'Rize' is a
province of north-east
Turkey, on the eastern
Black Sea coast between
Trabzon and
Artvin. Its capital is the city of '
Rize'.
Etymology
The name comes from
Greek (riza), meaning "mountain slopes". The
Georgian name is რიზე, and the
Armenian name is Ռիզե.
Geography
Rize is on the north side of the range of mountains that run along the
Black Sea 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 ''yayla''s (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 cars 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 warm (January average 7°C) and it is wet all year round.
The province is home to a community of
Laz people and
Hamsheni Armenians.
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
[1].
Native plants include: the
Cherry Laurel (Turkish ''taflan'' or ''karamyemiÅŸ''), 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.
Geology
Part of the Eastern Black Sea mountains Rize was formed in the
Palaeozoic period and then the valleys were eroded from the
Cretaceous period onwards.
History
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 a glutinous language, the name being carved into a monument left by the
Urartu 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.
Antiquity
According to
Pliny, 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 were 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 10AD and 395AD, when it passed to the
Byzantines. By this time writers including
Pliny the Elder 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
HemÅŸin.
Large number of
Turkish peoples began to arrive in the 11th century, following the defeat of the Byzantines at the
Battle of Malazgirt, and the
Çoruh River was incorporated into one of the
Anatolian Turkish 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. However, 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.
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 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.
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 1940's 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.
Life in Rize today
The city of
Rize 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.
Districts
Rize province is divided into 12
districts (capital district in 'bold'):
★
ArdeÅŸen
★
Çamlıhemşin
★
Çayeli
★
Derepazarı
★
Fındıklı
★
Güneysu
★
HemÅŸin
★
Ä°kizdere
★
Ä°yidere
★
Kalkandere
★
Pazar
★ '
Rize'
Places of interest
Rize is a province of great natural beauty, sites of particular interest include:
★ ''Ayder'' - A yayla (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
★ ''Ovit'' - mountain pass on the
Erzurum road in Ikizdere, 2640m, forest and mountain viewpoint
★ The village and waterfall of ''Palovit'', high in the mountains.
★
Avup Dağı, the mountain between Rize and
Çamlıhemşin, between ''Fırtına Deresı'' and ''Ortaköy Deresi''. There are four Byzantine castles perched high on rocks on the mountainside including;
★ ''Kale-i Balâ'' and ''Kale-i Zil''
Other buildings of note include:
★ The watch tower, ''Kız Kalesi'' on the sea front in
Pazar.
Sea also
★
Kackar
References
1. "How Green Is Their Valley" The Economist. August 27th-September 2nd, 2005
External links
★
the provincial governorate
★
local TV station website
★
Rize municipality
★
local information
★
PRIVATE BILGE PRIMARY SCHOOL RIZE-TURKEY
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