Rize Province
Encyclopedia
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
.
coast. Overlooking the sea this is the wettest corner of Turkey and Rize is the country's largest producer of tea'. The province is mainly rural and very attractive with its mountain valleys and elevated yaylas (meadows). The district of Çamlıhemşin
in particular is one of Turkey's most popular venues for trekking holidays. Within remote areas, roads are scarce and electrically powered cable car
s are used to transport people and supplies into the mountains. As well as tea, nowadays kiwi fruit are grown here too. Summers are cool (July average 22°C), winters are mild (January average 7°C) and it is wet all year round.
The new Black Sea coast road is making Rize more accessible, while drawing criticism for its effect on the wildlife of the coast, and from the early 2000s, Rize has seen an increase in visitors from outside the province, particularly those seeking to escape into the countryside. This increased tourism has raised concerns among locals that the traditional way of life and the unblemished character of the natural surroundings is under threat. The provincial governor, Enver Salihoglu (as of 2005) has stated his opposition to the expansion of the road network and has advocated a commercial focus on beekeeping, trout farming, and the growing of organic teas.
Native plants include: the Cherry Laurel
, the fruit of which is an edible small dark plum which leaves a dark stain on the mouth and teeth; bilberry
which are now being actively cultivated; and tea is not native of course but grows here very well and of the greatest pleasures in Rize is to enjoy a glass of the local brew made from mountain spring water.
Rize is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.
(Eastern Black Sea Mts.), Rize was formed in the Palaeozoic period and then the valleys were eroded from the Cretaceous
period onwards.
king Sardur II, who conquered the area for his kingdom (765-735 BC).
Then in 714 BC a tribe of Cimmerians
came to settle by the Çoruh River
, fleeing as their homeland in the Caucasus
was overrun by the Saka
branch of the Scythians. The Cimmerians spread throughout Anatolia
and still today there are many places named Kemer as a record of their presence, including some villages in Rize. The Saka meanwhile spread westwards into eastern Europe and in 680 BC defeated the last of the Cimmerians in Georgia (country)
, but they themselves were overturned by the Medes
, who murdered the Saka King Madova in 626 BC. Following the departure of the Saka the area was occupied by various tribes of Turks
and Georgians
.
, from 670 BC onwards the Aegean
Ancient Greek
community of Miletus
established a series of trading posts along the Black Sea coast; one of these was Rize
. Although this colony was always vulnerable to attacks from the Medes until the Persian armies were defeated by Alexander the Great. Following the death of Alexander a number of separate kingdoms were established in Anatolia
including Bithynia
and Cappadoccia and in this corner of the eastern Black Sea, Pontus
. Rize was brought into the Kingdom of Pontus by Pharnaces
in 180BC.
The kingdom was absorbed into the Roman Empire
between 10 AD and 395 AD, when it passed to the Byzantines
. By this time writers including Pliny
and the Roman adventurer Arrian
were describing the inhabitants as Laz
.
The high country above Rize however was always in flux and as late as 626 AD a tribe of Scythians, having been moved from their settlements further east by the Persians, came to settle in the area that is today's district of Hemşin
.
A short period of Turkish domination in the region took part in the late 11th century, following the defeat of the Byzantines at the Battle of Malazgirt, and the Çoruh River
. It was then incorporated into one of the Anatolian beyliks following the defeat of the Georgian Kingdom at the siege of Posof
in 1080.
Large numbers of Turks coming to settle along the coast, including a large influx of Kipchak Turks. But it was still mainly a Greek speaking region. The area was recaptured by the Byzantines in 1098 during the Crusades
and later following the sack of Constantinople
in the Fourth Crusade
of 1204, the Byzantine Imperial family itself removed to nearby Trabzon
establishing the Empire of Trebizond
, of which Rize was part.
However, the area had been largely settled by Turks and this community remained, the Byzantines merely keeping a base in Rize.
This era ended when the Empire of Trebizond began paying tribute to the Ottoman Empire
in 1456 and then the Ottoman army led by Sultan Mehmet II entered Trabzon in 1461. Rize fell in 1470, the last gasp of the Roman Empire.
From the late-17th century onwards, the Ottoman administration built many elegant bridges across the Fırtına River
and its tributaries.
The province was a site of battles between Ottoman and Russian
armies during Caucasus Campaign
of World War I
and was occupied by the Russian forces in 1916-1918. It was returned to the Ottomans with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
in 1918.
From 1924 onwards, Rize has been a province of the Republic of Turkey. Slowly the Greek names of the villages and districts are being replaced with Turkish (Pilihoz is now Dumankaya, Mapavri is Çayeli
etc.). However the old names are still in common usage, especially among the older generations, and can be seen on shop signs, taxi ranks and elesewhere, while other names from the Pontus era (such as Askoroz, Peripol and of course Rize itself) are still in use.
Until tea was planted here in the 1940s this was a poor area at the far end of the country, with only the Soviet Union
beyond the Iron Curtain
. Many generations of Rize people left to look for jobs in Istanbul
or overseas.
itself is a quiet country town on the coast, on a narrow strip of flat land between the mountains and the sea. Today the area is wealthier although there is a marked difference between the lifestyle of the people in the relatively wealthy city of Rize and those in the remote villages where wooden houses perch on the steep mountainside with the rain beating down. The province is known in Turkey for the production of Rize Tea
.
Traditional cuisine in the city quite rich and the anchovy
forms the basic for many of the dishes peculiar to the region. Soups, salad
s, pilaf
s and even desserts are made of anchovy. Some of the local dishes are hamsi buğulama (boiled anchovy), hamsi stew, and kamsi köfte (anchovy meatballs). Lahana çorbası (cabbage
soup), muhlama (made of cheese
, cornmeal and butter
) and pide
s (pita
bread topped with various fillings) are also other local delicacies)
can also be accompanied by tulum or kaval
. Folk dancers wear traditional costumes while performing horon. Men wear shirt, vest, jacket, zipka (pants made of wool
and gathered at knees) and black boots. On their jackets are silver embroideries, amulet
s hemayils with religion expressions put inside these small silver
containers to br protected against evil's eye. On the other hand, women dancers wear colorful dresses and traditional hand painted head scarves including various motifs.
, socks, shoulder bag, spoon made of boxwood
(capital district in bold):
Other buildings of note include:
Provinces of Turkey
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, called il in Turkish .A province is administered by an appointed governor , and was formerly termed a "governorate" ....
of north-east 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...
, on the eastern 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...
coast between Trabzon
Trabzon Province
Trabzon Province is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Located in a strategically important region, Trabzon is one of the oldest trade port cities in Anatolia. Neighbouring provinces are Giresun to the west, Gümüşhane to the southwest, Bayburt to the southeast and Rize to the east. The...
and Artvin
Artvin Province
Artvin Province is a province in Turkey, on the Black Sea coast in the north-eastern corner of the country, on the border with Georgia.The provincial capital is the city of Artvin.-Geography:...
. Its capital is 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...
.
Geography
Rize is on the north side of the range of mountains that run along the 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...
coast. Overlooking the sea this is the wettest corner of Turkey and Rize is the country's largest producer of tea'. The province is mainly rural and very attractive with its mountain valleys and elevated yaylas (meadows). The district of 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...
in particular is one of Turkey's most popular venues for trekking holidays. Within remote areas, roads are scarce and electrically powered cable car
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
s are used to transport people and supplies into the mountains. As well as tea, nowadays kiwi fruit are grown here too. Summers are cool (July average 22°C), winters are mild (January average 7°C) and it is wet all year round.
The new Black Sea coast road is making Rize more accessible, while drawing criticism for its effect on the wildlife of the coast, and from the early 2000s, Rize has seen an increase in visitors from outside the province, particularly those seeking to escape into the countryside. This increased tourism has raised concerns among locals that the traditional way of life and the unblemished character of the natural surroundings is under threat. The provincial governor, Enver Salihoglu (as of 2005) has stated his opposition to the expansion of the road network and has advocated a commercial focus on beekeeping, trout farming, and the growing of organic teas.
Native plants include: the Cherry Laurel
Cherry laurel
Prunus laurocerasus, with common names cherry laurel and sometimes called English laurel in North America, is a species in the genus Prunus, native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, from Albania and Bulgaria east through Turkey to the Caucasus...
, the fruit of which is an edible small dark plum which leaves a dark stain on the mouth and teeth; bilberry
Bilberry
Bilberry is any of several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium , bearing edible berries. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., but there are several other closely related species....
which are now being actively cultivated; and tea is not native of course but grows here very well and of the greatest pleasures in Rize is to enjoy a glass of the local brew made from mountain spring water.
Rize is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.
Geology
Part of the Pontic MountainsPontic Mountains
The Pontic Mountains form a mountain range in Northern Turkey, also known as the Parhar mountains in the local Turkish and Pontic Greek languages. The term "Parhar" originates from the Hittite word meaning "high" or "summit"....
(Eastern Black Sea Mts.), Rize was formed in the Palaeozoic period and then the valleys were eroded from the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
period onwards.
Ancient history
We have little information as to the prehistory of this region, which being covered in thick forest is difficult to excavate and reveals little. The earliest records we have are of the Kulku or Kulha, an Asian community speaking an agglutinative language, the name being carved into a monument left by the UrartuUrartu
Urartu , corresponding to Ararat or Kingdom of Van was an Iron Age kingdom centered around Lake Van in the Armenian Highland....
king Sardur II, who conquered the area for his kingdom (765-735 BC).
Then in 714 BC a tribe of Cimmerians
Cimmerians
The Cimmerians or Kimmerians were ancient equestrian nomads of Indo-European origin.According to the Greek historian Herodotus, of the 5th century BC, the Cimmerians inhabited the region north of the Caucasus and the Black Sea during the 8th and 7th centuries BC, in what is now Ukraine and Russia...
came to settle by the Çoruh River
Çoruh River
The Çoruh River or Ch'orokhi River rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, Ispir, Yusufeli, and Artvin, along the Kelkit-Çoruh Fault, before flowing into Georgia, where it reaches the Black Sea just south of Batumi and a few kilometers north of...
, fleeing as their homeland in the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
was overrun by the Saka
Saka
The Saka were a Scythian tribe or group of tribes....
branch of the Scythians. The Cimmerians spread throughout Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and still today there are many places named Kemer as a record of their presence, including some villages in Rize. The Saka meanwhile spread westwards into eastern Europe and in 680 BC defeated the last of the Cimmerians in 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...
, but they themselves were overturned by the Medes
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
, who murdered the Saka King Madova in 626 BC. Following the departure of the Saka the area was occupied by various tribes of Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
.
Antiquity
According to Pliny the ElderPliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
, from 670 BC onwards the Aegean
Aegean Islands
The Aegean Islands are the group of islands in the Aegean Sea, with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast...
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
community of Miletus
Miletus
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
established a series of trading posts along the Black Sea coast; one of these was 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...
. Although this colony was always vulnerable to attacks from the Medes until the Persian armies were defeated by Alexander the Great. Following the death of Alexander a number of separate kingdoms were established in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
including Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
and Cappadoccia and in this corner of the eastern Black Sea, Pontus
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος...
. Rize was brought into the Kingdom of Pontus by Pharnaces
Pharnaces I of Pontus
Pharnaces I , fifth king of Pontus and was of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. He was the son of King Mithridates III of Pontus and his wife Laodice, whom he succeeded on the throne. Pharnaces had two siblings: a brother called Mithridates IV of Pontus and a sister called Laodice who...
in 180BC.
The kingdom was absorbed into the Roman Empire
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....
between 10 AD and 395 AD, when it passed to the Byzantines
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...
. By this time writers including Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
and the Roman adventurer Arrian
Arrian
Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
were describing the inhabitants as Laz
Laz people
The Laz are an ethnic group native to the Black Sea coastal regions of Turkey and Georgia...
.
Medieval
During the whole medieval period those territories were under Byzantine rule and held a majority Greek population.The high country above Rize however was always in flux and as late as 626 AD a tribe of Scythians, having been moved from their settlements further east by the Persians, came to settle in the area that is today's district of Hemşin
Hemsin
Hemşin is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 57 km from the city of Rize....
.
A short period of Turkish domination in the region took part in the late 11th century, following the defeat of the Byzantines at the Battle of Malazgirt, and the Çoruh River
Çoruh River
The Çoruh River or Ch'orokhi River rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, Ispir, Yusufeli, and Artvin, along the Kelkit-Çoruh Fault, before flowing into Georgia, where it reaches the Black Sea just south of Batumi and a few kilometers north of...
. It was then incorporated into one of the Anatolian beyliks following the defeat of the Georgian Kingdom at the siege of Posof
Posof
Posof is a district of Ardahan Province of Turkey, in the far east of the country, 75 km from the city of Ardahan. It has a border crossing with neigboring Georgia at Türkgözü...
in 1080.
Large numbers of Turks coming to settle along the coast, including a large influx of Kipchak Turks. But it was still mainly a Greek speaking region. The area was recaptured by the Byzantines in 1098 during the Crusades
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
and later following the sack of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
of 1204, the Byzantine Imperial family itself removed to nearby Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
establishing 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...
, of which Rize was part.
However, the area had been largely settled by Turks and this community remained, the Byzantines merely keeping a base in Rize.
The Turkish era
The Turks in the area were from various tribes in Anatolia, all under the Seljuk umbrella but with varying degrees of loyalty and contentment; there were numerous rebellions and uprisings.This era ended when the Empire of Trebizond began paying tribute to 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...
in 1456 and then the Ottoman army led by Sultan Mehmet II entered Trabzon in 1461. Rize fell in 1470, the last gasp of the Roman Empire.
From the late-17th century onwards, the Ottoman administration built many elegant bridges across the Fırtına River
Fırtına River bridges
The Fırtına River bridges are a group of more than 20 well-preserved Ottoman-era bridges over the Fırtına river and its tributaries near Çamlıhemşin in Rize Province at the eastern end of Turkey's Black Sea coast....
and its tributaries.
The province was a site of battles between Ottoman and Russian
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
armies during Caucasus Campaign
Caucasus Campaign
The Caucasus Campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, later including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Central Caspian Dictatorship and the UK as part of the Middle Eastern theatre or alternatively named as part of the Caucasus Campaign during World War I...
of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was occupied by the Russian forces in 1916-1918. It was returned to the Ottomans with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
in 1918.
From 1924 onwards, Rize has been a province of the Republic of Turkey. Slowly the Greek names of the villages and districts are being replaced with Turkish (Pilihoz is now Dumankaya, Mapavri is Çayeli
Çayeli
Çayeli is a town and district of Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey, 18 km east of the city of Rize.Çay means tea in Turkish and a large percentage of Turkey's tea is indeed grown in this lush green district.-Geography:...
etc.). However the old names are still in common usage, especially among the older generations, and can be seen on shop signs, taxi ranks and elesewhere, while other names from the Pontus era (such as Askoroz, Peripol and of course Rize itself) are still in use.
Until tea was planted here in the 1940s this was a poor area at the far end of the country, with only the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
beyond the Iron Curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
. Many generations of Rize people left to look for jobs in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
or overseas.
Life in Rize today
The city of RizeRize
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...
itself is a quiet country town on the coast, on a narrow strip of flat land between the mountains and the sea. Today the area is wealthier although there is a marked difference between the lifestyle of the people in the relatively wealthy city of Rize and those in the remote villages where wooden houses perch on the steep mountainside with the rain beating down. The province is known in Turkey for the production of Rize Tea
Rize Tea
Rize tea or çay is the black tea used for Turkish tea. Produced in Rize Province on the eastern Black Sea coast of Turkey which has a mild climate with high precipitation and fertile soil, when brewed it is mahogany in color. People throughout Turkey may drink tea at any time of the day...
.
Cuisine
Anchovy
Anchovies are a family of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish.-Description:...
forms the basic for many of the dishes peculiar to the region. Soups, salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
s, pilaf
Pilaf
Pilaf is a dish in which rice is cooked in a seasoned broth . In some cases, the rice may also attain its brown color by being stirred with bits of cooked onion, as well as a large mix of spices...
s and even desserts are made of anchovy. Some of the local dishes are hamsi buğulama (boiled anchovy), hamsi stew, and kamsi köfte (anchovy meatballs). Lahana çorbası (cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
soup), muhlama (made of cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, cornmeal and butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
) and pide
Pide
Pide may refer to:*Pita, a type of flatbread typical of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines*PIDE , the political secret police during the authoritarian Portuguese regime of the Estado Novo*Pakistan Institute...
s (pita
Pita
Pita or pitta is a round pocket bread widely consumed in many Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and Balkan cuisines. It is prevalent in Greece, the Balkans the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The "pocket" in pita bread is created by steam, which puffs up the dough...
bread topped with various fillings) are also other local delicacies)
Folk dances and traditional costumes
Folk dancers perform horon energetically when it is acoompanied by kemenche. However this folk danceFolk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
can also be accompanied by tulum or kaval
Kaval
The kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout Azerbaijan, Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, southern Serbia , northern Greece , Romania , and Armenia...
. Folk dancers wear traditional costumes while performing horon. Men wear shirt, vest, jacket, zipka (pants made of wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
and gathered at knees) and black boots. On their jackets are silver embroideries, amulet
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
s hemayils with religion expressions put inside these small silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
containers to br protected against evil's eye. On the other hand, women dancers wear colorful dresses and traditional hand painted head scarves including various motifs.
Handicrafts
Rize offers a rich variety of traditional handicrafts and handmade souvenirs to visitors. Some of them. Copper works, wicker baskets, churnChurn
Churn may refer to:* Butter churn, a device used for churning butter* Churning , the process of creating butter out of milk or cream* Churn drill, a large, older drilling machine that bores large diameter holes in the ground- People and places :...
, socks, shoulder bag, spoon made of boxwood
Districts
Rize province is divided into 12 districtsDistricts of Turkey
The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 957 districts . In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the kaza....
(capital district in bold):
- ArdeşenArdesenArdeşen 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.-History:...
- ÇamlıhemşinÇamlihemsinÇamlıhemşin 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...
- ÇayeliÇayeliÇayeli is a town and district of Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey, 18 km east of the city of Rize.Çay means tea in Turkish and a large percentage of Turkey's tea is indeed grown in this lush green district.-Geography:...
- DerepazarıDerepazariDerepazarı is a town and district of Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of Turkey between the cities of Rize and Trabzon, 8 km weast of the city of Rize.-Features:...
- FındıklıFindikliFındıklı is a town and district of Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, east of the city of Rize.-Etymology:The town was formerly known as Vitze which means twig or branch in the Laz language and was renamed Fındıklı after the hazelnuts that were grown here, .-Geography:Like most Black...
- GüneysuGüneysuGüneysu is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, inland from the city of Rize.-Etymology:Güneysu was formerly named in Greek Potomya and the name persists in local usage to this day, as Güneysu stands on a plain watered by the Potomya River, a tributary of the...
- HemşinHemsinHemşin is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 57 km from the city of Rize....
- İkizdereIkizdereİkizdere is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey.-Etymology:Formerly known as Kuray-ı Sab, İkizdere means "two streams" and indeed the Çamlık and Cimil Rivers meet here to form the İkizdere....
- İyidereIyidereİyidere is a town and district of Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey, 14 km from the city of Rize.Formerly known as Aspet, İyidere is a green rural district...
- KalkandereKalkandereKalkandere is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, west of the city of Rize.Formerly known as Karadere, this is a hilly, forested, rural area of scattered villages, inland from the Black Sea coast. There is little flat land and this is an impoverished area losing...
- PazarPazarPazar is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 37 km east of the city of Rize.-Etymology:The town was formerly named Atina and was renamed Pazar 'market' in 1928.-Geography:...
- RizeRizeRize 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...
Places of interest
Rize is a province of great natural beauty, sites of particular interest include:- AyderAyderAyder is a yayla in Rize Province, Turkey. - Geography :Ayder at is a typical yayla with no settled population, but hosts visitors during summers. Average altitude is . It is a part of Çamlıhemşin district of Rize Province...
- A yaylaYayla (resort)Yayla is a name given to the summer mountain resorts in Turkey.- Etymology :Nomadic herdsmen of Turkic origin used to call their herding locations by different names depending on the season. Yazlak, yaylak, güzlek and kışlak referred to herding locations of different seasons of the year...
(high meadow) area with hot springs, hotels and restaurants, and from here you can climb up to higher and more remote meadows and villages. - Çamlık - riverside area of forest park
- Fırtına Vadisi - the valley is now a protected site of natural beauty
- OvitOvitHovit is a town in the Shirak Province of Armenia....
- mountain pass on the ErzurumErzurumErzurum 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...
road in Ikizdere, 2640 m, forest and mountain viewpoint - The village and waterfall of Palovit, high in the mountains.
- Avup Dağı, the mountain between Rize and ÇamlıhemşinÇamlihemsinÇamlıhemşin 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...
, between Fırtına Deresı and Ortaköy Deresi. There are four Byzantine castles perched high on rocks on the mountainside including; - Kale-i Balâ and ZilkaleZilkaleZilkale is a medieval castle located in the Fırtına Valley , and is one of the most important historical structures in Çamlıhemşin district of Rize Province in the Black Sea Region of Turkey....
Other buildings of note include:
- The watch tower, Kız Kalesi on the sea front in PazarPazarPazar is a town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, 37 km east of the city of Rize.-Etymology:The town was formerly named Atina and was renamed Pazar 'market' in 1928.-Geography:...
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