Machakheli ( ka, მაჭახელი, ''Mač’axeli''; ) is a historical geographical area in

Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a ...

and long valley along the river

Machakhlistskali The Machakhelistsqali or Machakhlitskali ( ka, მაჭახელისწყალი, ''Mač’axelisc’q’ali''; ) is a river that flows from the Artvin Province in Turkey to Adjara autonomous republic of Georgia. It's a right tributary o ...

between

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. There are 23 settled villages in this valley. For its ecology, flora and fauna, as well as cultural importance, both the Turkish and Georgian segments of the valley are protected by the respective governments.

History

Machakheli, also archaically known as Michikhiani (მიჭიხიანი), had been part of the

Georgian kingdom The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar the Great ...

until its fragmentation in the late 15th century. Then it passed to the semi-independent princes of

Samtskhe Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი ) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე ), also known as Moschia in ancient sources, is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mo ...

(also known effectively as Saatabago (საათაბაგო) for the rule of

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...

s from the Jaqeli family), who submitted to the Ottoman

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

in 1479. The Ottoman administration is not attested until the 1570s. In 1563 the ruler of Machakheli, probably of the Shalikashvili clan, converted to Islam and joined the Ottoman ranks under the name of Lagvesh Ahmed. Under the Ottoman subdivision, Maçahel was a sub-district of the ''

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

'' of Livâne. The area gained particular fame for its production of

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

s nicknamed ''Machakhela'' from the late 18th to the mid-19th centuries. Machakheli came sporadically under the control of

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

during her numerous wars with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. After the implementation of the new Turkish-Soviet and Turkish-Georgian border in 1921, Machakheli was divided between two nations.

Geography

The Turkish part of the valley is known as Upper Machakheli and is included in the

Borçka Borçka () is a town in Artvin Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey, on the border with Georgia. It is the seat of Borçka District.

district of

Artvin Province Artvin Province (; Armenian language, Armenian: Արտվինի նահանգ ''Artvini nahang''; ka, , ''Artvinis p'rovintsia''; Laz language, Laz: ართვინიშ დობადონა ''Artvinish dobadona;'') is a Provinces of Turke ...

. It has six villages, which have both official Turkish and unofficial Georgian names. These are Camili (Khertvisi), Düzenli (Zedvake), Efeler (Eprati), Kayalar (Kvabistavi), Maralköy (Mindieti), and Uğurköy (Akria). The centre of all Machakheli, Khertvisi (ხერთვისი), was renamed as "Camili" in 1925 and the vicinity has also become known as Camili. The area is renowned throughout Turkey for its intensive practices of

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

and the high quality of

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

it produces. In 2005, Camili became Turkey's only

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

-recognized

biosphere reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

. The Georgian segment, known as Lower Machakheli, is part of the

Khelvachauri Municipality Khelvachauri ( ka, ხელვაჩაურის მუნიციპალიტეტი, ''Khelvachauris Municiṕaliťeťi'') is a municipality in Georgia (country), Georgia's southwestern autonomous republic of Adjara with a population of ...

autonomous republic An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province or state. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Ma ...

of Georgia and has twelve villages, including Zeda Chkhutuneti, Kveda Chkhukuneti, Chikuneti, Tskhemlara, Skurdidi, Acharisagmarti, Kedkedi, Sindieti, Chanivri, Gor-Gadzeti, and Saputkreti. The territory is known for its endemic

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

. The area contains the Machakhela Gun Monument, Gvara fortress, Mirveti waterfall, the 12th century Mirveti stone bridge, a World War II-era artillery piece and the Machakheli Ethnographic Museum. In July 2012, Georgia established the

Machakheli National Park Machakhela National Park ( ka, მაჭახელას ეროვნული პარკი) is a national park in Adjara, in the valley of Machakhlistskali, Georgia. The park was established in 2012 with an area of 8733 ha (hectares).

and signed a United States-sponsored Trans-boundary Cooperation Action Plan with Turkey to address environmental issues in the region.U.S. Government Helps Government of Georgia and Government of Turkey Cooperate on New National Park
. USAID Georgia. July 18, 2012.

References

{{Historical regions of Georgia Tao-Klarjeti Geography of Adjara Landforms of Artvin Province Valleys of Turkey Valleys of Georgia (country) Historical regions of Georgia (country)

History

Geography

See also

References