Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the

Çoruh River The Chorokh ( ka, ჭოროხი ''Ch'orokhi'', tr, Çoruh, hy, Չորոխ ''Ch’vorokh'', el, Άκαμψις, ''Akampsis'') is a river that rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, İs ...

and is the provincial capital of

Bayburt Province Bayburt Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey. Located in the Northeast Anatolia region of the country, the capital city is Bayburt, and with a population of 74,412 is the least-populous province in Turkey. Geography Bayburt is traversed by t ...

. According to the 2021 census the population is determined as around 82,274. Bayburt was once an important center on the ancient Silk Road. It was visited by Marco Polo and

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty ye ...

. Remains of its medieval castle still exist. There are several historical mosques,

Turkish bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherite ...

s, and tombs in the city. There are also ancient historical sites such as the Çatalçeşme Underground Complex and natural wonders like the Sirakayalar Waterfall in the other parts of the province.

Name and etymology

The name of the town was formerly written in

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed exten ...

as بايبورد (''Bayburd'') and in English as Baiburt. It was known under a variety of names during the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

period;

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman ge ...

naming the city ''Baiberdon'', meanwhile

Kedrenos George Kedrenos, Cedrenus or Cedrinos ( el, Γεώργιος Κεδρηνός, fl. 11th century) was a Byzantine Greek historian. In the 1050s he compiled ''Synopsis historion'' (also known as ''A concise history of the world''), which spanned the ...

calling it ''Paiperte''. The name derives from the medieval

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

''Baydbert'' ().http://www.vehi.net/istoriya/armenia/khorenaci/02.html; The “History of Armenia” by Movses Khorenatsi, Yerevan, 1990 (in Russian). In

Movses of Khoren Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; hy, Մովսէս Խորենացի, , also written as ''Movses Xorenac‘i'' and Moses of Khoren, Moses of Chorene, and Moses Chorenensis in Latin sources) was a prominent Armenian historian from the late an ...

's ''History of Armenia'' the town is being named as Բայբերդ (''Paypert''). Movses asserts that the city's ancient name was Smpadapert, in reference to the Smbat I, founder of the

Bagratuni dynasty The Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty ( hy, Բագրատունի, ) was an Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the medieval Kingdom of Armenia from c. 885 until 1045. Originating as vassals of the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to beco ...

History

Bayburt was part of

Hayasa-Azzi Hayasa-Azzi or Azzi-Hayasa ( hit, URUḪaiaša-, hy, Հայասա) was a Late Bronze Age confederation in the Armenian Highlands and/or Pontic region of Asia Minor. The Hayasa-Azzi confederation was in conflict with the Hittite Empire in th ...

, then was subsequently settled or conquered by the

Cimmerians The Cimmerians (Akkadian: , romanized: ; Hebrew: , romanized: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people originating in the Caspian steppe, part of whom subsequently migrated into W ...

in the the

Medes The Medes (Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, th ...

in the then the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

, Yervandid Armenia,

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

Greater Armenia Greater Armenia ( hy, Մեծ Հայք, translit=Mets Hayk) is the name given to the Armenian state that emerged on the Armenian Highlands during the reign of King Artaxias I at the turn of the 2nd century BC. The term was used to refer prin ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, the

s, the Bagratid Armenian Kingdom, the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

, the

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (W ...

, Safavid Persia, and then the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. The town was the site of an

fortress in the 1st century and may have been the Baiberdon fortified by the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renova ...

. It was a stronghold of the

Genovese Genovese is an Italian surname meaning, properly, someone from Genoa. Its Italian plural form ''Genovesi'' has also developed into a surname. People * Alfred Genovese (1931–2011), American oboist * Alfredo Genovese (born 1964), Argentine artis ...

in the late Middle Ages and prospered in the late 13th and early 14th century because of the commerce between Trebizond and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

. It contained a mint under the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

and

Ilkhanids The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

. From c. 1243 to 1266, Bayburt was under brief control of the

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group **Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three script ...

princes of Samtskhe. A Christian church within the Bayburt castle was built in the 13th century under the Trapezuntine or Georgian influence. Under Ottoman rule, the town was the center of the Bayburt

Sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

Erzurum Eyalet The Erzurum Eyalet ( ota, ایالت ارضروم, ''Eyālet-i Erżurūm'') was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the conquest of Western Armenia by the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . History T ...

. When

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses t ...

was devastated in the early 16th century, Bayburt served for a time as the ''de facto'' capital of the province. The area was raided by the

Safavids Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

in 1553. Bayburt was captured by a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

army under

General Paskevich Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw (russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Паске́вич-Эриванский, светлейший князь Варшавский, tr. ; – ) was an Imperial Russian mi ...

and its fortifications thoroughly demolished in 1829. It was the furthest westward reach of the Russians during that campaign. The British traveller and geologist William Hamilton commented on the ruins in the 1840s,. though the population grew to 6000 by the 1870s. The bazaar, however, remained poor and the town long lacked industry. Prior to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, the population of 10,000 was mostly

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

with some

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

. According to the ''

Qamus al-A'lam Qamus (القموص) was one of the fortresses of the Jewish poet Al-Rabi ibn Abu al-Huqayq, and his Jewish tribe called Banu Nadir. The fortress was situated near Khaybar in what is now Saudi Arabia. The fortress was attacked by Muslim forces and ...

'' (Qāmūsu'l-aˁlām/قاموس الأعلام, “Dictionary of the World”) of Shemseddin Sami,

Sanjak of Bayburt Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province") ...

, comprising four

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

s called Ispir,

Şiran Şiran is a town and district of Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is one of the points of passage between Eastern Anatolia and Black Sea regions of Turkey, in the sense that the western road departing from Erzincan toward ...

Kelkit Kelkit is a town and district of Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. According to the 2010 census, population of the district is 39,547 of which 13,784 live in the town of Kelkit. The district covers an area of , and the town l ...

and

Bayburt Bayburt () is a city in northeast Turkey lying on the Çoruh River and is the provincial capital of Bayburt Province. According to the 2021 census the population is determined as around 82,274. Bayburt was once an important center on the ancien ...

itself, had 505 villages and 40

nahiyes A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

. The sanjak had a population of 124.019 people. 108.373 people of the population was Turkish and Muslim, and the rest of the population was Christian, predominantly Armenian. Inside the Sanjak of Bayburt there were said to be 292

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...

and

masjid A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) are performed, in ...

, 176

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

h, 87 church and monastery, 2 middle school (rushdiye), 108 primary school (sıbyan mektebi).

Geography

Bayburt straddles the

Çoruh The Chorokh ( ka, ჭოროხი ''Ch'orokhi'', tr, Çoruh, hy, Չորոխ ''Ch’vorokh'', el, Άκαμψις, ''Akampsis'') is a river that rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, İsp ...

amid an open and fertile

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

on the route between

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

and

Climate

Bayburt has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...

with warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation is fairly frequent most of the year, with a peak in spring. The city gets frequent, but not necessarily heavy snow, the highest snow depth recorded was 110 cm (43.3 inches) in March 1976.

Sights

Nature

Bayburt has several parks and open spaces like ''Aslan dağı Ormanı '' (Lion Mount Forest ) "Gençlik Parkı" (Youth Park), "Şehit Nusret Bahçesi" (Martyr Nusret Gardens), and "Yenişehir Parkı" meaning "New City Park". The city has of

nursery Nursery may refer to: Childcare * Nursery (room), a room within the house designed for the care of a young child or children. * Nursery school, a daycare facility for preschool-age children * Prison nursery, for imprisoned mothers with their young ...

areas, where young plants are raised for the forests of Bayburt. Also there are two caves that visitors can see the interesting natural shapes of the stones. These caves are,
Çimağıl Cave
and
Helva Village Ice Cave
.

Castle

Bayburt Castle stands on the steep rocks north of Bayburt. It was held by the

Bagratuni Dynasty The Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty ( hy, Բագրատունի, ) was an Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the medieval Kingdom of Armenia from c. 885 until 1045. Originating as vassals of the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to beco ...

in the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries. It was completely rebuilt by the

Saltukid The Saltukids or Saltuqids ( Modern Turkish: ''Saltuklu Beyliği'' ) were a dynasty ruling one of the Anatolian beyliks founded after the Battle of Manzikert (1071) and centered on Erzurum. The Saltukids ruled between 1071 and 1202. The beylik wa ...

ruler Mugis-al-Din Tugrul Sah between 1200 and 1230, as attested by an inscription in the walls of the castle. The massive size of its walls and the quality of its masonry place it amongst the finest of all the castles in Anatolia but for its destruction by the Russians during the early nineteenth century. Rebuilding was done during the Ottoman period. The castle was inhabited till the destruction of 1829.

Aydıntepe Underground City

Located from Bayburt, the site consists of rock-cut galleries, vaulted rooms and wider spaces excavated out of natural rock, without using any building material within from the surface in the tuff. Vaulted galleries about one meter wide and 2 to 2.5 meters tall are expanding on both sides.

The Dome of Dede Korkut

The Dome of

Dede Korkut The ''Book of Dede Korkut'' or ''Book of Korkut Ata'' ( az, Kitabi-Dədə Qorqud, ; tk, Kitaby Dädem Gorkut; tr, Dede Korkut Kitabı) is the most famous among the epic stories of the Oghuz Turks. The stories carry morals and values signific ...

is approximately away from Bayburt, and is located in Masat village. It is located in the middle of village's graveyard, has been hosting plenty of people from many countries including

Turkic countries The following is a list of dynasties, states or empires which are Turkic-speaking, of Turkic origins, or both. There are currently six recognised Turkic sovereign states. Additionally, there are six federal subjects of Russia in which a Turkic la ...

because of

Dede Korkut Culture and Art Festival DeDe, De De, Dedé or Dédé may refer to: People Nickname or stage name * Dedé (Angolan footballer), born Adérito Waldemar Alves Carvalho * Dedé (footballer, born 1978), Brazilian footballer born Leonardo de Deus Santos * Dedé (footballer, b ...

since 1995, and it is held every July. The dome, also known as Ali Baba and Korkut Ata, was restored in 1994, and it was released to the public. It has gained importance after has been included in the

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergove ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...

in November 2018.

Baksı Museum

The

Baksı Museum Baksı Museum is a museum located in Bayburt, Turkey. “Baksı” literally means “healer, helper, protector” in Turkic languages. The museum offers contemporary art and traditional handcrafts. The basic aim of the foundation is, as quoted by ...

stands near the Black Sea, from Bayburt on a hilltop overlooking the Çoruh Valley. Rising in what used to be called Baksı and is now the village of Bayraktar, this unusual museum offers contemporary art and traditional handicrafts side by side under one roof.

Sport

There is a professional football stadium in the city and many private astroturfed sites. The local football club in Bayburt is

Bayburt Özel İdarespor Bayburt Özel İdarespor is a Turkish professional football club based in Bayburt. The team currently competes in the TFF Second League after being promoted following the 2018–19 season. The club was promoted to the TFF Third League after 2013 ...

, which currently competes in the

TFF Second League TFF 2. Lig (Turkish Football Federation Second League), is the third level in the Turkish football league system. It was founded in the 2001–02 season with the name of ''Turkish Second League Category B'' as a continuation of the then second le ...

. Şalcilarspor played in the Third League between 1986 and 1988. There are many indoor swimming pools in Bayburt, among them the semi-olympic swimming pool is the most notable one. It is located in the city center opposite of the Yenişehir Park. The pool water is kept at the same temperature in summer and winter so that the users can enjoy the pool in the best possible way. The city also hosts winter sport activities, such as skiing. Ski resorts are located away from the city center.

Education

Bayburt University Bayburt University (BU; in Turkish, ''Bayburt Üniversitesi'', commonly referred to as ''BÜ'') is a public research university in the city of Bayburt, Turkey. The research and education conducted by the university have an emphasis on engineerin ...

is located at the center of the city, the university has several faculties such as Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Administrative Sciences. The university also contains a guest house (Turkish: ''konukevi''). There are several vocational schools.

Transportation

Bayburt Bus Terminal, located in the south of the city, is the main transportation hub of Bayburt.

Notable people

* İrşadi Baba (folk poet) (1879-1958) *

Suat Türker Suat Türker (10 March 1976 – 12 February 2023) was a Turkish-German professional footballer who played as a striker. Career Born in Bayburt, Turkey, Türker began his professional career with Istanbulspor, appearing in 38 Süper Lig matches ...

Bayburtlu Kara Ibrahim Pasha Bayburtlu Kara Ibrahim Pasha ( tr, Bayburtlu Kara İbrahim Paşa; "Ibrahim Pasha the Courageous of Bayburt") was an Ottoman statesman. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 25 December 1683 to 18 November 1685. He was also the Ottoman ...

* Hovhannes XI (Çamaşırciyan) (

Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople (french: Patriarche de Constantinople, tr, Konstantinopolis Ermeni Patriği), also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul, is today head of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople ( hy, Պատրիա ...

between 1800 and 1801) * Krikor Amirian *

Hakan Çalhanoğlu Hakan Çalhanoğlu (, born 8 February 1994) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Inter Milan and the Turkey national team, which he captains. He is well renowned as a free kick specialist, known f ...

Vasip Şahin Vasip Şahin (born 1964) is a Turkish civil servant. Currently, he serves as the Governor of Ankara Province. Life He was born in Bayburt in 1964. He completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Erzincan. In 1985, Şahin grad ...

Naci Ağbal Naci Ağbal (, born 1 January 1968) is a Turkish politician and former civil servant from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) who served as the Minister of Finance between 2015 and 2018. He was a Member of Parliament for the electoral distr ...

Namık Kemal Zeybek Namık Kemal Zeybek (born 1944) is a Turkish politician and was leader of the Democratic Party (2011 - 2012). A former civil servant and district governor, he was government minister in different cabinets. He was born 1944 in the village of Kit ...

Serdar Orçin Serdar Orçin (born 21 January 1976) is a Turkish actor. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 1999. Selected filmography References External links * 1976 births Living people Turkish male film actors Turkish male televisi ...

Twin cities

Bayburt is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: