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Trabzon

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Template:Infobox town TR Trabzon, formerly known as Trebizond (Greek: Template:Polytonic), is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Throughout history, Trabzon has been an important meeting point for international trade and cultural exchange due to its strategic location which controls the east-west (Asia-Europe) and north-south (Russia-Middle East) trading routes. Trabzon formed the basis of several states in its long history, and was the capital city of the Empire of Trebizond. The population of the city is 275,137 (2006 census).

History

Ancient and Mediaeval

Originally, it was founded as Trapezus (Template:Polytonic) by Greek traders from Miletus (traditionally in 756 BCE).

The city was one of a number (about ten) of Milesian emporia, or trading colonies along the shores of the Black Sea. Others include Sinope, Abydos and Cyzicus (in the Dardanelles). Like most Greek colonies, the city was a small enclave of Greek life, and not an empire unto its own, in the later European sense of the word.

Trapezus's trade partners included the Mossynoeci. When Xenophon and the "ten thousand" Greek mercenaries were fighting their way out of Persia, the first Greek city they reached was Trapezus (Xenophon, Anabasis, 5.5.10). The city and the local Mossynoeci had become estranged from the Mossynoecian capital, to the point of civil war. Xenophon's force resolved this in the rebels' favor, and so in Trapezus' interest.

The city was added to the kingdom of Pontus by Mithridates VI Eupator and it became home port for the Pontic fleet.

File:Trapezunt.jpg
Trabzon as of mid 19th century

When the kingdom was annexed to the Roman province of Galatia in 64–65 CE, the fleet simply passed to new commanders, becoming the Classis Pontica. Trapezus gained importance under Roman rule in the 1st century CE for its access to road leading over the Zigana Pass to the Armenian frontier or the upper Euphrates valley. New roads were constructed from Persia and Mesopotamia under the rule of Vespasian, and Hadrian commissioned improvements to give the city a more structured harbor. A mithraeum now serves as a crypt for the church of Panaghia Theoskepastos in nearby Kizlara, east of the citadel and south of the modern harbor. The city was pillaged by the Goths in 258, and, although it was afterwards re-built, Trapezus did not recover until the trade route regained importance in the 8th to 10th centuries.

After the Fourth Crusade in 1204, a Byzantine successor state was founded there with support of Queen Tamar of Georgia, the Empire of Trebizond, which ruled part of the Black Sea coast from Trabzon until 1461, when its ruler, David, surrendered to Mehmed II, ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Following this takeover Mehmed sent many Turkish settlers into the area, but the old ethnic Armenian, Greek and Laz communities remained. During the late Ottoman period, the city had a great Christian influence in terms of culture, and a wealthy merchant class who created several Western consulates.

Modern era

File:Ataturk Kosku.jpg
Atatürk Köşkü in Trabzon
Ortahisar neighbourhood in winter

The city was the site of one of the key battles between the Ottoman and Russian armies during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I which resulted in the capture of Trabzon by the Russian army under command of Grand Duke Nicholas and Nikolai Yudenich in April 1916. Following the Treaty of Sèvres and subsequent Treaty of Lausanne, Trabzon again became a part of Turkey.

During World War II shipping activity was limited because the Black Sea had again become a battlefield. Hence the most important export products, tobacco and hazelnut, could not be sold and living standards degraded.

As a result of the general development of the country, Trabzon has developed its economic and commercial life. The Coastal Highway and a new harbour have increased commercial relations with Central Anatolia, which has led to some growth. However, progress has been slow in comparison with the western and the southwestern parts of Turkey.

Trabzon is famous throughout Turkey for its anchovies, which are the main meal in many restaurants in the city. Major exports from Trabzon are hazelnuts and tea.

The city still has a sizable community of Greek-speaking Muslims, most of whom are originally from the vicinities of Tonya and Of. However, the Pontic Greek language (known as Ποντιακά, Pontiaka) is spoken mostly by the older generations.[1]

Trabzon is known as a stronghold of ultra-nationalistic political currents in Turkey.[2] In April 2006, Catholic priest Andrea Santoro was murdered in his church in Trabzon.[1] Ogün Samast, the suspect in the January 2007 murder of Armenian intellectual Hrant Dink, is from Trabzon.[3]

Geography and climate

The city has a total area of 4.685 km² and It is bordered by the cities of Rize, Giresun and Gümüşhane. The total area is 22,4% plateaux and 77,6% hills.

Rivers

The Değirmendere (former Piksidis), Yanbolu, Fol, Karadere, Koha, Sürmene (former Manahos), Solaklı, Baltacı and İyidere (former Kalopotamos)

Lakes

Çakırgöl, Uzungöl, Serra Gölü

Climate

Trabzon has a typical Black Sea climate, with rain the year round and temperatures reaching up to around 27°C in the summer. Winters are cool and damp, and the lowest temperature is around 5°C in January. The water temperature fluctuates between 10°–20°C throughout the year.

People

Greek has been spoken in the region since early antiquity. The local dialect has developed along its own lines and is today partly intelligible to speakers of Standard Greek. It was spoken in Turkey mainly by a Greek Orthodox population up until the population exchange in large parts of the coastal region of the Eastern Black Sea. Laz people also live in Trabzon.

The Chepnis, an Oghuz tribe that played an important role in the history of the Eastern Black Sea area in the 13th and 14th centuries, live in the Şalpazarı (Ağasar valley) region of the Trabzon Province.[4]

An Armenian community existed in Trebizond as early as the 7th century.[5] During the Mongol invasions of the 13th and 14th centuries, numerous Armenian families fled here from Ani.[5]

There is some controversy regarding the extent of the presence of Armenians in the Trabzon area. A study of tax registers from 1515 by Turkish scholar M. Tayyip Gökbilgin indicates there were only 15 Armenian households in Trabzon at that time (1.6 percent; there were 774 Greek and 179 Muslim households).[6] On the other hand, according to Ronald C. Jennings, in the early 1500's, Armenians made up approximately 13 percent[7] of the city's population, and they numbered roughly equal to the Muslims in the city in that period.[8]

In the late 19th century the Armenian community was persecuted during the Hamidian massacres.[9][10] Prior to WWI, a sizable Armenian community of 30,000 was present in the city[5]. During the Armenian Genocide, most were killed or deported.[5] Following the Russian capture of Trabzon in April 1916, some 500 Armenian survivors,[5] as well as monks of the local Armenian monastery returned.[11] They remained there till after the war.[5]

Trabzon has a sizeable Russian minority, who began emigrating to the region after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Russian language shops and facilities can be found in the town. Russians are generally subject to stereotypes and suspicion. A subset of Russian women work in the local prostitution industry and are thus derisively known as "Natashas" by Trabzonites.

Because of the presence of Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon hosts students from all over Turkey, especially the East and the Black Sea region, as well as students from Central Asian states. Outside of the university student population, most Trabzon Turks would likely self-identify as Black Sea Region Turks, in addition to possible minority identifications such as Kurdish, Laz, Circassian, Armenian, or Pontic Greek. As in the whole of Turkey, the populations of these and other minority groups are unknown and the subject of debate, due to the government's omission of ethnic group details in the census, and a historical nationalist policy which promotes self-identification with a united Turkish identity.

Origin of the Pontic Turks and Greeks

It is most likely that the majority of the population of Trabzon and Rize (and other ancient Greek colonies in the Pontus region) — except up to the time of the Chepni Turk immigration waves — consisted of indigenous Caucasian tribes (the Colchians and the Laz) who had been partly Hellenized religiously and linguistically.[12] Michael Meeker, for example, stresses the cultural resemblances (e.g. in village structure, house types, and pastoral techniques) between the Eastern Black Sea coast and the areas in the Caucasus proper.[13]

Very little has been written on the Turkification of the area. There are no historical records of any considerable Turkish-speaking groups in the Trabzon area until the late 15th century, with the exception of the Chepnis. The original Greek (and in some regions Armenian) speakers imposed features from their mother language into Turkish. Heath W. Lowry's[14] work about Ottoman tax books[15] (Tahrir Defteri) with Halil İnalcık claims that most Turks of Trabzon city are of Greek origin.

Tourist attractions

The 10th century Trebizond Gospel is a testimony to the ancient artistic traditions of the city.

Trabzon has a number of tourist attractions, some of them dating back to the times of the ancient empires that once existed in the region. In the city itself, one can find a hub of shops, stalls and restaurants surrounding the "Meydan", a square in the center of the city, which includes a tea garden.

  • The Hagia Sophia (Template:Lang-tr), a stunning Byzantine church, is probably the town's most important tourist attraction.
  • Trabzon Castle ruins are visible in the town but cannot be visited as they fall in a military zone. The outside wall of the castle now serves as the back wall of a military building.
  • Atatürk Köşkü is a lovely Victorian-era villa, which was given to Ataturk when he visited Trabzon in 1924. It houses period rooms and acts as a shrine to the memory of the Turks' beloved great leader.
  • Boztepe Park is a small park and tea garden on the hills above Trabzon that has a panoramic view of nearly the entire city. The terrain in Trabzon is such that although the view is far above that of the buildings below, it is still close enough to be able to observe the flow of traffic and the people moving about in the city.
  • Trabzon Museum is located in the town center and offers interesting exhibits on the history of the region, including an impressive collection of Byzantine-era artifacts.
  • Trabzon's Bazaar District offers interesting shopping opportunities on ancient narrow streets, continuing from Kunduracilar Street from the Meydan (town square).

Within Trabzon Province, the main attractions are the Sümela Monastery and Uzungöl. The monastery is built on the side of a very steep mountain overlooking the green forests below and is about 50km south of the city. Uzungöl is famous for the natural beauty of the area and the amazing scenery.

Other important sites of interest include: Kaymaklı Monastery, Kızlar (Panagia Theoskepastos) Monastery, Kuştul (Gregorios Peristera) Monastery, Kızlar (Panagia Kerameste) Monastery, Vazelon Monastery, Hagios Savvas (Maşatlık) Cave Churches, Hagia Anna (Little Ayvasıl), Sotha (St. John), Hagios Theodoros, Hagios Konstantinos, Hagios Khristophoras, Hagios Kiryaki, Santa Maria, Hagios Mikhail and Panagia Tzita churches, Fatih Mosque (originally the Panagia Khrysokephalos Church), Yeni Cuma Mosque (originally the Hagios Eugenios Church), Nakip Mosque (originally the Hagios Andreas Church), Hüsnü Köktuğ Mosque (originally the Hagios Eleutherios Church), İskender Pasha Mosque, Semerciler Mosque, Çarşı Mosque, and the Gülbahar Hatun Mosque and Türbe.

Food

Trabzon regional cuisine is traditionally reliant on fish, especially hamsi (fresh anchovies). While not a gourmet-food center, there are some delicious regional dishes such as Akcabaat kofte (spicy lamb meatball from the Akcabaat district), pide (Turkish pizza without tomato sauce and with fresh butter), kuymak (Turkish polenta made with cornmeal and plenty of fresh butter and cheese), and kara lahana corbasi (bean and cabbage soup). The best way to experience real Trabzon cuisine is to get yourself invited to a local's home.

Culture

Trabzon culture has a reputation for being religiously conservative and nationalist [12]. Many Trabzonites generally show a strong sense of loyalty to family, friends, Ataturk, their religion, and Turkey.

The Black Sea region has a myriad of village and local folk culture, especially evident in folk music, folk dances, and local cuisine specialties.

Outside of the relatively urban space of Trabzon proper, and within it as well, rural traditions from Black Sea village life are still thriving. This includes traditional gender roles, social conservatism, hospitality and willingness to help strangers, and all the trappings, both positive and negative, of an agrarian lifestyle, such as hard work, poverty, strong family ties, and a closeness to nature.

Sports

Football is by far the most popular sport in Trabzon, as Trabzonspor is the only Turkish club in Anatolia to win the Turkish Super League (6 times) apart from the "Big Three" of Istanbul (Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş). Due to Trabzonspor's success, the decades-old term "Big Three" which defined the largest clubs of Turkey had to be modified into the "Big Four". Trabzonspor is also one of the most successful Turkish clubs in the European Cups, managing to beat numerous prominent teams like Barcelona, Inter, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Olympique Lyonnais.

Trabzon will host the First Edition of the Black Sea Games on July, 2007.

Notable natives

Sister cities

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ Trabzon Greek: A language without a tongue, Ömer Asan
  2. ^ Turkey's nationalist hotbed March 1 2007, report by BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford.
  3. ^ Turkey's nationalist hotbed March 1 2007, report by BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford.
  4. ^ Bernt Brendemoen, The Turkish dialects of Trabzon, University of Oslo, 2002 p18
  5. ^ a b c d e f *Ambart︠s︡umi︠a︡n, Victor Amazaspovich (1986). Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran ("Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia") (in Armenian). Vol. 12. Yerevan. p. 87. OCLC 10431241. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ M. Tayyip Gökbilgin. XVI.yüzyıl başlarında Trabzon livası ve Doğu Karadeniz Bölgesi, 1962, Türk Tarih Kurumu. p. 297
  7. ^ 15.5% of 85%
  8. ^ Jennings, Ronald C. (Jan. 1976) Urban Population in Anatolia in the 16th Century: International Journal of MiddleEast Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1 pp. 21-57.
  9. ^ Hundreds killed at Trebizond; Soldiers joined the mob in looting and in firing on Armenians, New York Times, October 18 1895
  10. ^ Moslems desperate, New York Times, November 3, 1895
  11. ^ The Byzantine Churches of Trebizond, Selina Ballance, Anatolian Studies, volume 10, page 169.
  12. ^ Michael Meeker, "The Black Sea Turks: some aspects of their ethnic and cultural background", International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (1971) 2:318–345
  13. ^ Meeker, 1971: p. 326 "As the mentioned, the villages along the Black Sea coast from Ordu to Artvin are composed of many hamlets, each dominating a hilltop or mountain side on which its own crops are separetly planted. This type of settlemet pattern is in sharp contrast with the typical nucleated anatolian village, but its charesterictic of many rural settlements of the Western Caucasus notably those of Abkhaz, Circassians, Georgians, Mingrelians and Ossetes…"
    For similar ideas See: Karl Koch, Reise duch Russland nach dem Kaukasis chen Istmus in den Jahren, 1836. vol1. p. 378; W.E.D. Allen, A History of the Georgian People, London 1932. pp. 54–5; Özhan Öztürk, Karadeniz. 2005. p. 35, 757–68. For lingusitic influence see: Bernt Brendomoen, Laz influence on the Black Sea Turkish Dialects, 1990 (Proceedings from 32nd meeting of the Permanent International Altaistic Conference)
  14. ^ Professor. Department of Near Eastern Studies. Princeton University
  15. ^ Trabzon Şehrinin İslamlaşması ve Türkleşmesi 1461–1583 ISBN 975-518-116-4
  • Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites eds. Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister: "Trapezus"
  • Özhan Öztürk (2005). Karadeniz (Black Sea): Ansiklopedik Sözlük. 2 Cilt. Heyamola Yayıncılık. İstanbul. ISBN 975-6121-00-9
  • Bryer, Anthony (1985-03). Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos (Dumbarton Oaks Studies,20) Two Volume Set. Dumbarton Oaks Pub Service. ISBN 088402122X. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

12. See note 2. Also http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0126/p06s01-woeu.html, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/08/world/europe/08turkey.html?ex=1328590800&en=b1c4ebf924e99da2&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

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41°00′N 39°44′E / 41.000°N 39.733°E / 41.000; 39.733

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