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The eastern part of Trabzon province is mostly known by foreign tourists for its main attraction; Uzungol lake (Serah in the local Pontic Greek language). There are however many other natural and cultural sights and experiences to be found in this densely forested region. The highest peaks of the Pontic Mountains in this area reach over 3 kilometers. The eastern area of Trabzon province is the most detailed region of Turkey on OpenStreetMap, making it possible to plan hiking and biking trips between most villages and hamlets. It has already been discovered by Turkish adventure tourists enthusiasts for some years and is a popular retreat for families living in other areas of Turkey or abroad.

Understand

Transhumance

Two of the remaining timber buildings in Çaykara village, which functions as the main center for the communities in the surrounding mountains. (elevation: 300m)

The main settlement of a community in Çaykara. (elevation: 850m)

The summer settlement (Cahmut) of a community in Çaykara. (elevation: 2220m)

The life of the permanent residents of these remote mountainous districts hasn't changed much since Ottoman times. Within the region multiple different occupational zones can be identified that owe their existence to the transhumance lifestyles of the residents. The main villages are situated on a typical elevation of a few hundred feet above the bottom of the valley. These villages are mostly occupied in spring and fall. On the steep but fertile fields locals produce fruit, vegetables, tea and nuts in abundance. Most of the villages are connected to individual hamlets higher up in the mountains, on the yayla (the alpine pasture used for grazing cows and herding sheep in the summer). In between the hamlets there are also smaller collections of cabins for herders on the pasture, and in recent years (very few) hotels, mostly in the vicinity of Uzungol. Incidentally the summer pastures allow for one season of wheat to be produced, so every house in a yayla hamlet typically has its own garden fenced by a small rock wall to keep out grazing animals. Some hamlets have a large communal walled grassland and smaller private gardens. These hamlets typically have a higher building density and thus more social control. Some hamlets are clustered around multiple family-based cores, while others are more individualistic. Between the main settlements and the summer pastures lie the log cabins of the village lumberjacks and forestry workers. In recent decades the introduction of road vehicles has reduced the number of smaller herding tracks and footpaths connecting the villages and pastures, but many are still in use. The local inland center of the mountainous communities is Caykara, or in the local language: 'Kadahor' (from Katahoriou, meaning 'lower village' in Pontic Greek), which lies directly at the bottom of the Of-valley, at the point of merger of two rivers. This is where local teenagers go to high school and the community gathers for social occasions and markets. Some of the elderly residents of the mountainous villages retreat to Caykara (or even further; Of, Trabzon, Istanbul or Europe) during the winter. Virtually all connection to the outside world goes via the coastal cities of Of and Trabzon. The transhumance lifestyle has even persisted within migrant communities in Europe who have ties to the area, many of whom regularly visit or have built summer holiday homes on the summer pasture. During the winter many hamlets become inaccessible due to heavy snowfall.

Talk

The first language of most people growing up in the area, with the exception of the coastal city Of, is Romeyka; a variety of Pontic Greek. Romeyka is the closest living language to Hellenistic Greek and is only party mutually intelligible with modern Greek. In Turkish no distinction is made between Romeyka and other Anatolian Greek languages, they are all called 'Rum', after the Roman Empire. Many elderly people in the area are more fluent in Romeyka than in Turkish, but in the youngest generation the situation is reversed. Romeyka is on the decline as it has no official status and fewer children grow up in the mountain villages. Next to Pontic Greek and Black-Sea Turkish there were also other languages being spoken in the area: Hemsin Armenian and Persian, each in one village. The use of these languages has faded in this region. Most natives of the area are at least bilingual in Turkish and Romeyka. As the schools in the area are among the best in the country, one may find children that can understand basic English. Foreign languages that come in handy most are German, English and Arabic, but one might also encounter people that speak Dutch, Russian or Modern Greek. Most place-name signs in the area use the new Turkish names for the villages, while locals use their old and new names intermittently. For clarity both names are used in this article.

Listen

The area east of Trabzon has a rich musical tradition of singers and Kemençe-violinists, and many local artists combine the two trades. Other popular musical instruments are the Kaval (a flute), and to the east of Caykara the Tulum (bagpipe). Because their popularity is mostly limited to the Eastern Black Sea area and migrant communities, local musicians make a living through live performances at weddings and pasture festivals. Some artists have also gained a fan-base amongst communities in northern Greece and around the Black Sea. Some popular local artists are: İhsan Eş, Cengiz Selimoğlu, Onay Şahin, Erkan Yeşilyurt, Cemal Kaygusuz, Seyfettin Çakıral and Sinan Sami from Çaykara, Adem Ekiz from Beşköy, İsmail Türüt from Rize. Many local singers are bilingual and perform and record in both the local Turkish dialect as well as in Romeyka, the local Pontic Greek dialect.

Read

Ottoman tax records about the area go back to the 15th century and include data on the names of the villages and their inhabitants, their profession and religion and other anecdotes. The census of 1834 was recently translated into modern Turkish and republished. The first records of Western Europeans known to have visited the area and published about it date from the 19th century. In English there is mostly scientific literature written about the area:

• 'The of valley and the coming of Islam: the case of the greek-speaking muslims' Margarita Poutouridou, 1997

Of, Dernekpazari & Caykara

Of is the only port of this area and was it's historical legislative center. Few remains of it's at least 2200 year old history. It is one of the most conservative cities in the country. Many people that grow up here belong to one of the more strict sects of Sufism. Dernekpazari, Hayrat and Caykara later became independent municipalities. Next to these tree centers, Ocena also forms a local node, along the D915 connecting Of and the wider area to the Anatolian hinterland across the Pontic Mountains.

Koyler (villages)

Of & Dernekpazari

1 Hapsiyaş Bridge (Kiremitli Köprüsü). Hapsiyaş Bridge is a historic timber bridge over the Solakli river. 

Caykara

From north to south the villages in the Caykara district are: Ulucami, Soganli, Kabatas, Akdogan, Baltacili, Yesilalan, Tasoren, Kayran, Egridere, Isikli, Marasli, Koldere, Sahinkaya, Kumlu, Atakoy, Cambasi, Tasligedik, Taskiran, Koseli, Demirli and Uzungol. These villages feature many historical timber mansions, extensive gardens and intricately decorated mosques dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. To get a feeling for how life is in these villages, you can watch the short films Cuckoo (Guguk Kuşu) [1] and Bilyali [2].

The villages of Baltacılı, Taşören (Zeleka), Eğridere (Gorgoras) and Şahinkaya (Siro) are within an hour walking distance from Caykara. The 19th century mosque of Taşören was recently renovated after a fire in 2010.

• In the village of Ataköy (Şinek Paçan) is the house museum of Cevdet Sunay, 5th president of the Turkish Republic.

Uzungöl lake & Karester yayla

2 Uzungöl (Saraho). Uzungöl (Turkish for 'long lake')  The main touristic attraction of the region. Around Uzungol lake there are many hotels, restaurants and other facilities catering to tourists. There are also plans to develop a ski-pistes and chairlifts to the southwest of Uzungol, in the direction of Karester yayla. If you want to connect to local culture and people, this is not the place to stay. It is however a convenient starting point for a hiking or biking adventure in the surrounding areas.

Parharia / Yayla of east Caykara

Walking in the mountains near Buzpinar yayla.

Alaysa, Evoska, Tufa, Cahmut, Kama, Ma'akamboz, Gorgoras, Buzpinar, Maglakamboz, Manosera, Foliza, Geriki, Aso Foliza, Yente, Pladi and Sarikaya are the known names of the village hamlets (from north to south) on the Megali or Magla Kampos (great plain) on the eastern side of Caykara district. It is possible to traverse the route along these settlements by mountain-bike in a single day, for instance starting early in the day from Uzungol and arriving late in the afternoon in Caykara to take a bus back to your hotel. Only the initial part of the route will feature a climb and the rest will be down-hill.

1 Kurt Dagi pasture festival (Kurt Dağı Yayla Şenlikleri). This local summer festival is held in the first week of august at Kurt Dagi (mt. Ligoras) near the summer yayla of Gorgoras village. 

Ocena & Sultanmurat yayla

A view over Sultanmurat yayla.

Ocena (also Ogene), officially called Koknar is a village along the ... To the west of Ocena lies the large Sultanmurat plateau. A war memorial is located here on Martyrs Hill (Sehitler Tepesi) for those who dies in the Ottoman army during the war against the Russian Empire in the first World War.

• 3 Sultanmurat Martyrs Hill (Sultanmurat Şehitler Tepesi). This is a war memorial for the Ottoman soldiers who died in the First World War. 23 June is Remembrance Day (Anma Günü). 
• Sultanmurat Şenlikleri - Sultanmurat festival is held on the 20th of August.

Haldizen & Pontic Mountains

If you continue upward along the solakli river to the southeast from Uzungol, you eventually get to Haldizen. This was an alternative crossing point of the Pontic Mountains for trade caravans heading to Persia from Trabzon. From here it is also possible to cross into Rize province, to upper Anzer yayla, high up in Ikizdere river valley, or to the drier southern flank of the mountain range, to Bayburt province, although there are no large settlement in the direct vicinity. This is the area for people interested in mountaineering.

Iyidere, Kalkandere & Ikizdere

Ikizdere

Ovit Plateau in the south of Ikizdere district.

Ikizdere, or Dipotamos (Twin-stream) is a large sparsely populated district in the southwest of Rize province, bordering Caykara to the west. It has large old-growth forests and beautiful mountain pastures, with Anzer being famous throughout Turkey for its high quality honey production. Just like Caykara district Ikizdere has a multicultural history and population. Next to Pontic Greeks and Cepni Turks, here are the first Laz and Hemsin villages of the Eastern Black sea region.

• 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
• the honey-producing Anzer Yaylası
• the forest area of Çamlık
• Çağrankaya and Ovit plateau.