric power and for irrigation. There is snow on the high peaks and lots of glacial formation. The climate is typical of the Black Sea region i.e. it rains all the time. There is broad-leaf forest at lower elevations and pine higher up.

İkizdere is an agricultural district, growing tea on the hillsides and potatoes in the valley, and now some kiwi fruit are being planted also. Cattle and sheep are grazed on the hillsides, going up to the high pastures (yayla
Yayla
Yayla is Crimean Tatar and Turkish for alpine meadow or mountain plateau. Cognate words with identical meaning exist in other Turkic languages...

) in summer. Beekeeping is another important source of income, particularly in the village of Anzer. And this very attractive countryside is now attracting tourists, on trekking holidays. However on the whole İkizdere is not a wealthy region and the younger generations migrate to Turkey's larger cities in search of jobs.

The town of İkizdere is on the river bank, 56 km (35 mi) 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...

 on the road to Erzurum
Erzurum
Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...

.

History

See Rize Province
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:...

for a history of this area, once part of the 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...

 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...

, during which periods there was a monastery here in İkizdere. The area was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire
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...

 by Mehmet II in 1461.

İkizdere was occupied by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 for two years during the First World War.and also people whose are living this small town was one of the most popular vale in the word

Places of interest

  • Merkez Camisi - The central mosque
  • The mosque in the village of Şimşirli
  • The mosque of Hacı Şeyh in the town of Güneyce
  • Güneyce bridge
  • The mineral water springs of Şimşirli and Ilıcaköy


There are also a number of interesting wooden houses from the Ottoman period, and many areas of high meadow for walking and trekking, including:
  • the honey-producing Anzer Yaylası
  • the forest area of Çamlık
  • Çağrankaya and Ovit - other areas of high pasture

External links

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2979885205 District governor's official website ikizdere.net Yeşil ikizdere ve internet radyosu ikizdereFM photos of Ikizdere http://www.ikizderemiz.com/anasayfa.asplocal info - follow "resimler" for photos http://www.guneyce.com/local info website ("resimler" section contains photos) local tea growers picasa photos of Ikizdere
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