Trabzon

Travel Guide Europe Turkey Black Sea Turkey Trabzon

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Introduction

Trabzon is a city at the Black Sea coast. An ideal gateway to the famous Sumela Monastery. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast. The Venetian and Genoese merchants paid visits to Trebizond during the medieval period and sold silk, linen and woolen fabric; the Republic of Genoa had an important merchant colony within the city called Leonkastron that played a role to Trebizond similar to the one Galata played to Constantinople (modern Istanbul). Trabzon formed the basis of several states in its long history and was the capital city of the Empire of Trebizond between 1204 and 1461. During the Ottoman period, Trabzon, because of the importance of its port, became a focal point of trade to Iran and the Caucasus. The population of the urban center is around 1.3 million.

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Sights and Activities

  • Sumela Monastery, in September 2018 still under renovation, you can see only the outside.
  • Aya Sofya church/museum/mosque.

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Weather

Trabzon lies in a humid subtropical zone with high precipitation throughout the year. In the winter there is the chance of some snow cover in the city. The climate of the city differs greatly from that of the mountainous hinterland.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg Max10.7 °C10.7 °C11.8 °C15.4 °C19.1 °C23.1 °C25.8 °C26.4 °C23.6 °C20 °C16.4 °C12.9 °C
Avg Min4.6 °C4.3 °C5.2 °C8.6 °C12.8 °C16.9 °C19.8 °C20.2 °C17.2 °C13.6 °C9.9 °C6.6 °C
Rainfall80.4 mm66.9 mm58.7 mm57.2 mm52 mm51.7 mm36.9 mm47 mm79.1 mm110.3 mm98.1 mm84.3 mm
Rain Days15.214.815.916.315.312.79.510.313.114.614.114.8

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Getting There

By Plane

Trabzon is served by daily planes from Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. There are also planes from Adana and Bursa, as well as scheduled international flights from certain European and regional cities.

By Car

The largely 6-lane D010 coastal highway is of high quality, and can bring you to Trabzon within 2½ hours from the border with Georgia and within 4½ hours from Samsun. The E97 is the main road connecting Trabzon to the rest of Anatolia, it runs south to Gümüşhane and then eastward towards Bayburt. The D915 from Bayburt to Of via Caykara has been chosen as the most dangerous road in the world and should not be attempted during winter. It does offer beautiful views on the surrounding landscape.

By Bus

Buses from all major cities in Turkey. Example: Istanbul (65TL, 18 hrs, several per day); Kayseri near Cappadocia (12 hrs, daily). Tbilisi, Georgia (about 12 hours) which serve as a useful point of entry to the country from Caucasus, also hourly leaves a bus to Batumi (the bus actual stops at the Georgian border and then you can take a taxi or minibus, 25-30TL). Kars: daily bus at 9:30am and midnight (around eight hours). Ardahan: (45TL at 12:30pm). Doğubeyazıt (leaves at 10:00pm, arriving 10:00am).

By Boat

There are also ferries twice weekly from Sochi on Russian Black Sea coast. Which takes 5-6 hours and costs US$ 110/passenger one way.

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Getting Around

By Public Transport

Mostly by minibus (dolmuş), station is at Maydan/Atatürk Alani.

By Foot

The center of Trabzon is walkable; most of its historical sights lie in an area of 1½ km by 500 m. This includes the area around central Meydan square in the east, the bazaar quarter in the center, and the historic walled city towards the west. If one is interested in taking in as many historical sights as possible, it is advisable to plan several walks around these different areas of the city. The historic city was built on a hill between two ravines (Zagnos to the west and Kuzgun to the east), thus there is a lot of height difference between neighbourhoods, and travellers should be prepared to climb up and down stairs and walk streets with steep inclinations. Car traffic has been limited through the historic neighborhoods, making it safer for pedestrians. Since the arrival of the coastal highway the city has been amputated from the sea. To alleviate this the city has started constructing a promenade along most of its 5 km-long western coast. With few restaurants or other facilities, it has yet to regain its historic attractiveness.

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Eat

Typical ingredients for a Black Sea meal differ greatly from those of Anatolia. Vakfikebir ekmegi is the local sourdough bread similar to Italian Pane Casareccio. It is baked in a stone oven and can weigh up to 7 kg. Because the Black Sea coast is too moist for the cereals that grow so abundantly in the rest of Anatolia, the main grain variety used in rural communities surrounding Trabzon is maize. Thus cornbread is also a popular dish. Hamsi (Anchovies) are a main staple for the region. They are typically fried and eaten whole. Fishermen from Trabzon catch about one-fifth of the Turkish total. There is even an Anchovies bread (Hamsikoli). The Black Sea region grows 70% of the worlds hazelnut production, and they are also often used in dishes. Some fruits that are grown in the region are cherries, persimmon and kiwi fruit. The Black Sea cuisine is heavy on stews and soups of vegetables and beans. It also includes many dairy dishes such as Kuymak/Muhlama, fresh cow milk and Ayran, and different types of cheeses.

The pide (pizza) and köfte (meatballs) of Trabzon are famous in Turkey for their distinctive taste. Trabzon pide is a kind of pizza with cheese and eggs, similar to Adjarian Khachapuri, but there are many varieties. Many places sell these typical dishes, a cheap but good example near the city center is "Cardak Pide Salonu".

Kuzen is also a good option: no standard kebabs but (for example) delicious wrap-like rolls filled with hot Merkez sausage. You can find it in Cevdet Akcay sokak next to the modernish shopping mall on the north side of Kahraman Marash Cad.

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Drink

There are only a few restaurants that serve alcohol in the city center. Among them being Bordo Mavi and Trabzon Şehir Kulübü Restaurant in Nemlioğlu Cemal Sokak (sidestreet of Uzun Sokak). Other options are a bit further from the center, between Trabzon and Akcaabat, such as Tirvana, Lazeli or Marina. A lot of the more traditional restaurants offer non-alcoholic cocktails. Luckily, because Trabzon is a student city, there is still quite a broad choice between music venues compared to other Turkish cities.

For those longing for real (European-style) coffee, Keyif Coffee & Tea Store has a huge selection of Tea (listing them by area and even Tea Estate) and first rate Cappachino (3 TL). They are hidden within the shopping complex Canbakkal İş Merkezi, a few blocks to the west of Atatürk Alani square. Kahve Durağı and Edward's Coffee offer many kinds of coffee and cakes. Cinema-themed sineK, next to Royal Cinema also offers western (and Turkish) coffee and tea. It is a kind of hip place where young Trabzonites come to play games after going to the movies. You might need to make reservations (like for most popular or trendy restaurants in the city). Time's Coffee Restaurant on Kahramanmaraş Cad. offers coffee and more with a rooftop view of the city. It is on the 7th floor of the Silk Road Business Center.

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Sleep

The cheapest hotels are down from Atatürk Square towards the port, but they usually function as unofficial brothels. By European standards the area is safe, and the prostitutes quite discreet. Between those hotels, Hotel Erzurum is acceptable and frequented by backpackers. Some of the more upmarket hotels in Trabzon are Hilton Garden Inn, Zorlu Grand Otel and Novotel. Zorlu Grand Otel is in central Trabzon, at Maraş Street. Novotel is some distance out of Trabzon, in Yomra (a town close to Trabzon) but it takes only ten minutes from city centre with a car or dolmuş (bus) to get there.

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Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafes can be found everywhere except small rural villages. The cost of an hour use of internet ranges from 1 YTL to 1.5 YTL. Wireless internet is becoming popular in some cafes in big cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, and at airpots. But in many other places it's still not available, or sometimes at a very high cost.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Turkey's international country code is 90. Dial 112 for an ambulance anywhere, from any telephone, without a charge. In case of a fire, dial 110; for police, call 155. However, in rural areas there is not a police coverage, so dial 156 for gendarme, a military unit for rural security. All these numbers are free of charge and can be called from a telephone booth without inserting a calling card, or any phone including cell phones.

There are telephone booths owned by Turk Telekom in major parts of cities. public phones now operate with chip telekom cards which are available in 30, 60 or 120 units and can be obtained at post offices, newspaper and tobacco kiosks.
It is estimated that approximately 98% of the population of Turkey lives within the coverage areas of Turkey’s three cell phone line providers. Line providers from most countries have roaming agreements with one or more of these companies. Pre-paid mobile phone SIM cards can be purchased for approximately TRY20-50. These can be purchased at the airport on arrival or from the many outlets in Istanbul and other large cities. Providers include Vodaphone.

Post

PTT is the national post service in Turkey. Services are generally moderately fast but quite reliable. There is an extended price list on the PTT website, where you can see the costs of sending items within Turkey, countries in Europe and further afield. For sending packages one might also use international companies such as DHL and UPS and local companies such as Yurtici Kargo. Post offices bear the distinctive yellow PTT sign and are generally open between 9:00am to 12:00 noon and 1:30pm to 5:00pm from Monday to Friday. Some might keep longer hours or be open during the weekend as well, but this mainly applies to the larger ones or those in central places and tourist areas.

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Quick Facts

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Coordinates
  • Latitude: 41.006100
  • Longitude: 39.719100

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This is version 19. Last edited at 14:54 on Jan 10, 19 by UliS. 5 articles link to this page.

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