Rize Province () is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of northeast

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 ...

, on the eastern

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

coast between

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

and

Artvin Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; ; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is the seat of Artvin Province and Artvin District.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. It is the site of an ...

is to the south. Its area is 3,835 km², and its population is 344,016 (2022). The capital is the city of

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Lazistan, however the designation of the term of Lazistan was officially banned in 1926. The province is home to Turkish, Laz, Hemshin and Georgian communities.

Etymology

The name comes from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(riza), meaning "mountain slopes". The Georgian, Laz, and

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 around the ...

names also have Greek origins: their names in respective order are ''Rize'' (რიზე), ''Rizini'' (რიზინი), and ''Rize'' (Ռիզե).

History

Pre-antiquity

We have little information as to the prehistory of this region, which being covered in thick forest is difficult to excavate and reveals little.

Colchis In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the ...

, which existed from the 13th to the 1st centuries BC, is regarded as an early proto- Georgian polity that may have reached this area.

Antiquity

According to

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, the Aegean

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

community of

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

established a series of trading posts along the Black Sea coast in 670 BC, of which one was

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Tibareni The Tibareni (Greek: Τιβαρηνοί, Τιβαρανοί) were a people residing on the coast of ancient Pontus referred to in Herodotus, Xenophon, Strabo and other classical authors. The Tibareni were believed to be of Scythian origin,Schol. a ...

, Mossynoeci, Macrones, Moschi, and Marres) were incorporated into the nineteenth Satrapy of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The Achaemenid Empire was defeated by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

, but following Alexander's death, a number of separate kingdoms were established in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, including

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 ...

, in the corner of the south-eastern

, ruled by

Mithridates Mithridates or Mithradates (Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic form of an Iranian languages, Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It ...

. Rize was brought into the Kingdom of Pontus by Pharnaces in 180 BC. The small number of Hellenistic Greek inscriptions that have been found in Pontus suggest that

Greek culture The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, beginning in Minoan and later in Mycenaean Greece, continuing most notably into Classical Greece, while influencing the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine Empire. Other cultu ...

did not substantially extend beyond the coastal cities and the court. The kingdom was absorbed into the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

between 10 AD and 395 AD, when it passed to the Byzantines. By this time, writers such as Pliny and

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

were describing the inhabitants as Laz.

Medieval era

During the medieval era, the region was under Byzantine control, and was mainly populated by Greeks and indigenous Lazs. During the reign of the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

( 527–565), the tribes of the interior, called Sannoi or Tzannoi, the ancestors of modern Laz people, were subdued,

Christianized Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

and brought to central rule. Locals began to have closer contact with the Greeks and acquired various Hellenic cultural traits, including in some cases the language. Locals were under nominal Byzantine

suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...

in the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

Chaldia Chaldia (, ''Khaldia'') was a historical region located in the mountainous interior of the eastern Black Sea, northeast Anatolia (modern Turkey). Its name was derived from a people called the ''Chaldoi'' (or '' Chalybes'') that inhabited the reg ...

, with its capital at Trebizond, governed by native semi-autonomous rulers, like the Gabras family.Hewsen, 47 In 790 AD, Armenians fleeing from the Arab invasion of Armenia settled in Hemshin and established the Principality of Hamamshen. Following the invasion of the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

, there was a larger influx of

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

in the area, resulting in partial Armenization of the local Tzan population. With the Georgian intervention in Chaldia and collapse of Byzantine Empire in 1204, the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...

was established along the southeastern coast of the Black Sea, populated by a large Lazian-speaking population.Mikaberidze, A. (2015). Historical dictionary of Georgia. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD, United States: ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD, p.634. In the eastern part of the same empire, an autonomous coastal theme of Greater Lazia was established. Byzantine authors, such as Pachymeres, and to some extent Trapezuntines such as Lazaropoulos and Bessarion, regarded the Trapezuntian Empire as being merely a Lazian border state. Though Greek in higher culture, the rural areas of Trebizond empire appear to have been predominantly Laz in ethnic composition. Laz family names, with hellenized terminations, are noticeable in the records of the mediaeval empire of Trebizond. In 1282, the kingdom of Imereti besieged Trebizond, however after the failed attempt to take the city, the Georgians occupied several provinces, and the Trebizontine province of Lazia threw off its allegiance to the king of the 'Iberian' and 'Lazian' tribes and united itself with the Georgian Kingdom of Imereti.

The Ottoman era

The Laz populated area was often contested by different Georgian principalities. Through the Battle of Murjakheti (1535), the Principality of Guria finally ensured control over the area until 1547, when it was conquered by resurgent Ottoman forces and reorganized into the Lazistan Sanjak as part of

eyalet Eyalets (, , ), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were the primary administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government was loosely structured. The empire was a ...

. From the late-17th century onwards, the Ottoman administration built multiple bridges across the Fırtına River and its tributaries. The province was a site of battles between Ottoman and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

armies during the

Caucasus Campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and was occupied by Russian forces in 1916–1918. It was returned to the Ottomans with the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...

in 1918. Since 1924, Rize has been a province of the Republic of Turkey. Until tea plantations were established in the 1940s, the province was a poor area at the far end of the country, with only the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

beyond the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

. Many generations of people in Rize left to look for jobs in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

or overseas.

In Turkey

In September 1935, the third Inspectorate General (''Umumi Müfettişlik,'' UM) was created, to which the Rize province was included. Its establishment was based on the Law 1164 from June 1927, which was passed in order to turkefy the population. The third UM spanned across the provinces of

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. It is the site of an ...

Artvin Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; ; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is the seat of Artvin Province and Artvin District.Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

Kars Kars ( or ; ; ) is a city in northeast Turkey. It is the seat of Kars Province and Kars District.� ...

Gümüşhane Gümüşhane () is a city in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Gümüşhane Province and Gümüşhane District.Erzincan Erzincan (; ), historically Yerznka (), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is majority Turkish Sunni w ...

and

Ağrı Ağrı (; ) is a city in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. It is the seat of Ağrı Province and Ağrı District.

. It was governed by an Inspector General seated in the city of

. The Inspectorate General was dissolved in 1952 during the government of the Democrat Party.

Life in Rize today

The city of

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Rize tea Rize tea () is the black tea used for Turkish tea. Produced in Rize Province of Turkey which has a mild climate with high precipitation and fertile soil, when brewed it is mahogany in color. In addition to being consumed at home, it is served i ...

Geography

Rize is located between the

Pontic Mountains The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps (, meaning 'North Anatolian Mountains'), form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the "Parhar Mountains" in the local Turkish and Pontic Greek languages. The term ''Parhar'' ...

and the

. It is considered to be the "wettest" corner of Turkey and is the country's main

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

producing region. In addition to tea, the region is also known for growing kiwi fruit. The province is largely rural and very scenic, containing many mountain valleys and elevated ''yayla''s (meadows). The district of

Çamlıhemşin Çamlıhemşin, formerly Vice, ( or ; ka, ვიჯა ''Vija'' ) is a small town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çamlıhemşin District.cable cars have been installed to transport people and supplies into the mountains. Summers are cool (July average 22 °C) and winters are mild (January average 7 °C) with high levels of precipitation all year long. The new Black Sea coast road has made Rize more accessible, but has drawn criticism for its negative effect on the region's wildlife. Since the early 2000s, Rize has seen an increase in visitors from outside the province, particularly tourist from urban areas. This increase in tourism has raised concerns among locals that the traditional way of life and the unblemished character of the natural surroundings is being endangered. 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. Native plants include the Cherry Laurel (), the fruit of which is an edible small dark plum that leaves a dark stain on the mouth and teeth. In addition, the

Bilberry Bilberries () are Eurasian low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bear edible, dark blue berries. They resemble but are distinct from North American blueberries. The species most often referre ...

, which are now being actively cultivated, can be found growing the region. Rize is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Mountains

Notable mountains * Kaçkar (3.937 m) * Barut (3.251 m) * Ziglat (3.511 m) * Verçenik (3.711 m) *

Hipot In electrical engineering, a dielectric withstand test (also pressure test, high potential test, hipot test, or insulation test) is an electrical safety test performed on a component or product to determine the effectiveness of its insulation. T ...

(3.560 m)

Rivers

From east to the west * Fındıklı Deresi * Büyükdere * Pazar Suyu * Karadere * İyidere

Districts

Rize province is divided into 12

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, including the capital district Rize: *

Ardeşen Ardeşen (Laz language, Laz and Georgian language, Georgian: არტაშენი/Art'asheni or არდაშენი/Ardasheni; Armenian language, Armenian: Արտաշեն/Artashen) is a town in Rize Province in the Black Sea Region, Turkey ...

Çamlıhemşin Çamlıhemşin, formerly Vice, ( or ; ka, ვიჯა ''Vija'' ) is a small town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çamlıhemşin District.Çayeli * Derepazarı * Fındıklı * Güneysu * Hemşin * İkizdere * İyidere * Kalkandere * Pazar *

Rize Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Pontic Mountains The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps (, meaning 'North Anatolian Mountains'), form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the "Parhar Mountains" in the local Turkish and Pontic Greek languages. The term ''Parhar'' ...

(Eastern Black Sea Mts.), Rize was formed in the

Palaeozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma at the start of ...

period. Valleys first appeared during the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

period and have since expanded due to erosion.

Climate

The region's climate is characterized by relatively mild to warm temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtypes for this climate are ''Cfa'' (Humid Subtropical Climate) and ''Cfb'' (Oceanic Climate).

Culture

Cuisine

The

anchovy An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the Family (biology), family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 speci ...

forms the basic for many of the dishes peculiar to the region. Soups,

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments called '' salad dressings'', which exist in a variety of flavors, a ...

pilaf Pilaf (), pilav or pilau () is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some technique for achieving ...

s and even desserts are made of anchovy. Some of the local dishes are hamsi buğulama (boiled anchovy), hamsi stew, and kamsi köfte (anchovy meatballs). Lahana çorbası (

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of '' Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.& ...

soup), muhlama (made of

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

, cornmeal and

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

) and

pide The International and State Defense Police (; PIDE) was a Portuguese security agency that existed during the '' Estado Novo'' regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Formally, the main roles of the PIDE were the border, immigration and emigrati ...

s (

pita Pita ( or ; ) or pitta (British English), also known as Arabic bread (, ), as Lebanese bread and as kmaj (from the Persian ''kumaj''), is a family of yeast- leavened round flatbreads baked from wheat flour, common in the Mediterranean, Levant ...

bread topped with various fillings) are also other local delicacies.

Rize tea

Rize tea is a major agricultural product to the region and has changed the local economy. Rize Province is also one of the largest consumers of Rize tea too. The province of Rize has prided itself of being the largest tea producer within Turkey. In 2021, the Rize Commerce Exchange started the construction of a seven-floor building in the shape of the traditional tulip-shaped tea glasses called ''ince belli,'' in hopes to boost local tourism''.''

Folk dances and traditional costumes

Folk dancers perform horon energetically when it is accompanied by

kemenche Kemenche (, Persian language, Persian : کمانچه) or Lyra is a name used for various types of Bowed string instrument, stringed bowed musical instruments originating in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Greece, Armenia, Iran, Turke ...

. However this

folk dance A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...

can also be accompanied by

Tulum Tulum (, ) is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea. T ...

kaval The kaval is a Diatonic and chromatic, chromatic end-blown flute, end-blown oblique flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans (in Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Greece, and elsewhere) and ...

. Folk dancers wear traditional costumes while performing horon. Men wear shirt, vest, jacket, zipka (pants made of

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

and gathered at knees) and black boots. On their jackets are silver embroideries,

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s, and with religion expressions put inside these small

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

containers to br protected against evil's eye. On the other hand, women dancers wear colorful dresses and traditional hand painted head scarves including various motifs.People of Black Sea Region of Turkey

Handicrafts

Rize offers traditional handicrafts and handmade souvenirs to visitors. Some of them include: copper works, wicker baskets, butter churns, woven socks, shoulder bags, and spoon made of

boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box and boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost So ...

. Linen of Rize (Turkish: ''Rize Bezi'') is a handwoven textile and is often used as part of the under layer of a dress. Kemençe is a traditional 3-stringed string instrument which is made in this province.

Places of interest

Sites in the province include: * Pokut Yaylası - The most touristic yayla in Rize Province. * ''

Ayder Ayder is a yayla in Rize Province, Turkey. Etymology ''Ayder'' is the Hemshin word for "fields." Geography Ayder at is a typical yayla with no settled population; it hosts visitors during summers. The average altitude is . It is a part of ...

'' - 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. * Amlakit Plateau * ''Çamlık'' - riverside area of forest park * ''Fırtına Vadisi'' - the valley is now a protected site * ''Gelin Tülü Şelalesi'' - a waterfall in Yukarışimşirli,

Çamlıhemşin Çamlıhemşin, formerly Vice, ( or ; ka, ვიჯა ''Vija'' ) is a small town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çamlıhemşin District.Çamlıhemşin Çamlıhemşin, formerly Vice, ( or ; ka, ვიჯა ''Vija'' ) is a small town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çamlıhemşin District.Ovit'' - mountain pass on the

road in Ikizdere, , forest and mountain viewpoint * The village and waterfall of ''Palovit'', high in the mountains. * Avup Dağı, the mountain between Rize and

Çamlıhemşin Çamlıhemşin, formerly Vice, ( or ; ka, ვიჯა ''Vija'' ) is a small town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çamlıhemşin District.Zilkale Zilkale is a medieval castle located in the Fırtına Valley (literally "Storm Valley") within the Pontic Mountains, and is one of the most important historical structures in the Çamlıhemşin district of Rize Province, within the Black Sea ...

* '' Huser Yaylası'' - Huser plateau is connected to Çamlıhemşin district of Rize. Huser Plateau, one of the highest plateaus of the Black Sea, must be visited with its unique view. Other buildings of note include: * The watch tower, ''Kız Kalesi'' on the sea front in Pazar. *

Zilkale Zilkale is a medieval castle located in the Fırtına Valley (literally "Storm Valley") within the Pontic Mountains, and is one of the most important historical structures in the Çamlıhemşin district of Rize Province, within the Black Sea ...

, "bell tower" near the village of Şenköy in the district of

Çamlıhemşin Çamlıhemşin, formerly Vice, ( or ; ka, ვიჯა ''Vija'' ) is a small town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çamlıhemşin District.Fırtına River bridges The Fırtına River bridges are a group of more than 20 well-preserved Ottoman-era bridges over the Fırtına river and its tributaries near Çamlıhemşin in Rize Province at the eastern end of Turkey's Black Sea coast. Because of the steep-si ...